July 3 – Spain will get their quest for a first European title under way against Iberian rivals Portugal with doubts remaining over the fitness of Aitana Bonmati, who is recovering from meningitis.
Bonmati’s fitness has dominated the Spanish news cycle and at a press conference on Tuesday, Spain manager Montse Tome highlighted how eager she is to play in the tournament. She said: “Aitana’s recovery is going well. She did some [individual] training on her own with the fitness team on Tuesday Her evolution has been really positive. She will do some work with the rest of the squad in the final session [on Wednesday] before the game.
“I have to highlight how desperate she is to play. We have to put the brakes on her at times, but it’s all positive.
“Obviously her health comes first. It’s not been a great situation, but luckily she’s recovered really quickly.”
On Sunday, Bonmati, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, was discharged from hospital following a bout of meningitis, but Spain’s curtain raiser against Portugal may still come too soon.
The FC Barcelona player, 27, is one of the big stars in the Spanish team that won the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The European crown has, however, proven elusive, but with a deep squad and a style of play that represents the best of the Spanish school it’s hard to look past Spain this summer. History suggests the Spanish won’t slip up in their curtain raiser – they have won all seven competitive matches against their neighbours.
Spanish midfielder Patricia Guijarro downplayed her team’s status as favourites. She said: “There are a lot of powerful teams here. All teams are 200% prepared to try and win every game. We’re going to try the same.
“Obviously our objective right now is to win tomorrow; then short-term to get out of the group. But you know we’re ambitious and we want to win it all. It’s flattering if others focus on us, like how we play and how we have evolved as a team. But in a Euros, you have to focus on yourselves.”
At their third consecutive finals, the Portuguese will be the underdogs against Spain, seeking to absorb the pressure and counter. Getting a result will probably be a step too far, but with Italy and Belgium as other group B opponents, they are in the mix to progress from the group in the slipstream of Spain.
Portugal manager Francisco Neto said: “Above all we want to be a competitive side. It’s the first step to participate at EURO 2025. We see the context and the manner of how we got here. Tomorrow we will have to be very competitive. It’s the first target of the team. It would be very good to get a result.”
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1751561328labto1751561328ofdlr1751561328owedi1751561328sni@o1751561328fni1751561328