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Women’s National Team

Montse Tomé: "The Path to the Elite is through being Self-Demanding"

The head coach addressed the media at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas.
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Tue, 19/11/2024 - 15:21

The head coach began by sending a message of support to those affected by the tragic recent weather catastrophes that impacted the Valencian Community and Castilla-La Mancha: "I want to send lots of strength and encouragement to all the cities affected by this natural phenomenon, especially to Valencia. I had the pleasure of living there for three years during my time as a player. These have been challenging weeks, and the situation remains difficult. Football has taken a back seat during this time. On behalf of my entire coaching staff and the whole Federation, I want to send our support to all the families who are suffering." 

She also took a moment to send well wishes to Athenea del Castillo, who suffered a bone fracture and will be sidelined for a while: "I want to send a message of encouragement to our player Athenea, just like we did with Inma, who are both recovering from long-term injuries. While Athenea's recovery time may not be as prolonged, we wish them strength for their recovery. We know they’re working hard to return to the pitch soon." 

 

For the upcoming friendlies against South Korea and France in this final window of the year, the head coach has called up some players to help shape the team she and her coaching staff envision. These are two "high-level friendlies, and we want to test these players in an international context, which is different from playing for their clubs." Montse Tomé highlighted Berta Pujadas for her strong performances in the national team age categories, having excelled at both the U-17 and U-20 levels. Having worked with her in the U-23s, Montse believes Berta is "a player with excellent ball distribution who’s doing well at Levante. We completed a positive assessment of her game and want to see what she can do with us." 

 

She also mentioned Maite Zubieta, whom she has known since she was 15. "One of the advantages of youth categories is being able to review coaching reports and make these decisions. She trained with us in the previous camp, and she did well. What we’ve seen this year has been positive. She’s young, so we need to be patient, but she has the quality to be among the 24. We see her more as a midfielder. She’s a very positional player, with great talent and character, vision, and a wide passing range. Maite can help us with this and we’ll see how she adapts to the training environment to assist the team."  

 

Regarding Macarena Portales, Montse mentioned that although they haven’t worked with her much yet and she hasn’t had much experience with the national team, "we’ve been following her closely, and she’s an exciting winger with great pace, strong one-on-one skills, capable of crossing well, and able to cut inside or go on the outside. These are qualities we need, which is why she’s here today."

 

Montse also spoke about Sheila and Alba Redondo, both of whom were part of the previous squad. "Sheila played in the Italy match and did a great job. She’s a player with lots of energy. As for Alba Redondo, there’s nothing more to say; she was part of the World Cup squad and performed at a very high level. She went through a phase where we thought other players might be more suited at the time, but now we have her back with us. She’s an excellent player and person, and we count on her to keep working hard."  

This focus on hard work and self-demand is one of Montse Tomé’s key principles, shared with her coaching staff. "The only path to the elite is through being self-demanding. Every day, you must put in the work to perform at your highest level. What’s certain is that the 24 players here right now fully deserve their place."  

Montse has a clear vision for her team: "I know exactly how I want the team to play, both on and off the field: collaboration, camaraderie, knowing how to conduct oneself... I say this from the bottom of my heart. The men's national team is a prime example; they deliver results, and their ability to mount comebacks, like the one against yesterday, speaks volumes about them. We want to instil this approach in our team, and we’re focused on identifying players who fit this model."  

Without closing the door on anyone, the coach also spoke about Claudia Pina’s potential call-up: "She’s a player who spoke to us ahead of the Olympics and is available for the national team in whatever capacity we need. She’s in good form, showing consistency in her performance, which we haven’t seen as much in previous years. She’s quick, intelligent, and a good finisher, with several attributes that can help us. Her past is behind her; from now on, she has a clean slate. Anyone who wants to be part of the team is welcome. We’ve made progress."  

After the recent friendlies against Canada and Italy, the team has assessed their performances. Montse stated, "The team needs to recalibrate, reposition itself, and start trusting more in the work we’ve been doing. We’ve been pulling in the same direction for a year, achieving results despite what one might think. Following the last camp, we heard criticism and doubts about our results. But the team has rediscovered its style of play. We could have won both games. We’ve analysed both matches properly, identifying improvements to make ahead of facing South Korea and France—two top-tier opponents. Our focus is to do our job well and be fair to the national team. We will continue in line with our principles and what we want for the team, both on and off the field. Performing at the very highest level is our goal, and we play to win and do the necessary work to achieve that. This is not about  'changing the cycle'—we’re not closing the door to any player. We always work with passion."  

"We are focused on building the team to represent us at the Euro 2025, and we have the Nations League match against England, which is a dream. These are the players we are counting on, and these are the ones we want to work with."  

 

The next matches will be against South Korea in Cartagena on Friday, 29th November, and against France in Nice on Tuesday, 3rd December.  

 

Listen again to Montse Tomé’s press conference.

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