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Paris – Spain will have to ride the equivalent of Mount Everest if they are
to escape the most difficult group of Women's World Cup, According to them
coach Jorge Vilda.
A tough draw placed Spain in Group B with Germany, China and
South Africa, the latter being their first opponents in Le Havre
Saturday.
Germany, the reigning Olympic champion, is one of the favorites for
raises trophy in France, despite coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg
only taking over in November.
At the same time, South Africa and China have both moved closer together.
winning the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Games respectively
last year. South Africa lost on penalties against Nigeria in the final while
China has been denied only by a last minute Japanese goal.
"I think we have received the most difficult group of the tournament, and by far," Vilda said in an interview with AFP.
"If I compared it to a mountain, it would be like climbing three peaks over 8,000 meters.
"Germany may be the Everest of our group but South Africa and China
also play at an extremely high level and it will be difficult to
Bats them.
"South Africa has so much speed to go forward but it's as strong as it is
and disciplined. Germany is one of the favorites for the title and we
have never managed to beat them. And then there is China, which also has a fantastic team. "
Spain had a perfect qualifying campaign, winning all eight
their matches by conceding only two goals, but their difficult draw
might not end in groups, with the United States a potential enemy in
the last 16.
In addition, they never reached the knockout stages of a World Cup, but
youth success has created a sense of optimism this summer,
helped by impressive results in friendly matches.
In November, they held Germany to a draw in Erfurt before
lose a bit against the United States and beat the Netherlands,
Switzerland, Brazil and Cameroon.
Asked about Spain's goals for the tournament, Vilda said: "To get
through, to improve and be a better team. We do not see the world cup
as an end in itself, it is an important part of a process of
improvement for us, but we have to see what happens.
"In these competitions you have to keep a cool head and keep your
down to earth because this is only our second World Cup after 2015. We
go in with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement, but we have to
be careful too.
"We raised expectations after our strong qualifying campaign and
good performances in friendly matches against big teams. We can not wait
for the first match. "
Women's football in Spain has received unprecedented attention
season, as Barcelona reached its first Champions League final, two
months after a European record crowd of 60,739 watched them play
Atletico Madrid at Wanda Metropolitano.
The Spanish team is dominated by players from Barca and Atletico, who
finished six points ahead of the Catalans to win the Liga last season,
Levante, third, 21 points from the first two.
"We must now develop the game more at the youth level," Vilda said.
"We are doing well at the top, but this pyramid needs to be strengthened
base if we want the first and second divisions as well as the region
leagues, to improve.
"We need to support clubs and help them build better
structures and locations. Then, to be among the best in the world, just
stay calm and wait for the talent to materialize. "
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