Players have avoided celebrating with Jorge Vilda during the tournament after a huge fallout following last summer's Euros
If that raised eyebrows, the RFEF’s response saw them and raised the stakes. They accused those players of acting “outside the values of football and sport” and stressed that they would not select players for the national team who were not entirely committed to the role , even if they had to select youth players.Managers are not supposed to survive mutinies nor being disliked by their players.
But a first plot twist: Spain carried on winning – 11 of 13 games between the Euros and the World Cup including beating defending world champions USA, a 7-0 thrashing of Argentina and a 1-0 win over Japan in November 2022. Vilda, ignoring the high-profile absentees, called up a fresh crop of players and watched them thrive. Abelleira grew into her midfield role. Salma Paralluelo made her debut and scored a hat-trick. A crop of early 20-somethings were the direct beneficiaries.World Cup
, three of “Las 15” were back in: Aitana Bonmati, Mariona Caldentey and Ona Batlle. It was not lost on anyone that these were arguably the most important three to Spain’s chances of success. Vilda went to Barcelona to speak to the rebel group – three agreed; the rest didn’t. There have been some positive changes, according to some close to the camp. The RFEF have paid for family members of the squad to come to Australia. There are more support staff – a podologist, a second chef and an extra physio – to bring them in line with the men’s team. Spain are staying in the Intercontinental in Sydney, one of the best hotels in Australia.
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