Jenni Hermoso could already feel the butterflies. There were plenty of tears shed after the win against the Netherlands and if they can beat Sweden on Tuesday to reach Spain’s first World Cup final then doubtless there will be plenty more. But now, as she put it: “We need to feel that nervous sensation in our stomach. Just thinking about it gives me shivers. It feels so close.”
As she stepped into the press conference room at Auckland’s Eden Park, the first thing she noticed was the number of journalists and cameras. The semi‑final is a 46,000 sell-out, but Hermoso can remember the days when, as she put it, “there were five or 10 people asking us questions and 300 people watching the game”. She can sense the magnitude of what they may achieve. But she can also feel the weight of what they already have.
