Spain are the last, and therefore sixteenth team to announce their 23-player squad for UEFA Women’s Euro 2022. The deadline for the competition is at the very latest on June 27th, with La Roja confirming theirs on the same day. However, Jorge Vilda is able to make changes if there is a serious injury or illness, so this squad may still change, but the likelihood of that is low.
Spain are in Group B which contains teams such as Denmark, Germany and Finland. Germany and Denmark are two teams who will be looking at the big prize with Spain, and because only 2 of them can go through it’ll become very competitive, very quickly. So who have Spain picked to make sure that they are one of those two.
THE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Sandra Panos, Lola Gallardo, Misa Rodriguez.
Defenders: Irene Paredes, Maria Leon, Leila Ouahabi, Andrea Pereira, Ivana Andres, Ona Batlle, Laia Aleixandri, Olga Carmona, Sheila Garcia.
Midfielders: Alexia Putellas, Mariona Caldentey, Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmati, Irene Guerrero.
Forwards: Lucia Garcia, Esther Gonzalez, Marta Cardona, Athenea del Castillo, Claudia Pina, Salma Paralluelo.
WHO TO LOOK OUT FOR?
There are a lot of big players, so I’ll cover a few more briefly. Newly signed Manchester City duo Leila Ouahabi and Laia Aleixandri will both be at this tournament. The pair will be fighting to start this summer, and Leila Ouahabi will be feeling a bit comfortable, as she has played for Spain since 2016 and 46 caps. However, after becoming a mainstay at Atletico Madrid and moving to Man City, Laia Aleixandri may have a shot.
2021 Ballon D’Or winner and Barcelona star Alexia Putellas is a player who many in England will be excited to see, and so as usual with Ballon D’or winners, everybody’s expecting a show from Putellas. The 28-year-old has played for Barcelona since 2012, racking up 283 appearances and 125 goals. She has played for Spain since 2013, and currently has 99 caps, with her 100th expected to come in her last game before the tournament.
Spain captain Irene Paredes is still a top-class defender for Barcelona and Spain, so is very different to some countries whose captain may be there for just their experience in the dressing room. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but it does help to have your captain at the top of their game and on the pitch. Anyway, she has lots of experience at an international level, being capped 82 times and playing since 2011.
Ona Batlle is another player who will probably be starting for Spain at the Euros. She has been brilliant for Manchester United, and even considered a move back to Barcelona. Many players of Spain play for Barcelona, so if Batlle decides to move next season, maybe her experience with the national team helped her decide that a move would help her. Either way, Batlle will be an interesting one to see at Euro 2022.
