With her trademark shot, Claudia Pina has made herself indispensable for Spain at the Euros

New York Times

5 days ago

When Claudia Pina was younger, she would use a ladder from her terrace to climb a wall of her house and drape a training vest over the top corner. Sometimes she did it herself, other times her father helped. Then, she would back away as far as she could and kick a ball toward the target for hours.
She didn't realise at the time, but it was the beginning of the Spanish forward's trademark precision. With her club, FC Barcelona, and at Euro 2025, Pina has established herself as a specialist in long-range goals, always aimed at the top corner. Her friends joke that they are going to patent the shot and name it after her.
Advertisement
'The Pina' made its latest appearance on Friday against Switzerland in Spain's 2-0 quarter-final win against the hosts. With 20 minutes to go, and only up by a goal, Spain midfielder Patri Guijarro pressed Switzerland's Lia Walti, who let the ball loose in a moment of confusion near the penalty area. Pina saw an opportunity to capitalise, dribbling toward the center of the area. Without hesitation, she found the upper right corner of the goal, hitting the back of the net and doubling her team's lead. It was her second goal of this Euro and her second from outside the area. It was also Spain's first knock-out victory in a European Championship.
'This girl is out of this world,' Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll said in the mixed zone after the match.
The trouble with signatures is that, when you're good enough, everyone knows about them. Pina understands she has to start shooting to the other side because goalkeepers have already started diving toward her shot before the ball leaves her foot. Though, as Switzerland's Livia Peng found out, knowing where her shot is going and stopping her are two separate tasks.
By Friday, Spain had not played for a week since their final group stage match against Italy. For Pina, who was left out to rest because Spain had already qualified for the next round, the wait for the quarter-final was endless. Against Switzerland, the 23-year-old came out hungry and ready to pounce.
During an uncharacteristically muted first half from the world champions, Pina's persistence was Spain's only really attack. In the first 45 minutes, she took a direct free kick that was saved by Livia Peng, followed by another chance in the 23rd minute that was saved. In the 56th minute, she tried a similar shot from the edge of the box, but the ball went wide. Soon after, she found her space at the edge of the box and her goal.
Advertisement
'When (Pina) makes that move, I think she's going to score. When she gets the ball, with space, she starts to drive forward, she prepares herself and that feeling when she puts her left leg on the ground, we believe it's going in,' head coach Montse Tome said at the post-match press conference.
'She's been scoring goals like that all season; she's very confident in that. She started on the left today, then we switched her to the right because we weren't seeing much fluidity. That's what we thought when we changed her, to have more punch, to get her into that finishing position, and she's being very effective.'
'She contributes a lot to Spain's game and, if she's lucky enough to (score), then great.'
The goal was a carbon copy of the one she scored against Belgium in Spain's 6-2 group stage victory. That shot that soared by Lisa Lichtfus at 98.6 km per hour. That goal, and the one scored by her teammate Athenea del Castillo against Italy, were standout moments of the group stage. And it was those two players who helped Spain qualify for their first Euros semi-final.
Pina's success this summer is a continuation of the momentum she's built with Barcelona. In 1,551 minutes last season, including 19 starts, Pina scored 10 goals and provided seven assists. The striker, who has not always had favourable minutes with Barcelona, has since earned the trust of head coach Pere Romeu. During the 2024/25 season, whether she has played as a starter or a substitute, she has been connected and has made the most of the minutes she has had, whether it was 90 or 10.
She finished as the top scorer in the UEFA Women's Champions League with 10 goals and was the second top scorer for FC Barcelona in all competitions with 24 goals, only behind Ewa Pajor, who scored 43.
In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Wolfsburg, she came on in the 58th minute for Pajor and by the 77th minute she had already scored twice — the match ended 6-1. One of her goals was, of course, her signature: a direct free kick that once again found the top corner of the net. In the first leg of the semi-final against Chelsea Women, she was a substitute, coming on in the 66th minute and scoring her first goal four minutes later before repeating the feat in the 90th minute. In the Copa de la Reina final against Atletico Madrid, she scored two decisive goals that gave FC Barcelona the title in a 2-0 victory and earned MVP of the match.
Against England in a Nations League match earlier this year, she was also the player who changed the game. Spain was down a goal when she came on in the 58th minute. Her first touches led to a goal. Ten minutes later, she scored a second goal to give her team the 2-1 victory. She used that trademark shot from outside the area to the top corner.
Advertisement
'I play whatever is needed, whatever is required of me,' Pina said after Friday's quarter-final. 'At the club, I also try to contribute whatever I can, whether I start or come off the bench. I'm ready.'
In addition to her goals, Pina's season can also be described by her hard work and patience.
Last summer, she wanted to give her game a boost. She did extra training sessions and sought mental support from a psychologist.
'I worked hard in the summer. I worked with a nutritionist, a physical trainer and a psychologist outside the club, and it helped me,' she explained at a press conference with Spain before the match against Switzerland.
Her hard work paid off, and with more playing time than in previous years, Pina was able to prove her worth, emerging as one of the big names of the season for both Barcelona and the national team.
Pina has not always had the confidence she has now. She admitted that if she had not had more playing time this year, she would have considered leaving FC Barcelona.
'It's difficult to give your all every day and have players ahead of you,' she said in a press conference before the game. 'You have to be patient because I'm young and there were players with more weight at the time.
'At Barcelona, we are all very good and in the end, the coach decides based on small details. If they hadn't given me the opportunity, maybe it was time to think about the future.'
But Pina's patience has paid off, and her Barcelona and Spain are enjoying the results.