MATCH REPORT | Esther González, Athenea and Alba give Spain an emphatic victory in Belgium (1-5)

A sunny afternoon and practically summer-like heat at Den Dreef were the setting for the clash between Belgium and Spain. And from the very first minutes, both the stands—almost entirely full—and the national team began to warm up the atmosphere by creating chances galore. Evrard made several top saves before the first 10 minutes were up, with attacks mainly coming down the right wing through Ona Batlle.

Spain’s quick, passing play gained momentum as the minutes went by. The through balls between the lines were constantly finding attacking players in promising positions, only for them to be denied time and again by the Belgian keeper. Batlle, Bonmatí, Putellas all moved the ball around neatly, pinning the Red Flames back, with the home side only being able to hope to hit Spain on the counter.

The hundreds of Spanish fans who filled one of the stands of the ground rose to their feet cheering for a goal that was not to be, as Alexia’s free kick missed by a whisker. Olga Carmona also tried her luck with a powerful long-range shot that went over the bar. Another cross from Mariona Caldentey flashed across the goal line with neither Esther nor Pina able to get a touch to turn it in.

Spanish persistence was finally rewarded in the 36th minute with a goal from Esther González. Spain had finally taken the lead after more than half an hour of laying siege to the Belgian goal. Aitana, Patri and Mariona combined well to set up González for the first for the side coached by Montse Tomé.

Elísabet Gunnarsdóttir made changes after the break, bringing on Missipo and Philtjens. But the storm of Spanish dominance continued unabated. Esther had a great chance to grab the second, only for the right post to deny her. Toloba then came on for the Belgians minutes before Montse Tomé made her first change in the match. Athenea received instructions from the coach before replacing Pina in the 61st minute. Evrard had just made another fine save, this time from Claudia, seconds before the latter was substituted.

But the next breakthrough came again through Esther González, who, after a pass from Athenea, seized the ball in the box and made no mistake to net her second of the night. It was the 64th minute. The moment that Lucía Corrales will never forget then came in the 76th minute. The youth prospect came on to make her debut for the national team at just 19 years old, replacing Olga Carmona. In that same instant, the scorer of the brace made way for Salma Paralluelo. The substitutes had barely made it on to the pitch when Athenea struck the third for Spain. And again, almost before the newcomers could take everything in, Athenea was popped up again to score her second and Spain’s fourth just a minute later. With the match under control, in the 81st minute Alba Redondo and Maite Zubieta came on for Mariona Caldentey and Patri Guijarro. Moments after coming on, Alba Redondo scored Spain’s fifth of the evening in Leuven. The Belgians grabbed a consolation goal in the final stages, courtesy of De Caigny.

With this victory, Spain maintained top spot in Group A3 with just one match remaining, one which will be played next Tuesday against England, who defeated Portugal 6-0.