Spain Women manager, Montse Tome has described their failure to win UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 as “a strange feeling”, following defeat to England in the Final.
Spain arrived at the tournament in Switzerland as the favourites and dominated Group B before dispatching Switzerland then Germany in the Quarter and Semi-Finals respectively, as they reached a maiden UEFA Women’s Euro Final.
Mariona Caldentey headed them into a 25th-minute lead before Alessia Russo’s header drew England level, which ultimately forced a penalty shootout in which Caldentey, Aitana Bonmati and Salma Paralluelo missed their penalties as the Lionesses defended their crown.
Speaking to the media post-match, Tome explained that there is a sadness around the team as she praised her squad for their efforts throughout the tournament, but credited England for hurting them on the second balls.
“It’s a final and we are sad because we weren’t able to win. I think the effort from all of the players was very good, they tried until the very end to try to win but then we arrived at a penalty shootout and we weren’t able to do it.
“I thought overall we were very good on the ball. They are a team that play a lot on the second balls and they managed to hurt us a bit in these situations. I think in extra time we got the momentum back, got on the ball and were able to attack, but we were not able to avoid a penalty shootout and in the end we were not able to do that better.”
Reflecting on the emotion of missing out on a chance to become the first team to hold Nations League, World Cup and Euro titles at once, Tome admitted that there was “a strange feeling” in the dressing room such was their desire to achieve the treble.
“Now we have a strange feeling because we wanted to win so much. You have it so close and you are not able to do it. But I am always proud of the effort of the team and the staff that has been really positive. Now we have to stop and relax, and that is what I’m going to do.”
Spain captain, Irene Paredes in their 2022 Women’s Euro Quarter-Final exit to England accused the referee – Stephanie Frappart of bias against the then tournament hosts, but this time refused to point any fingers in an interview with Spain’s TVE as she praised the Lionesses for having better slices of luck.
“I don’t really know what to say. It’s a very hard moment. We tried everything, all the different ways, and then the penalties didn’t go our way. I thought we deserved it more but in the end it is not about who deserves it.
“It is about having that bit of luck and England had that throughout the whole tournament. We thought we could overcome that but we weren’t able to.
“I think we had more control of the game than they did, we created more clear chances, we had more possession… But yeah, nothing else.”
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