Euro 2022: A guide to the Spain team

Euro 2022 is taking place at 10 venues across England between 6-31 July. Spain are in Group B, along with Germany, Denmark and Finland. Bea Redondo, a women's football writer based in Barcelona, assesses their chances this summer. (This was published before Alexia Putellas was ruled out through injury).

How will Spain do?

The 2022 Women's Euros have been marked on Spain's calendar for a while now. It's the team's big test at an international level after a few years of building a solid programme. Spain was in a development stage during the 2017 Euros, following the controversial departure of the previous coach, Ignacio Quereda, who had been in the job for 27 years up to 2015.

Since then, Spanish football has experienced the rise of Barcelona as a top European contender and an increase in public interest, so there are high hopes for the team both inside and outside Spain. With so many Spanish footballers playing for Barcelona, they should be able to replicate their success at the national level, right?

Well, not really. What to some people seems like a no-brainer isn't really working that well for head coach Jorge Vilda. The team doesn't have the same chemistry Barcelona has, even with as many as Barcelona players playing at the same time.

Vilda has had a few years now to solve Spain's big issue, the lack of goalscoring, and yet the team still faces the same challenges: they can play a beautiful possession-style football but lack conviction in the final third. Record scorer Jennifer Hermoso has also been ruled out through injury.

However, there are a few things in Spain's favour: the team does have a solid defence and they have Alexia Putellas, who has proven she's able to turn games around with some individual brilliancy. Personally, I doubt they'll win it. My predictions have them falling in the semi-finals. I hope I'm wrong, though!

Who is the manager?

Spain coach Jordge Vilda was appointed in 2015

Jorge Vilda is a veteran in the Spanish Football Federation, having been linked to the women's youth teams since 2009. In fact, he successfully guided the Under-17s and U19s to several Euros finals and has won three European titles. The announcement of Vilda as Quereda's successor was received with optimism and, for a few years, Spain's success in the Algarve and Cyprus Cup earned him a good reputation with press and fans.

However, in the last few years the team seems to have stalled in its progression and Vilda's struggle to find alternatives to Spain's lack of goals have started to raise eyebrows.

Vilda relies a lot on the Barcelona players, who will arrive at the Euros after a very intense season, and he hasn't really found a way to give Spain its own identity. During his press conferences, his calm and generally positive demeanour - even after bad games - is sometimes perceived as lack of ambition.

Who is the star player?

There is no question Putellas, the current Ballon d'Or holder, is Spain's star player. She was the Champions League top scorer this season and has been instrumental for Barcelona again this year.

For Spain, she continues to be the team's guiding light and her individual moments of brilliance often unclog the team when they struggle to score, like they did against Germany, Canada, Brazil and Scotland earlier this year.

Who is the rising star?

Sheila Garcia was a key player for Atletico Madrid last season

Since most of the Barcelona players are already well known, I'll go with Sheila Garcia. She's a fast full-back who is effective in attack and reliable in defence, and she has been a key player for Atletico Madrid this year.

I have a soft spot for Garcia, 25, who I have been following since her early days at Rayo Vallecano. While she hadn't been a consistent presence for Spain in the past, she was called in to replace Irene Paredes ahead of February's Arnold Clark Cup in England and has been quite impactful for the team, both as a starter and a sub in 2022.

Eighteen-year-old Salma Paralluelo's inclusion in the squad was a surprise to pretty much everyone and she could have been a surprise package at the tournament but the Villarreal forward, who is a top 400m runner, later withdrew from the squad through injury, replaced by Teresa Abelleira.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Lola Gallardo (Atletico Madrid), Sandra Panos (Barcelona), Misa Rodriguez (Real Madrid).

Defenders: Laia Aleixandri (Manchester City), Ivana Andres (Real Madrid), Ona Batlle (Manchester United), Sheila Garcia (Atletico Madrid), Olga Carmona (Real Madrid), Maria Leon (Barcelona), Leila Ouahabi (Barcelona), Irene Paredes (Barcelona), Andrea Pereira (Barcelona).

Midfielders: Teresa Abelleira (Real Madrid), Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona), Mariona Caldentey (Barcelona), Irene Guerrero (Levante), Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona).

Forwards: Marta Cardona (Real Madrid), Athenea Del Castillo (Real Madrid), Lucia Garcia (Athletic Club), Esther Gonzalez (Real Madrid), Claudia Pina (Barcelona).