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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Anita Asante

World Cup winners Spain prove conflict and success can co-exist

Spain coach Jorge Vilda alongside players Ivana Andrés and Olga Carmona at the trophy parade in Madrid.
Spain coach Jorge Vilda alongside players Ivana Andrés and Olga Carmona at the trophy parade in Madrid. Photograph: Juan Medina/Reuters

Shortly before the 2017 European Championship in the Netherlands I watched one of the tournament outsiders pass and move their way across a pitch and fell in love. “The way Spain play football is the way it should be played,” I tweeted afterwards.

Fast forward six years and Spain have come a very long way since the rainy Sunday evening in Breda when they lost 2-0 against England in the group stage. Even then, the Lionesses ceded the vast majority of possession but found a way to win thanks to counterattacking goals from Fran Kirby and Jodie Taylor.

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