The Spain women's national football team, officially known as the Spain national football team (),
has represented
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in international
women's football Women's football most often refers to:
* Women's association football
Women's football may also refer to:
* Women's gridiron football
* Women's Australian rules football
* Ladies' Gaelic football
* Women's rugby league
* Women's rugby union
...
competitions since 1980. It is governed by the
Royal Spanish Football Federation
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas de Madrid, Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid.
RFEF organizes the natio ...
, the governing body for
football in Spain
Football is the most popular sport in Spain, with 61% of the population interested in it. Spain has some of the most influential teams in Europe (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, and others) as well as many playe ...
.
Spain are the
reigning and one of five national teams to have been crowned
world champions
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
, having qualified three times for the
FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...
and winning the title in
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
. They are one of only two countries alongside
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, to have won both women's and men's World Cups. Spain became the first nation in the women's game to be the world champions in all three categories (
U-17,
U-20 and
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
level) at the same time.
At continental level, Spain won the first edition of the
UEFA Women's Nations League
The UEFA Women's Nations League is a biennial international Women's association football, women's football competition contested by the senior List of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the member association ...
in
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
, becoming the first nation to win both women's and men's competitions. They also have qualified five times for the
UEFA Women's Championship
The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years and one year after the men's UEFA European Championship first held in 1984, is the main competition in women's association football between nationa ...
, reaching the semi-finals in
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
.
History
Early years
After underground women's football clubs started appearing in Spain around 1970, one of its instigators,
Rafael Muga, decided to create a national team. It was an unofficial project as football was considered an unsuitable sport for women by both the
Royal Spanish Football Federation
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas de Madrid, Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid.
RFEF organizes the natio ...
and
National Movement's
Women's Section
The women's page (sometimes called home page or women's section) of a newspaper was a section devoted to covering news assumed to be of interest to women. Women's pages started out in the 19th century as society pages and eventually morphed into ...
, which organized women's sports in
Francoist Spain
Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
. When asked about the initiative in January 1971 RFEF president
José Luis Pérez Payá answered "I'm not against women's football, but I don't like it either. I don't think it's feminine from an aesthetic point of view. Women are not favored wearing shirts and shorts. Any regional dress would fit them better".
One month later, on 21 February 1971, the unofficial Spanish national team, including
Conchi Sánchez, who played professionally in the
Italian league, made its debut in
Murcia
Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...
's
La Condomina against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, ending in a 3–3 draw. The team wasn't allowed to wear RFEF's crest and the referee couldn't wear an official uniform either. On 15 July, with a 5-days delay for transfer issues, it played its first game abroad against
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
's
Stadio Comunale, suffering an 8–1 defeat. It was then invited to the 2nd edition of unofficial women's world cup (
Mundialito 1981), but RFEF forbid them to take part in the competition. Despite these conditions Spain was entrusted hosting the 1972 World Cup. RFEF vetoed the project, and the competition was cancelled and disbanded. The unofficial Spanish team itself broke up shortly after.
1980s: Officiality of the team
After the
transition to democracy
Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction.
Whether and to what ...
in the second half of the decade RFEF finally accepted women's football in November 1980, creating first a
national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League. For most of th ...
and next a national team, which finally made its debut under coach
Teodoro Nieto on 5 February 1983 in
A Guarda
A Guarda is a municipality in the province of Pontevedra in the autonomous community of Galicia, in Spain. It is situated in the ''comarca'' of O Baixo Miño.
Demography
Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) ...
,
Pontevedra
Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...
. The opponent was again Portugal, which defeated Spain 0–1. The team subsequently played 2-leg friendlies against
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
drawing with both opponents in
Aranjuez
Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid.
Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of the Tagus, a bit upstream of the discharge of the Jarama. , the munici ...
and
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
and losing in
Perpignan
Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...
before it finally clinched its first victory in
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
(0–1). On 27 April 1985 it played its first official match in the
1987 European Championship's qualification, losing 1–0 against
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
. After losing the first four matches Spain defeated Switzerland and drew with Italy to end third. The team also ended in its group's bottom positions in the subsequent
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
and
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
qualifiers. In 1988 Nieto was replaced as manager by
Ignacio Quereda
Ignacio Quereda Laviña (born 24 July 1950) is a Spanish football coach who managed the Spain women's national football team between 1988 and 2015.
Playing career
Born in Madrid, Quereda was raised in Badajoz where his family moved when he was ...
, who went on to coach the team for the next 27 years. Years later he would confess: ''There was never love or support from the Federation towards those women soccer players''.
Teodoro Nieto left International Footballer Conchi Sanchez (Amancio) out of the Spanish team even though the player was the first Captain during the 70s and was winning championships in Italy.
1990s and 2000s: Growing up
The
1995 Euro qualifying marked an improvement as Spain ended 2nd, one point from
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, which qualified for the final tournament. In these qualifiers Spain attained its biggest victory to date, a 17–0 over
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
. In the
1997 Euro qualifying it made a weaker performance, including a record 0–8 loss against
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
in
Gandia
Gandia (, ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa de Valencia, south of Valencia, Spain, Valencia and north of Alicante. Vehicles can ...
, but the European Championship was expanded to eight teams and Spain still made it to the repechage, where it defeated England on a 3–2 aggregate to qualify for the competition for the first time. In the first stage the team drew 1–1 against France, lost 0–1 against host Sweden, and beat 1–0
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
to qualify on goal average over France to the semifinals, where it was defeated 2–1 by Italy. All three goals were scored by
Ángeles Parejo
María Ángeles Parejo Jiménez is a Spanish former women's soccer, football Striker (association football), striker who developed her career in Italy's Serie A (women's football), Serie A, playing for ACF Torino, Torres Calcio Femminile, Torres ...
.
This success was followed by a long series of unsuccessful qualifiers. In the
1999 World Cup qualifying round, Spain ended last for the first time, not winning a single game. In the
2001 Euro's qualifiers, it made it to the repechage, where it suffered a 3–10 aggregate defeat against
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. In the
2003 World Cup qualifying stage, it again ended last despite starting with a 6–1 win over
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
. In the
2005 Euro's qualifiers, where a 9–1 win over
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
was followed by a 5-game non-scoring streak, it ended 3rd behind Denmark and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. In the
2007 World Cup qualifying round, the team again ended 3rd behind Denmark and
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
despite earning 7 more points.
In the
2009 Euro qualifiers, Spain made its best performance since the 1995 qualifiers, narrowly missing qualification as England clinched the top position by overcoming a 2–0 in the final match's second half. Spain had to play the repechage, where it lost both games against the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. In the
2011 World Cup, Spain again ended 2nd, with no repechage, after England again overcame a half-time 2–0 in their second confrontation.
2010s: First World Cups
Spain finally achieved a place in the final stage of a European Championship, having qualified for the
UEFA Women's Euro 2013
The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for List of women's national association football teams#UEFA, women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament ...
after beating
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in the qualifiers playoff. In the group stage, a win over
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and a draw against
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
was enough to qualify for the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated by Norway.
Two years later, Spain qualified for the first time ever to a
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
, winning nine of its ten matches of the qualifying round. In the group stage of the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...
, however, their campaign ended up being a disaster. Spain managed only a 1–1 draw into the weakest team in the group,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
, before losing 0–1 to
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. In their last match with
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, they lost 1–2 after an initial lead, becoming the worst European team in the tournament. After the World Cup, the 23 players on the roster issued a collective statement for the end of Ignacio Quereda's reign as head coach. Later that summer, Quereda stepped down and was replaced by
Jorge Vilda
Jorge Vilda Rodríguez (born 7 July 1981) is a Spanish football coach and UEFA Pro Licence holder, who is currently the head coach of the Morocco women's national team, since 12 October 2023. Previously, he was the head coach of the Spain wome ...
, who had previously coached the
U-19 team and was on the shortlist for the
2014 FIFA World Coach of the Year.
Spain qualified for the
UEFA Women's Euro 2017
The 2017 UEFA European Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2017, was the 12th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship organised by UEFA for the ...
by winning all its matches and finishing 11 points ahead of the second-placed team.
In 2017 the national team participated for the first time in the
Algarve Cup
The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...
winning the tournament.
However, its performance in the
UEFA Women's Euro 2017
The 2017 UEFA European Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2017, was the 12th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship organised by UEFA for the ...
was very disappointing: only one match won (against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, the worst ranked team in Euro), two defeats against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
(0–2) and
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
(0–1) in the group stage. Nevertheless, Spain advanced to the quarterfinals, at which point it lost against
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
in a match finishing 0–0 after extra time and then 3–5 in a penalty shoot-out. The national football team was therefore eliminated after more than 345 minutes without scoring a single goal.
At the
2019 Women's World Cup
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...
, Spain were in
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...
with
China PR
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. They finished second in the group to progress to the
knockout stage
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
of a World Cup for the first time in their history. However, the team was eliminated in the round of 16 by the eventual champions
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
In October 2019, the federation announced the creation of
''España Promesas'' (essentially Spain B), a team for players too old for younger age groups but not in the latest full squad, to provide training and occasional match experience for those in consideration for the future, that was later reconverted and renamed Spain under-23.
2020s: Golden Generation
Spain broke into the top 10 of the
FIFA World Rankings
The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, first introduced in December 1992. The men's teams of the member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their gam ...
in the early 2020s, while their players won all the categories of the
UEFA awards, the first time from a single nation in 2021.
Spain qualified for the
UEFA Women's Euro 2022
The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champio ...
undefeated and assembled what would be the strongest ever Spanish team in history, and was ranked among the top contenders for the title.
However, just before the tournament began, Spain suffered two big blows, with both
Jennifer Hermoso
Jennifer Hermoso Fuentes (born 9 May 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX Femenil club Tigres UANL and the Spain national team. She is the all-time top scorer for Spain, and was part of her country's c ...
and
Alexia Putellas
Alèxia Putellas i Segura ( , Alexia Putellas Segura; born 4 February 1994), often known mononymously as Alexia, is a Spanish professional footballer from Catalonia who plays as a midfielder or forward for Liga F club Barcelona, which she cap ...
withdrew due to sustaining injury. Without the two taliswomen in the squad, Spain failed to perform at full expectation in the tournament and only reached the quarter-finals in second place after Germany. Spain then performed well against England, even took the lead in 54' by
Esther González
Esther González Rodríguez (born 8 December 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for National Women's Soccer League club Gotham FC and the Spain national team. She previously played for Atlético Málaga, Sport ...
, but conceded a late equalizer by
Ella Toone
Ella Ann Toone (born 2 September 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Women's Super League club Manchester United W.F.C., Manchester United and the England women's national football team, England ...
before
Georgia Stanway
Georgia Marie Stanway (born 3 January 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Frauen-Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the England national team. Stanway started her senior career at Blackburn R ...
crushed Spain's hope to win a major European title in extra time.
2022–23 dispute and withdrawal of ''las 15''
In September 2022, fifteen players sent an email removing themselves from national team consideration.
Seven players who did not sign the letter claimed they were pressured by their club,
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
, not to do so, a claim the club denied. The initial player complaints included poor quality of training under Vilda and his staff compared to their club environment, a lack of tactical preparation for matches, and claims of a controlling environment in which players would be frequently questioned about their whereabouts and shopping purchases. By April 2023, many of the players had entered talks with the federation.
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup title and controversy
At the
2023 World Cup, La Roja finished second in
Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...
. Spain then defeated
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
in the knockout stages to reach their first World Cup final. This Women's World Cup was also the first in which Spain reached a semi-final. Spain eventually won, winning their first World Cup title, by defeating
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
1–0 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
thanks to a goal from
Olga Carmona
Olga Carmona García (born 12 June 2000) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left back for Première Ligue club Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national team. She played for Sevilla previously before joining the Madrid side. ...
.
During the trophy ceremony, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President
Luis Rubiales
Luis Manuel Rubiales Béjar (born 23 August 1977) is a former Spanish Association football, football official and professional player who played as a Defender (association football), defender, appearing in 53 La Liga matches over three seasons. ...
kissed Spain player
Jenni Hermoso
Jennifer Hermoso Fuentes (born 9 May 1990) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Liga MX Femenil club Tigres UANL (women), Tigres UANL and the Spain women's nationa ...
on the lips without her consent.
Five days after winning the World Cup, 81 players (including the tournament squad) announced they would refuse to play for Spain until the leadership of the RFEF changed due to the
Rubiales affair
The Rubiales case () refers to the fallout, both social and sporting, caused by the conduct of Luis Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), beginning in August 2023. After allegations of inappropriate behavior duri ...
.
During the subsequent aftermath, The RFEF dropped the word “women” from the official title. Both men and women’s teams now go by the gender neutral name “Seleccion Espanola de Futbol”. The logo and the branding of both teams were also aligned. Each team has one star over the logo in honour of them winning a world cup each.
In a quote, the then interim president Pedro Rocha said:
2024 Summer Olympics
Spain qualified their first ever team for the women’s football tournament at the
2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
in Paris. Spain finished atop Group C, winning all three of their group matches and accumulating nine points.
In the quarterfinal against Colombia, Spain netted two late-game goals to equalize the match with a 2-2- scoreline. The match was ultimately decided via penalty shootout, in which Spain defeated Colombia 4-2. Despite being regarded as favorites to win the gold medal, Spain was defeated by Brazil in a match that was widely characterized as an upset. Publications took note of Brazil's dominance and Spain's lapses in defense. Spain were ultimately defeated by Germany in the bronze medal match as a result of the national team conceding a penalty kick, and missing one of their own in second-half stoppage time. Their inability to earn a medal described as an underperformance.
Results and fixtures
* The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
;Legend
2024
2025
Coaching staff
Current personnel
Manager history
Players
Current squad
The following 23 players were named to the squad for
UEFA Women's Euro 2025
The 2025 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2025 or simply Euro 2025, will be the 14th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the wome ...
.
:''Caps and goals as of 3 June 2025''
Recent call-ups
* The following players were also named to a squad in the last 12 months.
PRE
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Player retired from the national team
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.
Previous squads
;World Cup
*
2015 World Cup squad
*
2019 World Cup squad
*
2023 World Cup squad
;Olympic Games
*
2024 Olympic squad
;European Championship
*
Euro 1997 squad
*
Euro 2013 squad
*
Euro 2017 squad
*
Euro 2022 squad
;Nations League Finals
*
2024 Nations League squad
;Others
*
Grand Hotel Varna Tournament 1992 squad
*
Grand Hotel Varna Tournament 1995 squad
*
Tournament Slovakia 1996 squad
*
Algarve Cup 2017 squad
*
Cyprus Cup 2018 squad
*
Algarve Cup 2019 squad
*
SheBelieves Cup 2020 squad
*
Arnold Clark Cup 2022 squad
*
Cup of Nations 2023 squad
Records
:
''Caps and goals as of 31 May 2025.''
:Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.
Most caps
Most goals
Captains
List of captains by appearances as captain
Hat-tricks
X The superscript indicates the number of goals scored by each player in that match
Most clean sheets
Clean Sheets: Goalkeeper must play at least 60 minutes to obtain the points of a clean sheet.
Average: percentage of clean sheets achieved per game
Ratio: goals conceded per game
Competitive record
FIFA Women's World Cup
Olympic Games
UEFA Women's European Championship
UEFA Women's Nations League
Other tournaments
Overall official record
Rankings
FIFA Women's World Rankings
UEFA Women's National Team
Coefficient Ranking
;Ziaian Women's Football
Rankings
Honours
Major competitions
*
FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...
** Champions (1):
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
*
UEFA Women's Nations League
The UEFA Women's Nations League is a biennial international Women's association football, women's football competition contested by the senior List of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the member association ...
** Champions (1):
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
Friendly
*
Algarve Cup
The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...
** Champions (1):
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
*
Cyprus Cup
The Cyprus Women's Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's football. It has been held annually in Cyprus since 2008. Although the competition takes place in Cyprus, the hosts have yet to take part in the competitio ...
** Champions (1):
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
*
SheBelieves Cup
The SheBelieves Cup is an invitational women's association football, women's soccer tournament held in different cities in the United States in late February or early March. In its first three years (2016, 2017, and 2018), it was contested by t ...
** Runners-up (1):
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
*
Arnold Clark Cup
The Arnold Clark Cup is an invitational women's association football tournament hosted by the Football Association in England, starting in 2022. It is named after car retailer Arnold Clark, who signed a multi-year sponsorship deal. ITV acts as t ...
** Runners-up (1):
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
*
Cup of Nations
** Runners-up (1):
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
*
Grand Hotel Varna Tournament
** Third place (1): 1995
Individual awards
Other awards
*
National Sports Awards – Best national sports team (2014)
*
Royal Order of Sporting Merit – Gold Plaque (2023)
*
Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year
The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year. It was established in 1999 by Laureus Sport for Good Foundation foundin ...
(2024)
Youth teams
Under-23
Under-20/19
Under-17
See also
;
Women's football in Spain
Women's football in Spain is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Currently there are two national competitions, the Liga F and the Copa de la Reina – which also feed into the Supercopa de España Femenina – in the professional ...
*
List of Spain women's international footballers
*
List of Spain women's national football team captains
*
Spain women's national under-20 football team
The Spain women's national under-20 football team represents Spain in international football in under-20 categories and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
Fixtures and results
;Legend
2021
2022
...
*
Spain women's national under-19 football team
The Spain women's national under-19 football team represents Spain in international football in under-19 categories and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
Competitive record
UEFA Women's U19 Championship record
Copa del ...
*
Spain women's national under-17 football team
The Spain women's national under-17 football team represents Spain in international football in under-17 categories and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The youth team has reached the World Cup Finals on four occasions (20 ...
*
Spain women's national under-23 football team
The Spain women's national under-23 football team, also known as ''Spain B'' or ''España Promesas'' ('Spain Promises'), is the national representative Women's association football team of Spain at under-23 age level, and is controlled by the Roy ...
*
Spain women's national futsal team
*
Spain women's national beach soccer team
The Spain women's national beach soccer team represents Spain in international women's beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the RFEF, the governing body for football in Spain.
Competitive records
Euro Beach Soccer Cup
The ''Taça E ...
Notes
References
External links
* by
RFEF
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid.
RFEF organizes the national cup competitio ...
Spainat
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
Spainat
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
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