da esport bet： Despite missing 12 star names, including Barcelona's Patri Guijarro and Mapi Leon, due to a player protest, La Roja are in a first ever final

da pinnacle： A year ago, England crushed Spain's dream of becoming European champions. La Roja conceded a late equaliser in their quarter-final meeting in Brighton and then lost the game in extra-time. A year on, things have gone a little differently.

Spain conceded late equalisers to both the Netherlands and Sweden in their Women's World Cup quarter-final and semi-final, respectively, but would go on to emerge victorious in both matches. On paper, it looks like pretty simple progress, right? A team that has learned from the past, grown and got better. But the 12 months in between these two tournaments, the latter of which has seen Spain make history by reaching a first Women’s World Cup final, could not be much more complicated.

In that time, this team has been surrounded by off-pitch chaos, by player unavailability, by many expressing a desire for change within. Their World Cup squad, even, is without 12 top-quality names that have withdrawn from selection due to situations that have affected their "emotional and personal state".

And yet, Spain have made history and find themselves on the brink of even more. In New Zealand, they won a World Cup knockout match for the first time, reached the last four for the first time and then secured their spot in a first-ever final. Now, they'll fly over the Tasman Sea and land in Australia with hopes of winning the whole thing, hoping to get revenge against England in Sydney on Sunday.

With everything that has happened in the last year, how on earth have they achieved all of this? And can they continue to defy the odds by winning the Women's World Cup?

GettyTaking a stand

In the aftermath of last year’s Euros, which saw Spain succumb to eventual champions England in the last eight, the players felt that a fresh start was required. "We believe that there are internal aspects that they can change,” Irene Paredes, one of the team captains, explained. “There are times when things have to be said, even if it is not pleasant, for them to change.”

Contrary to reports, the players insisted that they had not expressed a desire for head coach Jorge Vilda to be dismissed, describing these as “false leaks”. Yet, the “feelings” they made known to the federation were evidently not acted upon in a way many felt satisfied with. A few weeks later, 15 of Spain’s national team players withdrew from selection.

"We requested in our communication sent to the RFEF (the Spanish Football Federation) not to be summoned until situations that affect our emotional and personal state, our performance and, consequently, the results of the national team and that could lead to undesirable injuries are reversed,” a statement shared by the 15 read.

The RFEF hit back, claiming that the behaviour was "far from exemplary and outside the values of football and sport".

“The RFEF, contrary to the way these players act, wants to make it clear that it will not take them to this extreme or pressure them. Directly, it will not summon the soccer players who do not want to wear the Spain shirt. The Federation will only have committed footballers, even if they have to play with youth.”

AdvertisementGettyReturning to the fold

For months and months, it appeared that nothing was going to change. Vilda called up several new players and others who had been on the fringes of the national-team picture, and they took their chances, as Spain lost just once between the Euros and the World Cup.

Then, in June, Vilda announced his provisional Women’s World Cup squad. Included were Aitana Bonmati, Mariona Caldentey and Ona Batlle, three of 'the 15', as well as Alexia Putellas, the two-time Ballon d’Or winner who also had shared the statement of her team-mates despite being unavailable for selection at the time. All four made the final cut, too.

“The player strike was so difficult,” Bonmati explained on . “You miss out on matches, money, sponsors, everything. You get killed in the press. But I wanted to be part of it. I felt that the Spanish football federation needed to invest more in us. Certain changes needed to be made if we were to win big tournaments. Which is what we want to do, otherwise what’s the point?

“During the season – and I can only speak for myself here – I had some meetings with the federation. Both parties agreed and accepted that some things had to change in order for me to come back. At that moment, I was hopeful that the federation would give us the backing we deserve. And so in the end, I decided to play this World Cup. I feel confident that I made the right decision.”

GettyDepth in quality

While ‘the 15’ were away, the players that Vilda called upon were proving their worth, too. The depth of talent in Spanish women’s football is incredible, and that much was being shown.

Salma Paralluelo, Barcelona’s talented teenager, scored a hat-trick on her debut. Alba Redondo, who top-scored in Spain this past season, became a more regular presence in La Roja’s line-ups. Claudia Zornoza, a consistent performer with Real Madrid, started to add to the one cap she won back in 2016.

At this World Cup, this has been emphasised even more. In the absence of Patri Guijarro, perhaps the best holding midfielder in the world, Teresa Abelleira has been truly excellent. Goalkeeper Cata Coll, meanwhile, came in for her debut in the last 16 and has been brilliant in her first three games for her country at senior level.

That several world-class players have been added to this already-performing squad has only bolstered their World Cup chances. Bonmati is the front-runner for this year’s Ballon d’Or; Putellas has won the last two of them; Mariona has one of the best footballing brains in the sport; Batlle is the best right-back in the world.

"There was some conflict, we all lived through it and we united for a goal that is incredible,” Abelleira said recently. “We want to go all out. It is going well and we can see that we are all super united."

GettyStill some doubts

Of course, though, there are still 12 names from that list of 15 that are not at this World Cup. Among them are many more of the world’s best. It means there are still doubts about whether Spain have enough to win this tournament, doubts that were amplified by a 4-0 defeat to Japan in the group stages.

That game showed that this is still a side that can be caught out in transition due to weaknesses in its spine. Paredes is one of the best centre-backs around, but she is missing not only Guijarro in front of her but also Mapi Leon, arguably the very best centre-back around, at the side of her, too.

It’s fair to say that the team hasn’t proven to be incredibly clinical, either. Under-performing their xG by more than two goals, Spain might've had 102 shots, but they've only scored 17 times. Of the eight nations to reach the quarter-finals, no team had a worse big chance conversion rate, either.

And then there are questions around Putellas and how she has been managed upon her return from a long time on the sidelines with an ACL injury. It took until midway through extra-time against the Netherlands for her to be introduced, despite Spain needing world-class quality like hers to get the job done in the quarter-finals.

She has played significant minutes since coming back – but have those been too significant? Could she have been eased in so that her minutes were not needing to be managed so drastically at times? It feels like we've only seen small glimpses of her world-beating qualities at this tournament, too. Could better minute-management have helped her?