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Women’s National Team

Tere Abelleira: "Our opponents will see beating the World Champions as a bonus".

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Thu, 26/10/2023 - 19:00

There is just one day until Spain face Italy in the third match of the UEFA Women's Nations League and both Montse Tomé and Tere Abelleira spoke to the media in Salerno to analyse the clash.

The coach stressed that the national team "do not play with fear" but with "conviction". She acknowledged that she had studied the opposition in order to fine tune her approach to tomorrow's game: "We have taken Italy's two last matches into account. It's a game we've prepared for by focusing not only on what sort of team we will face, but above all, about what we want to do".

 

The coach also detailed the selection process; from the start of the training camp right up until the starting line-up is chosen on matchday: "We are lucky to have so much talent. Our responsibility is to get the best out of that talent and think about the game plan to see how we can attack and combat our opponents. We think about it from the start of the training camp, we look at the players' form and analyse the opposition ahead of time. We decide on the starting eleven on the last day, putting all the information on the table. The coaching staff let me know everything they feel and see based on training, but I'm the one who makes the final decisions."

She also welcomed the idea of taking part in the UEFA Women's Nations League: "We're in a competition we're very excited about.

As for Tere Abelleira, she first emphasised how difficult taking on the Italians will be: "Italy are a strong team who play with high intensity. We know we have to be switched on from the very start because they will be in the game for the whole ninety minutes".

The player admitted that she does not consider herself to be one of the more experienced. "I still have a lot to learn and I continue to ask the other older players for advice".


Finally, she emphasised how difficult it is to get into a squad due to the fierce competition for places in Spanish football: "24 of us are here now but there are others at home who could be here too, it is getting harder and harder to make the squad and this competition for places a positive things for Spanish football. She went on to comment that, for the other teams, beating the world champions is an added bonus, “so we´ll have to show why we are the world champions".