The Spanish female footballers are saddened after missing out on the European title. Captain Irene Paredes and coach Montserrat Tomé felt that their team could have beaten England in the final.
The final in Basel turned into a penalty shootout after a 1-1 score, in which coach Sarina Wiegman’s team was better. England also won against Sweden (2-2) via penalties in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final, the team narrowly escaped against Italy (2-1) just before time.
“I don’t know what to say,” Paredes said on Sunday after the match at TVE. “This is a very difficult moment. We tried everything, in many different ways. But in the end, the penalties didn’t go our way.”
“I feel like we deserved more. But in the end, it’s not about which team deserved the title the most. It’s also about that bit of luck. England has had that luck throughout the tournament. We thought we would overcome that luck, but apparently not.”
The 34-year-old Paredes saw that the reigning world champion often had good control of the match. “We also created more big chances and had more possession. But yes, not more goals.”
Tomé: ‘Proud anyway’
Coach Tomé was proud of Spain’s performance at the closing press conference. “Of course we are very sad. Every player did her best excellently until the last moment.”
Tomé saw that England was the lesser team, especially in extra time. “We were better and created good chances. But unfortunately we could not prevent a penalty shootout.”
Spain, who were in the European Championship final for the first time, had hoped for more than silver. “We were so close, but ultimately couldn’t finish it,” said Tomé. “But I am proud of the team and the staff anyway.”
