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Women’s National Team

Montse Tomé: ‘Spain are going to be Spain’.

The national team go into the match against South Korea tomorrow with a full squad at Montse Tomé's disposal.
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Thu, 28/11/2024 - 21:22

The coach wanted to start the press conference by sending a message of remembrance to the family of Joaquín Retamosa, who she referred to as ‘a professional colleague and a player who has worked in the lower age categories of the women's national teams and who has left us this week’.

Tomorrow, the national team will face South Korea at the Cartagonova stadium and will be looking for their true essence: ‘Korea is a team we don't have much information about, we've only been able to watch one game since the change of coach, but Spain have to be Spain. We have seen what we can improve, how to generate advantages and how to create chances taking more time in the final third that will allow us to have more clarity. Spain are going to be Spain. We want to get the ball, get into the box and have the clarity to score goals. And we want to defend well and take care of the finer details. At the highest level the details make the difference. Certain details allow you to start or finish the game in one way or another. That's where our focus is, on the best of what the team can continue to improve’.

Montse Tomé has all 24 players available to face the Koreans, although she didn't want to give any clues about tomorrow's starting eleven: ‘Good question, the good thing is that we have all 24 available. We have one player, Maca, who arrived feeling some discomfort but in the end her enthusiasm, motivation and desire to stay, plus the work of the medical staff and physios, which has been incredible to recover the player and allow her to be able to complete the training sessions. All the 24 players are important, that's what we've told them and that's what they're experiencing in the training camp’.

The team and the coaching staff are feeling good and looking forward to the clash, and that's how this week's training sessions have been, full of positive energy: ‘We're the day before the match, we've been able to enjoy four good training sessions and meet up again after a month between training camps. The energy has been positive. We've brought in two players like Maite and Maca who have good energy. Maite, from the U23s and Maca, her first training camp. They give a boost and a very good energy. We've been working on the plans we want to execute and the energy we want to play with, and we're happy with what we're seeing and what we want’.

Montse also praised the quality and talent of the Spanish players: ‘We have some great players who are doing well in the leagues we follow. That's what Spain's talent is, having variety and resources to build the squads out of. Athenea has an injury and she will be back soon, she is happy, and Alexia is a last minute absence, she is our captain and a leading player and we hope she recovers soon’.

Tomorrow she expects the Cartagonova stadium to have a great atmosphere: ‘I've been here for a Spain-Belgium match that we drew one all, with a cross from Leila that Alba finished off with some quick thinking. We hope that the fans come to the stadium, that they can enjoy the game that we play, and that the effort that the players put in on the pitch will lift everyone who attends. We want it to be a celebration of football and we want more people to follow these players. We have a lot of talent and players with a lot of quality to play football, we are going to be able to enjoy them for a long time’.

Montse was joined by one of the team captains, Olga Carmona, who spoke with pride about what this means to her: ‘The captaincy of the national team is a great responsibility and a source of great pride. On this occasion I am accompanied by Patri, Aitana and Mariona. I'm aware of the importance of this role but I'm just another player. There are many leaders in the team and wearing the armband doesn't mean anything extra’.

The players are very clear about how to approach the match against the Koreans: ‘Every game we try to take the game to the opponent and set the pace, dominate them, subdue them and defend for as little time as possible. We've analysed Korea, we've got our plan and we'll see how it goes. We don’t want to concede any goals and we want to be effective up front.

The competitive tension and hunger for victory is such in this national team squad that they don't understand the term ‘friendly’. Olga, like everyone else, wants to win everything: ‘In the end it's true that it's a friendly match but I think all the players in the team are aware of the importance of every international match. We don't take it as a friendly. In the summer we have a very exciting objective. To go to Switzerland and win the championships. Even if we don't win, we will take it very seriously, we have to make the most of the time we have together to build this team for the summer’.

Watch Montse Tomé and Olga Carmona's pre-match press conference before Spain- South Korea.

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