The script looked written for Spain to dominate international football when they followed up World Cup success in 2023 by winning the inaugural UEFA Women's Nations League in 2024. However, the following 12 months have not quite lived up to the narrative, with Wednesday's 1-0 defeat by England at Wembley adding to doubts that are slowly growing heading toward this summer's UEFA Women's European Championship, a tournament La Roja have struggled to deliver at historically.
A disappointing campaign at the Olympic Games last summer, back-to-back draws against Canada and Italy, and now a stuttering start to their Nations League campaign, have accentuated the questions around coach Montse Tom's side, who have won just four of their last 10 games in 90 minutes.
Issues have been exposed in this week's League A Group 3 matchups with Belgium and England. Against Belgium, Spain's weakness when teams have players who can burst in behind on the counter-attack was evident. They eventually recovered from two goals down to win 3-2, scoring twice in stoppage time, but Belgium are a team they beat 7-0 last year.
Against England, as Jess Park sealed a 1-0 win for the Lionesses, it was Spain's lack of efficiency in front of goal which was highlighted.
A source close to the Spain national team says there is a feeling the gap between the top European teams has shrunk. Other nations had more margin to improve than Spain and, on top of that, are much more aware of what to expect from them and how to frustrate them.
There are other theories for Spain's struggles -- which are relative by most national team's standards. Tom is yet to fully convince since replacing Jorge Vilda after the World Cup. She has not been able to fix those problems that have emerged since before the Olympics, when they lost to Brazil in the semifinal and Germany in the bronze medal match, while she is struggling to work out exactly how she wants to manage a generational change.
Veterans Jenni Hermoso and Irene Paredes have both been dropped at times -- the latter did return this week -- while talented young Barcelona midfielder Vicky Lpez did not even make it off the bench against England.
There have been other, unavoidable issues. Midfielders Alexia Putellas, Patri Guijarro and Teresa Abelleira were all injured for this week's internationals. It left Spain short in midfield and, while it cannot be helped, it is not aiding their preparation for the Euros as Tom seeks a settled team.
The timing could not be worse as Spain look to make a mark on a competition that has eluded them until now.
They have qualified for only four of the 13 editions and are yet to win a knockout match. Their first appearance in 1997 ended in defeat by Italy in the semifinal. They had to wait until 2013 to return, but have now qualified for the last four Euros, including this year's in Switzerland. Norway; Austria; England knocked them out at the quarterfinal stage the last three times.
It seemed inevitable that the hoodoo would end sooner than later when everything finally fell into place in 2023 with a first World Cup win. It seems less obvious right now -- although they are still expected to top a group that includes Belgium, Portugal and Italy -- but few would deny them success and celebrations this summer given how they were curtailed by a sexual assault case after that 1-0 win over England in Sydney 18 months ago.
Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation [RFEF], was last week convicted of forcibly kissing Hermoso in the medal ceremony which followed the final. He was fined and handed a restraining order, but avoided prison time and was acquitted of coercion.
It has been a gruelling period for the players, who briefly boycotted the national team after the World Cup as a result, while Hermoso, Putellas and Paredes were among those who testified in the court case. The players hope it will set a precedent moving forward, and provide a platform for change not just in football but in society as a whole.
"I have to believe [there will be change]," the midfielder and back-to-back Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmat said after the verdict. "I believe this case happened for a reason and makes us more respected as women. People will realise that it has been important, and it doesn't need to happen any more."
Spain's players have long been fighting for better working conditions. It is a battle which started before Rubiales and Tom's predecessor Vilda, who was also acquitted of coercion in this month's trial. There is still a long way to go but the fact current RFEF president Rafael Louzn attended Wednesday's loss to England instead of the men's Copa del Rey semifinal first leg between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad was viewed as sign attitudes are changing.
Tom, who was previously part of Vilda's staff, has always stressed the need for the focus to be on football. She even refused to engage in any meaningful discussion about the court case on Wednesday when told how England coach Sarina Wiegman said Spain's players had shown "remarkable courage" in speaking out and demanding change.
"I appreciate Sarina's words, she's a great coach who I respect," Tome said. "My intention has been to ensure that whenever we are together on international duty, we talk about football. I would be grateful for questions about football.
"Now the case is coming to an end, it is clear we have sided with the player. We hope things will go back to normal now. We want to focus on football."
Tom does have a lot to focus on as she prepares for a Euros which could make or break her tenure.
The Spain coach needs to work out what her best frontline is and, perhaps harder still, find a source of regular goals. Bara's Salma Paralluelo, who starred at the World Cup, is just back from an injury and will be starting games if she proves her fitness, but a top-level No. 9 is missing and there are not many goals from wide areas. In Bonmat and Putellas, though, there are some from midfield at least. Bonmat, meanwhile, also spoke smartly before the England game about how the team need to be better prepared when they lose the ball.
"It's how we prepare to defend as a group when we have the ball, because there will be space in behind," she said. "Not just [thinking] to attack, but thinking about the worst possible scenario and how we adapt quickly to transitions in defence."
Next up in the Nations League is back-to-back matches against Portugal in April before rematches against Belgium and England at the end of May. It gives Tom four months and some good rehearsal opportunities pre-Euros to get Spain in shape for a competition in which they have never been past the semifinal, let alone won.
