Jorge Vilda looks back on Spain’s meeting with USA at France 2019

Offers a detailed explanation (see video) of the move that led to Spain’s equaliser

“We want people to remember us for the way we win” Spain continue to attract admiration for their memorable performance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™. La Roja’s run ended against USA in the Round of 16, though they were anything but overawed by their high-ranking opponents, giving as good as they got against the Americans and coming close to a shock win. Despite their relatively early exit, the Spanish earned recognition for their efforts when the France 2019 Technical Report was published a few months later, appearing prominently in many of the document’s performance insights. Spain coach Jorge Vilda relives that exciting afternoon in Reims, providing an in-depth analysis of the move that led to his side cancelling out USA’s opener and giving his views on the France 2019 Technical Report’s positive appraisal of his team.

FIFA.com: Do you still find yourself thinking about the USA game? Jorge Vilda: I get these feelings popping up in my head every so often. We came very close to pulling off a dream result. We were all convinced we could do it, both the players and the coaching staff. They made it 2-1 when we were playing our best football and going for the win. We fought to the end and were heroic in defeat. When did you think Spain could actually beat the reigning world champions? Part of the plan was based on the fact that if we got to half-time and they weren’t in the lead, then they wouldn’t get away from us. Another of the plans that we didn’t fulfil, though, was not conceding in the opening 15 minutes. The USA team is known for scoring early goals in World Cup games. The team reacted, though, and we were level within just a few minutes. That goal allowed us to keep on fighting and defending, which is something we’re not that used to. In fact, we suffered less than we usually do, even though we had to defend for long periods. Our plans for that game were different to the ones we usually follow, and the players were totally committed. Was that the best your team has played since you took over? In a competitive sense we were at our best, but Spain can be better when it comes to keeping the ball and being more offensive. That’s an area where we can improve: operating at that level defensively and being more like ourselves in an attacking sense. One of the aims when I took on the job was to play a lot of games against top opposition, and that’s what’s made us develop as a team. We’ve played more matches in the last four years than we did in the previous eight and that experience and knowledge ends up making a difference.

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