Spain Doesn't Want To Be Called Favorites To Win Euro Women 2025, Throws It To England

Spain does not want to be favored as the winner of Euro Women's 2025 because it will be a pressure (Instagram/@sefutbolfem).

JAKARTA - England Women's National Team (Timnas) defender Lucy Bronze said Spain was only trying to divert pressure to other teams claiming that the Lions were favorites to win Euro Women's 2025.

Spain, the world champion, is highly favored to lift the trophy for the first time in their history in Switzerland this summer, especially after starting the group stage with a 5-0 and 6-2 win over Portugal and Belgium.

However, the message from the Spanish camp over the past few days is that Britain, as the defending champion, should be considered a favorite.

"Yes, because (Spain) doesn't want to say that about themselves. I think they're just trying to put pressure on different teams."

"I mean, everyone is talking about Spain. I think England is up there, obviously France is the top team. Germany, Sweden, there are many more."

"However, yes, I think everyone wants to pass it to other people so that it is not too crowded around them. The same applies to us," Bronze said after England's impressive victory over the Netherlands 4-0 on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Zurich.

As previously known, the Spanish striker, Lucia Garcia, told ESPN on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, that the Euro 2022 champion, England, should be considered a favorite.

"I think putting pressure on myself (to win the tournament) is tantamount to holding back. I think that pressure exists when you become defending champion, namely England."

"So, I think the pressure in this tournament is more for defending champions, who have done it (being champions) before."

"We're just focused on ourselves and trying to give everything to get away from each round and go as far as possible," said the Monterrey striker.

Garcia's comments echo what the Spanish winger Athlea del Castillo said the day before.

"We don't think of ourselves as favorites. We want to go as far as possible, but for me favorites are always defending champions, namely England, so they are his favorites," the Real Madrid player told a news conference.

Spain and England have met in many major matches in recent years.

England beat Spain in the quarter-finals of Euro Women three years ago on their way to win the tournament.

However, La Roja took revenge a year later by winning the World Cup final in Australia.

The two teams also met in the UEFA Nations League recently, with England winning 1-0 at Wembley in February 2025 and Spain winning 2-1 at Barcelona last month.

Meanwhile, Britain's struggle to defend the trophy began very badly when they lost to France last weekend, but they responded well with a brilliant victory against the Netherlands.

However, they still haven't confirmed a place in the quarter-finals. They need a win against Wales in the final Group D match on Monday, July 14, 2025, early in the morning WIB, to ensure tickets to the knockout phase.

"We just want to focus on what we have to do. We haven't even qualified for the group, even though many teams have already passed."

"So, I think that's our focus, not what other teams say about us or who's favorite," Bronze added.