MATCH REPORT | Spain’s firepower overwhelms Portugal (5–0)

With a pleasant breeze and cool summer heat, the packed Wankdorf Stadion was able to enjoy a magical night of football, and a dream opening match for Spain.

Neither the match nor the Euros could have started any better for Montse Tomé’s team. Barely two minutes had passed when Esther González put the national team ahead. It was Spain’s first goal in this European Championships and Esther scored it with a perfect finish past Pereira.

🤯 ¿Pero qué?... ¡¡𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗟!

Qué control. Qué definición. ¡QUÉ GOLAZO DE @Estheeer9 CUANDO A PENAS SE HA CUMPLIDO EL PRIMER MINUTO!

🇪🇸 1-0 🇵🇹 | 1'

📺 @La1_tve#WEURO2025 | #JugarLucharYGanar pic.twitter.com/1daiuIXEaA

— Selección Española Femenina de Fútbol (@SEFutbolFem) July 3, 2025

Spain blasted out of the blocks competing for every ball, trying to control the game from the start. So much so that in the 7th minute Vicky López netted the second for the national side. Ona Batlle combined with Mariona and her square pass was poked home by Vicky. At just 18 years old, she became the youngest Spanish player to score in a World Cup or European Championships.

💥 ¡¡𝗦𝗘𝗚𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗢 𝗗𝗘 𝗟𝗔 @sefutbolfem!!

¡¡Aparece 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘆 dentro del área para aumentar la ventaja!!

🇪🇸 2-0 🇵🇹 | 8'

📺 @La1_tve#WEURO2025 | #JugarLucharYGanar pic.twitter.com/Plh6wPnoP0

— Selección Española Femenina de Fútbol (@SEFutbolFem) July 3, 2025

Montse Tomé’s side constantly translated their intensity into dangerous chances; An effort from Esther forced a save from Inês Pereira, and there came Alexia’s powerful shot from outside the box, which narrowly missed the target, after beautiful play from Vicky. And the first half-hour of the match had not even passed. The combination between Claudia Pina and Alexia almost produced the third in the 35th minute, but Alexia got the fourth with a moment of magic in the 41st: a masterful piece of control, a top-quality feint, and an unstoppable strike for the third.

😐 ¡𝗠𝗔𝗠𝗠𝗔 𝗠𝗜𝗔! 

Lo tuyo es de locos, @alexiaputellas. Tremenda clase para recortar y definir ¡PERO QUÉ 𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗭𝗢!

🇪🇸 3-0 🇵🇹 | 41'

📺 @La1_tve#WEURO2025 | #JugarLucharYGanar pic.twitter.com/HvovF0S9pe

— Selección Española Femenina de Fútbol (@SEFutbolFem) July 3, 2025

Esther returned to the action with the fourth goal three minutes before half-time, just as the crowd at the Wankdorf Stadion were settling down after their celebrations of the third goal. With her 35 goals for Spain, the striker became the third-highest goalscorer in Spanish colours. The team then went into the break, four goals up and dominating Francisco Neto’s side.

💥 ¡𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗔 𝗘𝗟 𝗖𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗢!!

¡¡Doblete de @Estheeer9!!

🇪🇸 4-0 🇵🇹 | 43'

📺 @La1_tve#WEURO2025 | #JugarLucharYGanar pic.twitter.com/AzgavrGlEW

— Selección Española Femenina de Fútbol (@SEFutbolFem) July 3, 2025

The second half began with a change in the national team lineup. Montse Tomé brought on Athenea del Castillo to replace Claudia Pina. Portugal also made a change, with Borges coming on for Fonseca. What did not change was Spain’s dominance from the off, as in the first minute of play Alexia was already trying her luck on the Portuguese goal. 

Portugal had a couple of chances, one of which resulted in Spain’s first yellow card, shown to Laia Aleixandri in the 52nd minute. Despite the dominant lead on the scoreboard, Spain always wanted more, with Alexia, Mariona and Olga creating dangerous chances and drawing applause from the highly entertained crowd. 

Montse Tomé made a double substitution in the 66th minute, bringing on Salma Paralluelo and Jana Fernández to replace Esther González and Ona Batlle respectively. Francisco Neto responded by bringing on Ana Capeta and giving Jéssica Silva a rest in the 68th minute, and four minutes later Norton made way for Dolores Silva. Amid the wave of substitutions, Portugal mustered a few chances that were well defended by Spain.

Cristina Martín-Prieto was Montse Tomé’s fourth substitution in the match. She entered the Wankdorf turf in the 76th minute in place of Mariona Caldentey to see out the final minutes of a match Spain had under total control. It would not be the last change though, as taking advantage of the favourable scoreline, the head coach gave Aitana some minutes after recovering from her medical issues and working hard in preparation to be ready for Spain’s European Championships opener. She came on for Vicky López, both receiving loud applause from a crowd of 29,513 spectators.

In the final stretch, when everything seemed wrapped up, Spain added the cherry on top. Cristina Martín-Prieto scored the fifth with a header just seconds before the end of the match. The national team delivered an ideal performance to kick off their European dreams.

💥 ¡𝗟𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮 𝗲𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼!

¡@martinprieto_9 cierra el festín goleador de la @sefutbolfem!

🇪🇸 5-0 🇵🇹 | 94'#WEURO2025 | #JugarLucharYGanar pic.twitter.com/iLCpDtxWzN

— Selección Española Femenina de Fútbol (@SEFutbolFem) July 3, 2025