Post by : Jyoti Gupta

Photo:Reuters

Spain’s top goalscorer Jenni Hermoso will not play for Spain at the upcoming European Championships in Switzerland. Hermoso, who is 35 years old, has scored 57 goals in 123 games for Spain and helped them win the World Cup in 2023.

Even though she played in all six qualifying matches, her last game for Spain was in October 2024. Now, she is one of 12 players left out of the team that won the World Cup.

After the World Cup, Hermoso was kissed by the former president of Spain’s football federation, Luis Rubiales, without her consent. Rubiales was later found guilty of sexual assault.

Spain’s coach, Montse Tomé, said she spoke with Hermoso about her situation. The coach explained that they looked at Hermoso’s recent games for her club Tigres and talked to her coach. Tomé said there are many strong players for Hermoso’s position, like Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmatí, Alexia Putellas, Maite Zubieta, Vicky López, Mariona Caldentey, and Claudia Pina. She said it’s hard to choose only 23 players, but the choices were made professionally.

Players like Mariona Caldentey, who played in Arsenal’s Champions League final win, and Leila Ouahabi from Manchester City are in the team. Two-time Ballon d’Or winners Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí are also included.

The European Championships start on July 2. Spain will play their first game against Portugal in Group B on July 3.