WELLINGTON, New Zealand — There was something apt about Spain shrugging off the distraction of an earthquake in Wellington to reach the Women’s World Cup semifinals for the first time with a 2-1 extra-time win against Netherlands.
La Roja have been de-stabilised by a faultline of their own for the past year, with coach Jorge Vilda still in charge for this tournament despite 15 of his players — known as ‘las 15’ — writing to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) demanding changes to the set-up. The players denied calling for Vilda to be fired, wanting only improvements behind the scenes, but the RFEF claimed otherwise and threw their support behind Vilda, who has been in charge 2015.
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Ever since the so-called mutiny last October, Spanish football has been struggling to restore calm. Only three of ‘las 15’ made it into Vilda’s squad for this World Cup, with the dressing room reportedly split on the events of last year, and the wounds have clearly not healed, with defender One Batlle saying last month: “You don’t have to be best friends with your teammate.”
Yet despite all of the tension and the issues that still simmer, Spain are now one game away from the World…
