MATCH REPORT | Resounding victory over France to end 2024 (2-4)

Under cloudy skies in Nice and in the cauldron of the Allianz Riviera, France and Spain took to the pitch. After tentative opening exchanges between the two sides, Spain took the pace of the match up a notch with a number of dangerous runs stemming from avoiding the French high press. 

The internationals, dressed entirely in red, showed their essence to the Allianz crowd. Quick touches, short, with vertical moves that ended with the first goal 5 minutes into the match. Mariona Caldentey crossed for Aitana to finish off. It was her 28th goal for Spain and she scored again against France as she did in the UEFA Women's Nations League final. 

The pace of the game was hectic, from one area to the other, with Spain looking serious in defence and lively in attack. So much so that in the 23rd minute, Claudia Pina headed into the back of the net after some quick touches and an assist from Aitana. The score was 0-2 after a move ‘made in Spain’. Then, the goal that brought the French side within one goal was the result of an unfortunate chance when a cross from the right was deflected into the back of the net by María Méndez, Nanclares could do nothing about it. 

After the break, the blue and reds once again put on a show in front of more than 6,000 spectators. Montse Tomé's team, with a solid defensive block, stopped the Bleues' attacks in the early stages of the second half. The momentum changed with Tere Abelleira's long-range shot that forced Picaud to be at full stretch. Spain’s pressure was telling, with Lucía García's goal to extend the gap on the scoreboard to 1-3 after some great combination play between Mariona and Ona Batlle. 

With this advantage, Montse Tomé made a double substitution, bringing on Amaiur Sarriegi and Leila Ouahabi to replace Olga Carmona and Lucía García, who had just scored the third goal. The French team's second goal was added to the scoreboard after a VAR review for a possible offside by Diani, which the Romanian referee Ionela Alina did not give. Macarena Portales and Maite Zubieta had just come on to replace Tere and Claudia when Mariona Caldentey scored the fourth from the penalty spot after a handball inside the area by Dali. Bruna Vilamala and Sheila García came on for Aitana and Mariona to play the last few minutes of a game that did not see the scoreboard change again.

With these two victories, against South Korea and France, scoring nine goals along the way, the national team bid farewell to a year 2024 in which it achieved its first UEFA Women's Nations League victory, its first qualification for the Olympic Games, qualification for the UEFA European Championships in Switzerland and its first Olympic Games appearance. 2025 promises to be an exciting year with a new qualifying round for the second edition of the Nations League and of course for next summer's European Championships.