Some players protested against their manager in 2022 but Jorge Vilda is still there as Spaniards’ interest in team grows
Jenni Hermoso could already feel the butterflies. There were plenty of tears shed after the win against the Netherlands, and if they can beat Sweden on Tuesday to reach Spain’s first World Cup final then doubtless there will be plenty more. But now, as she put it: “We need to feel that nervous sensation in our stomach. Just thinking about it gives me shivers. It feels so close.”
As she stepped into the press conference room at Auckland’s Eden Park, the first thing she noticed was the sheer number of journalists and cameras in the room. The semi-final between Spain and Sweden is a 46,000 sell-out, but of course Hermoso can remember the days when, as she put it, “there were five or 10 people asking us questions and 300 people watching the game”. She can sense the magnitude of what they might achieve. But she can also feel the weight of what they already have.
More Stories
Former Socceroos boss Graham Arnold named Iraq head coach
‘We have to show fight’: Arteta confident of kicking on despite pain of Paris
Slot confident Liverpool will make ‘new stars’ after Alexander-Arnold’s exit