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Montse Tomé: "There are no nerves, it's excitement and it will be a very competitive match"

The Spain Coach took questions from journalists ahead of the semi-final against Germany
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Tue, 22/07/2025 - 20:48

Just over 24 hours before the decisive semi-final match of the European Championships in Switzerland against Germany, Montse Tomé appeared in the press room where she reflected on Spain’s opponents, the state of her team, and the privilege of playing at this latter stage of a major tournament. A competition in which Spain feels a great deal of "excitement, without a doubt. It’s the tournament where we have felt most comfortable, where I’ve seen the most professional atmosphere in the squad, with the players only focused on playing. The team is mature and eager to compete tomorrow. We’re going to compete to win, we are a strong team. I see the team confident, excited, looking forward to the match starting tomorrow, I don’t see them nervous."

Spain has never beaten Germany and the Spain coach reflected on what kind of team their opponents are: "It’s true that since I’ve been with the national team over the past seven years, we’ve played Germany five times and haven’t managed to beat them. But in those five times we’ve been getting closer to winning each time. In the Olympic Games we had our chances and the performance levels were good. We are in a different place now, they are a different team and have a different coach. They have won 8 European Championships and their essence remains the same regardless of who is in charge of them."

In front of them is not just an opponent, but a massive sporting occasion itself, and it’s a match that is just one step away from the final: "It will be a very competitive match because it’s a Euros semi-final and we’re very eager for it."

Penalties have played a big role in this edition of the European Championships and for that reason she admitted they have been practising, although training cannot replicate the decisive match-day moment: "Reproducing what happens in a match with all the pressure, with a stadium of 30,000 people during a training session is hard to replicate. We’ve trained penalties and we’ve got more than one, two or three players who know how to take them. I’ve spoken with them and we’ve been trying out the different players. They’ve all taken penalties. And above all, we’ve been seeing how they feel about them. We have a list of takers who are very good, and during the match there’s also a feeling that dictates who should step up. If it’s not very clear, it’s my role to intervene, but we’ve practiced them very positively."

Dominating the match and Germany will come through possession: "The spaces will change throughout the match and we’ve practised reading those spaces, Spain must have the ball and maintain our essence. Spain has to dominate the ball."

 

 

Spain comes into the match in good shape, united, mentally focused on football and as a team: "We’ve grown through adversity. The positive thing is having a group of 23 players available to call upon at any time. The confidence is mutual — in what they can do and in what we can ask of them. The team is becoming more and more mature, they are focused. I see great understanding, contribution from all the players, it’s amazing to be with this group."

Creating a team and generating that sense of joy is a success, as Montse Tomé reflected: "That’s one of the internal and external successes that makes us who we are. The talent of the players is incredible, but we’ve created a team capable of assuming any role, and that’s part of the group’s maturity — you sit down with them and they understand what’s needed. It’s not just due to my work, I’m supported by a huge coaching staff and we all pull together in one very clear direction. They know the trust is there even if someone doesn’t play. Getting the most out of the talent we have is one of our clear goals."

“Cata would be up for anything if you let her,” Montse joked when asked if she’d let the goalkeeper take a penalty, before reflecting on the new side of the keeper she has seen in Switzerland: "She’s one of those players with personality and eagerness to be involved. In this tournament I’ve seen the other side of Cata. She fights to be at 100% and when she’s at 70% she tells me to go with another player who will be better for the team. The other day we gave her the opportunity and Cata is more than ready for these matches and anything in them, regarding her comment about taking a penalty..."

If she had positive words for Cata, she also had them for Alexia Putellas: "Everything I can say about her is all positive. I was with her at the last European Championships, she managed to turn things around and now she’s in a very good place for herself and for the national team and we see she’s enjoying football. It hasn’t been easy for her. You have to value players who are capable of turning adverse situations around. When you overcome something negative, good comes out of it — that you’ve given everything to come back and in this case we’re really happy for her, because football is her passion and she’s worked extremely hard to be here."

 

Watch Montse Tomé’s press conference ahead of the semi-final against Germany again 

Women's Euro 2025

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