After making a brief appearance off the bench for Spain in their Women’s World Cup match against Costa Rica on Friday, Coach Jorge Vilda has said that the team would want to get the best performance possible out of Alexia Putellas in the next tournament.
The Spaniards proved why they are among the favorites with a beautiful performance in a mismatch in Group C in Wellington. They fired 46 shots against opponents who spent virtually the whole game defending, and the result was flattering to them despite the fact that they were outscored.
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When La Roja scored three times in a span of six minutes in the middle of the first half, it seemed like they were going to run away with it, but they were unable to add any more goals.
The European heavyweights got a lift in the 77th minute when reigning two-time Ballon d’Or winner Putellas joined the game. Putellas’s health was in question when she cut short a training session on Monday, so her appearance in the game was a welcome surprise.
In the last minutes of the match, the Barcelona midfielder displayed some deft touches, and Vilda said that the medical team had advised her to play just a limited amount of minutes.
Since making his comeback in April from a major knee injury, the 29-year-old player has not yet finished a full game since his return.
“We are going to follow their recommendations and for today, they recommended that Alexia could play a little bit,” Vilda added. “We are going to follow their recommendations.”
Because she is such a high-quality player, every single second that she contributes is very important.
In the future, “What we’re going to do is our best to help her and get the best out of her.”
‘Extraordinary’
Aitana Bonmati, who plays on the same Barcelona squad as Putellas, was the game’s dominating figure and was voted player of the match because she created multiple scoring opportunities and scored the game’s only goal.
In a player rebellion against Vilda that shook Spain’s World Cup preparations, 15 players, including Bonmati, declared that they would not be available for selection. Bonmati was one of those players.
She and two others emerged from a self-imposed exile of nine months in order to compete in the World Cup.
When questioned whether or whether the topic was still causing stress, Vilda said that he did not want to “look backwards.” The players that decided to boycott Spain were concerned about a variety of factors, including the culture of the team’s camp and the authoritarian nature of Vilda.
“We’ve brought a lot of optimism with us to this year’s World Cup. “He remarked that we wanted to get off to a very clean and productive beginning.
“In my opinion, we shouldn’t be looking in the rearview mirror; rather, we should be looking into the future. Our gift to one another was the match that we competed in today, and I believe that it was received with great appreciation.
In the 21st minute of a match that was played in chilly and damp circumstances, the first goal was scored when a defender for Costa Rica named Valeria del Campo scored an own goal by cutting a low cross from Esther Gonzalez and putting it into her own net.
After Gonzalez had scored with a volley from close range, Bonmati increased their advantage by a factor of three.
Soon after that, it had the potential to be four, but goalie Daniela Solera saved a penalty kick from Jennifer Hermoso, who had the opportunity to make it four. Daniela Solera was a crucial figure in preserving the result.
Amelia Valverde, the head coach for Costa Rica, referred to Solera’s performance as “extraordinary” after the goalkeeper made nine saves, several of which were made with her fingertips in the second half.
As the match progressed, Spain experienced an increase in dissatisfaction, which led to a decrease in their fluidity; nonetheless, Vilda downplayed any worries over Spain’s wastefulness.
“Despite the fact that our team was crushing the competition, it is quite clear that we passed up a greater number of chances than we really capitalized on.
“We are going to make the most of all of this time by improving our training and preparation.”
When Costa Rica made its lone appearance at the World Cup eight years ago, their first match was a 1-1 draw with Spain. Since then, Costa Rica has yet to record their first victory in the tournament, and they were eliminated in the group stage.
The teams are grouped together with Japan and Zambia, who will compete against one another on Saturday.