Jenni Hermoso: Football as a Lifelong Passion

“Behind this shirt lies a whole life lived, and… wow. The national team has accompanied me throughout my entire career, through the good and the bad. I’ve always been proud to wear this shirt, and I’m proud of myself because today, I’m still here wearing it. I never let myself fall. I’ve always tried to overcome everything and prove to myself that football is my passion, and that the national team is one of the most beautiful things I have ever felt—and still feel.”

When passion drives you, nothing can stop you—and that is what has brought Jenni Hermoso to this moment in her life, ever since that day in June 2012 when she first wore the senior national-team jersey.

In these more than thirteen years, she has won a World Cup and a Nations League, living historic moments and becoming part of Spain’s footballing history.

“For all those beautiful moments with the national team, for everything I still have ahead of me, because I still want to enjoy football… that’s what has pushed me forward, kept me enjoying this sport, and kept me strong. That strength has been the foundation—never losing myself—to still be here today.”

Jenni Hermoso has played 124 matches for Spain, scoring 57 goals.

Receiving the national-team call-up again—and the way she found out—is a moment she will never forget:

“It meant so much to me because they made me a drawing listing all of my matches with the national team and every minute played. I said, ‘wow.’ So much life has passed by. You look back and think: what do you hold on to? Everything we learned from those who came before us, who gave us the foundation we are now able to enjoy. And today, in the same way, we’ll leave a foundation for those coming after us, so they can enjoy football and feel the same excitement.”

Still full of motivation and hunger to win, the former FC Barcelona, Rayo Vallecano, Atlético de Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain player—now a goalscorer for Tigres Femenil—recently celebrated a long-awaited triumph on the other side of the ocean:

“I really wanted to lift a trophy in Mexico—it had already been three years. You’re far from your family and from everything. It’s one of the most beautiful things, the one I enjoyed the most, the one I celebrated the most… with calm. Celebrating with the peace of mind that you’ve given everything and that everything has its reward. It’s something I’ll keep with me forever—one of the most special titles I’ve ever won.”

She has celebrated both the World Cup and the Nations League titles with Spain.

But undoubtedly, the most beautiful thing for the Madrid-born forward is the support of her family and her people—whom she misses deeply while living so far away, and who will be close again in the stands of the Metropolitano for the Nations League final:

“Thanks to them, I am who I am today. When I walk through that tunnel and see the stadium full, knowing my family is there, it will be incredibly emotional and beautiful. I want them to be part of everything—especially moments as special as this final. It’s a single-match final, and we’re all going to enjoy it so much.”

The football she feels, plays, and lives may gift her another title—a second consecutive Nations League:

“As a person, I’m grateful for everything that has happened to me and everything I have overcome. To be able to close this chapter by repeating this story would be something I’d frame forever in my life. For 2026, I ask for the same thing I’ve asked for in recent years: peace, and staying true to the essence I’ve always carried within me—so I can keep enjoying football.”

And when she says enjoy, she also means making others enjoy it, too.