England's Keira Walsh has called Patri Guijarro’s absence from this summer’s Women's World Cup a “shame” and expressed her disbelief that the Spanish FA (Rfef) is not doing “everything possible” to ensure her Barcelona teammate is competing in Australia and New Zealand.
The Spanish national team has been engulfed in an internal crisis following last summer’s European Championships, with 15 Spanish players, including Patri, refusing to feature for the national team due to differences with manager Jorge Vilda.
The governing body declared that the players were operating outside their remits and threatened five-year bans for the ‘rebel 15’.
Nevertheless, following Barcelona’s Champions League triumph, Player of the Match Patri reaffirmed her stance that she would not be available for World Cup selection until a resolution was found, echoing the sentiments of club teammates Mapi Leon and Aitana Bonmatí.
And on Monday, Vilda announced his preliminary World Cup squad with Patri conspicuously missing from the long list, along with 11 others from the 'rebel 15', including Barcelona teammate Mapi Leon, Manchester United's Lucia Garcia and Manchester City's Laia Aleixandri.
Bonmati, Barcelona teammate Mariona Caldentey and Manchester United's Ona Batlle were recalled into Vilda's preliminary roster. Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas was also named, though the star was not part of the 15 players despite sharing in their grievances.
Patri, Leon and Bonmati are the only players to be voted into the UWCL team of the season in each of the past three seasons, and the former two's absences threaten to mark a major blow to Spain's bid for a first-ever World Cup title.
And Walsh expressed her incredulity that the Spanish FA could allow the absences to occur given the players’ calibre and value.
“For me, if you look at players like that, I don’t see why the federation wouldn’t do everything possible to get the players there,” Walsh told the Mirror while speaking at a McDonald’s Fun Football session in Rochdale to celebrate the opening of sessions in the Lionesses’ hometowns during the FIFA Women’s World Cup and encourage more girls to get involved.
Walsh has come to forge a particularly impenetrable midfield partnership with Patri at Barcelona, with the pair’s collaborative display in the UWCL final against Wolfsburg inspiring a sensational comeback for the Spanish champions and igniting dialogue around their respective qualifications for the world’s best.
And Walsh underlined the misfortune that would be Patri’s absence from an historic Women’s World Cup.
“It would be a massive shame not to see her on the biggest stage and shining against the best players in the world, and I think for her to finally get the recognition she deserves,” Walsh said.
“For me, she’s the best player in the world right now and I’m sure she’ll get [the recognition] eventually, especially if she keeps playing in Champions League finals and getting her Player of the Match awards.”
Walsh culminated an incredible debut season with Barcelona with the Champions League trophy, augmenting her personal silverware haul to upwards of nine since last summer’s Euro2022 triumph.
The Lioness acknowledged the remarkable run of form she was on and hopes to continue her momentum into the summer with the Lionesses who are bidding to lay claim to their first-ever World Cup trophy.
“We’re confident, obviously looking forward to it,” Walsh said. “I think if you look at other teams, they have some unbelievable players, it’s going to be really difficult but after the Euros we have a right to be confident and a right to feel like we can go there and win it.”
During the World Cup McDonald’s is providing free fun football sessions in the hometowns of all the lionesses. Off the back of the Lionesses’ Euros win Fun Football saw a 60% increase in young girls signing up, we want to improve on that this summer.
You can sign up now at McDonalds.co.uk/football
