Spain: Humble in success
To many fans, media, and even peers, Spain are the team to watch at EURO 2025.
In some ways, they likely feel that themselves — not in an arrogant sense, but with a belief in their ability to win this tournament.
What they do recognise is that to win their first EURO title, it will not be easy.
Group B, with Portugal, Belgium, and Italy required them to be at their best.
When Spain are in full flow, there are few teams that can lay a glove on them. That was exactly how their group stage unfolded.
Three wins from three, 14 goals scored, just three conceded, and maximum points: Spain head into the quarter-finals with a target on their backs.
No player, Spanish or otherwise, has had a better start to the tournament than Alexia Putellas.
Across three outings, the 31-year-old has scored three times and assisted a further four – when she said they had to be at their best to win this year’s edition, she meant it.
“That has to be our focus, playing at our best, [because it] will surely bring us closer to victory,” she told UEFA.
“It’s a mistake to assume we’re already in the final because there are so many teams and they’re all very good opponents.
“They’re very good national teams with very good players – we have to take it step by step.”
Putellas is having one of the best campaigns of her career, coming into EURO 2025 on the back of her second-best season for FC Barcelona.
She has every reason to want to guide her nation to the promised land. Alexia missed the last European Championships through an injury on the eve of the tournament, and she also saw her penalty saved in the bronze medal match at Paris 2024 — a moment that handed third place to Germany.
Not only has Spain shown a willingness to grow, but so has Putellas, alongside several other members of this squad.
And that, above all, is the mark of true champions.