Hermoso left out of Spain´s squad for European Championship

Jenni Hermoso has been left out of Spain’s squad for next month’s European Championships in Switzerland.

Hermoso, who is Spain’s all-time top scorer, is one of 12 changes made by manager Montse Tome from the squad that lifted the World Cup in 2023.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez is also another notable absentee, while Laia Codina and Teresa Abelleira both miss out through injury.

Esther Sullastres, Adriana Nanclares, Maite Zubieta and Cristina Martín Prieto will all experience their debut in a major international competition for La Roja this summer.

Hermoso, who plays for Mexican side Tigres, has been in and out of the Spain squad recently, making her last appearance in October 2024.

And when asked about her decisions on Tuesday, Tome said the competition for places is the reason that Hermoso has missed out.

“I understand Jenni is an important player,” Tomé said in a news conference when asked about Hermoso’s absence.

“I spoke with her at the beginning of the year about her situation and we have done the same work with her as with everyone else.

“We have assessed her performances for Tigres and spoken with her coach, but in her position, we have Patri [Guijarro], Aitana [Bonmati], Alexia [Putellas], Maite [Zubieta], Vicky [Lopez] and even Mariona [Caldentey] or [Claudia] Pina can come in there.

“It’s hard to pick 23 players, but we do the job professionally and at the end of the day that is what we have chosen.”

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Even without Hermoso, Spain’s squad looks incredibly strong, with 10 players from Barcelona, including Bonmati and Putellas, included among those selected for the finals.

La Roja have never previously won the Euros, but they go into the tournament as favourites, and Tome believes her team can go all the way.

“I feel team has capacity to go all the way,” Tome, who replaced Jorge Vilda as coach after the World Cup, said of Spain’s chances.

“That’s the objective, to compete to win, but football is what it is, with the best 16 teams in Europe all there.

“We will work on short-term objectives: training well from the start and from there competing against Japan in our final friendly and then focus on getting through the group.

“You can’t think about being in a final before the group stages.

“We face three sides in Belgium, Italy and Portugal who can generate problems. We’re going to work hard to go as far as possible.”

Spain were placed in Group B and will kickstart their campaign against Portugal on July 3, before taking on Belgium and Italy.