Latest news with #Euro 2025
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Del Castillo and Spain 'full of hope' ahead of Germany Euro 2025 semi
From being a bit-part player in the team that won the Women's World Cup two years ago, Athenea del Castillo has performed a key role in Spain's run to the semi-finals of Euro 2025, in which they will face Germany on Wednesday. The Real Madrid attacker, 24, was brought into Spain's starting line-up for their last group game against Italy and scored an early equaliser before her team went on to win 3-1. She was then relegated back to the bench for the last-eight tie against hosts Switzerland in Bern but the game changed after her introduction as a substitute just past the hour mark. Del Castillo replaced Mariona Caldentey and broke the deadlock four minutes later, setting Spain up for a 2-0 victory -- and surely giving coach Montse Tome a selection headache for the clash with Germany in Zurich. "I have to just focus on the things that I can influence. Luckily I am managing to help the team whatever my role is, whether I am starting or not," Del Castillo told AFP at the Spanish team's base in Lausanne. A win for Spain against Germany will keep them on track to add a first ever European crown to the World Cup they won in 2023, when they defeated England in the final. "We are full of hope, we are so excited. We dream of being European champions but to do that we need to win on Wednesday so all our energy is going into that game," Del Castillo said. "We know all about the potential in the Germany team. They are a great side who have been European champions eight times after all." Spain still lean heavily on the players who won them the World Cup, notably Ballon d'Or Aitana Bonmati as well as her fellow Barcelona stars Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes. But Del Castillo, while not yet a guaranteed starter, has become a more important player than during that tournament in Australia and New Zealand. Then, under previous coach Jorge Vilda, she started the team's first match before gradually disappearing from circulation. She then featured in the side that participated in the 2024 Olympics and lost to Germany in the bronze medal match -- a defeat they will seek to avenge on Wednesday. - Infectious - "We have been through so much together and that has helped us mature as a team," she said on the margins of a training session by Lake Geneva. "I still see myself as one of the youngsters even though there are players much younger than me like Vicky (Lopez) and Maite (Zubieta), and then there are older players like Irene and Alexia who have been around longer and been to so many more tournaments. "We have that mix of youth and experience, of joy but also maturity." Del Castillo is known for her glowing smile and infectious personality, and she has no intention of changing even as she becomes more and more recognisable thanks to her exploits with Spain and Real. "I have not changed much. I still do the same things, I still try to enjoy life and luckily everything is going well at home, with my family and friends," said the native of Cantabria in northern Spain. "I am very happy in Madrid -- I prefer the north but I like Madrid as a city. I love to go out for a wander, listen to music, be with my family. "If I changed what I did off the pitch that would also change me on it and I don't like that because then I would lose my essence." Despite still being at a relatively tender age, the player who idolised Cristiano Ronaldo growing up now has over 60 caps and is conscious of being a leader in the Spain squad. "I know how to differentiate between moments when you have to work and times when you can give a little bit of joy," she said, before suggesting that the side has improved since losing to Germany at last year's Olympics. "I think we have matured a lot since then. We are better at controlling games in different moments now. I think that will help us, but it will above all be about staying calm and focusing on our objective." pm-as/bsp
Japan Times
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Japan Times
Del Castillo and Spain 'full of hope' ahead of Germany Euro 2025 semi
From being a bit-part player in the team that won the Women's World Cup two years ago, Athenea del Castillo has performed a key role in Spain's run to the semifinals of Euro 2025, in which the team will face Germany on Wednesday. The Real Madrid attacker, 24, was brought into Spain's starting lineup for its last group game against Italy and scored an early equalizer before her team went on to win 3-1. She was then relegated back to the bench for the last-eight tie against host Switzerland in Bern, but the game changed after her introduction as a substitute just past the hour mark. Del Castillo replaced Mariona Caldentey and broke the deadlock four minutes later, setting Spain up for a 2-0 victory — and surely giving coach Montse Tome a selection headache for the clash with Germany in Zurich. "I have to just focus on the things that I can influence. Luckily I am managing to help the team whatever my role is, whether I am starting or not," del Castillo said at the Spanish team's base in Lausanne. A win for Spain against Germany will keep the team on track to add a first ever European crown to the World Cup it won in 2023, when they defeated England in the final. "We are full of hope, we are so excited. We dream of being European champions, but to do that we need to win on Wednesday, so all our energy is going into that game," del Castillo said. "We know all about the potential in the Germany team. They are a great side who have been European champions eight times after all." Spain still leans heavily on the players who won them the World Cup, notably Ballon d'Or-winner Aitana Bonmati as well as her fellow Barcelona stars Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes. But del Castillo, while not yet a guaranteed starter, has become a more important player than during that tournament in Australia and New Zealand. Then, under previous coach Jorge Vilda, she started the team's first match before gradually disappearing from circulation. She then featured in the side that participated in the 2024 Olympics and lost to Germany in the bronze medal match — a defeat players will seek to avenge on Wednesday. "We have been through so much together and that has helped us mature as a team," she said on the margins of a training session by Lake Geneva. "I still see myself as one of the youngsters even though there are players much younger than me like Vicky (Lopez) and Maite (Zubieta), and then there are older players like Irene and Alexia who have been around longer and been to so many more tournaments. "We have that mix of youth and experience, of joy but also maturity." Del Castillo is known for her glowing smile and infectious personality, and she has no intention of changing even as she becomes more and more recognizable thanks to her exploits with Spain and Real. "I have not changed much. I still do the same things, I still try to enjoy life and luckily everything is going well at home, with my family and friends," said the native of Cantabria in northern Spain. "I am very happy in Madrid — I prefer the north but I like Madrid as a city. I love to go out for a wander, listen to music, be with my family. "If I changed what I did off the pitch that would also change me on it and I don't like that because then I would lose my essence." Despite still being at a relatively tender age, the player who idolized Cristiano Ronaldo growing up now has over 60 caps and is conscious of being a leader in the Spain squad. "I know how to differentiate between moments when you have to work and times when you can give a little bit of joy," she said, before suggesting that the side has improved since losing to Germany at last year's Olympics. "I think we have matured a lot since then. We are better at controlling games in different moments now. I think that will help us, but it will above all be about staying calm and focusing on our objective."
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Del Castillo and Spain 'full of hope' ahead of Germany Euro 2025 semi
From being a bit-part player in the team that won the Women's World Cup two years ago, Athenea del Castillo has performed a key role in Spain's run to the semi-finals of Euro 2025, in which they will face Germany on Wednesday. The Real Madrid attacker, 24, was brought into Spain's starting line-up for their last group game against Italy and scored an early equaliser before her team went on to win 3-1. She was then relegated back to the bench for the last-eight tie against hosts Switzerland in Bern but the game changed after her introduction as a substitute just past the hour mark. Del Castillo replaced Mariona Caldentey and broke the deadlock four minutes later, setting Spain up for a 2-0 victory -- and surely giving coach Montse Tome a selection headache for the clash with Germany in Zurich. "I have to just focus on the things that I can influence. Luckily I am managing to help the team whatever my role is, whether I am starting or not," Del Castillo told AFP at the Spanish team's base in Lausanne. A win for Spain against Germany will keep them on track to add a first ever European crown to the World Cup they won in 2023, when they defeated England in the final. "We are full of hope, we are so excited. We dream of being European champions but to do that we need to win on Wednesday so all our energy is going into that game," Del Castillo said. "We know all about the potential in the Germany team. They are a great side who have been European champions eight times after all." Spain still lean heavily on the players who won them the World Cup, notably Ballon d'Or Aitana Bonmati as well as her fellow Barcelona stars Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes. But Del Castillo, while not yet a guaranteed starter, has become a more important player than during that tournament in Australia and New Zealand. Then, under previous coach Jorge Vilda, she started the team's first match before gradually disappearing from circulation. She then featured in the side that participated in the 2024 Olympics and lost to Germany in the bronze medal match -- a defeat they will seek to avenge on Wednesday. - Infectious - "We have been through so much together and that has helped us mature as a team," she said on the margins of a training session by Lake Geneva. "I still see myself as one of the youngsters even though there are players much younger than me like Vicky (Lopez) and Maite (Zubieta), and then there are older players like Irene and Alexia who have been around longer and been to so many more tournaments. "We have that mix of youth and experience, of joy but also maturity." Del Castillo is known for her glowing smile and infectious personality, and she has no intention of changing even as she becomes more and more recognisable thanks to her exploits with Spain and Real. "I have not changed much. I still do the same things, I still try to enjoy life and luckily everything is going well at home, with my family and friends," said the native of Cantabria in northern Spain. "I am very happy in Madrid -- I prefer the north but I like Madrid as a city. I love to go out for a wander, listen to music, be with my family. "If I changed what I did off the pitch that would also change me on it and I don't like that because then I would lose my essence." Despite still being at a relatively tender age, the player who idolised Cristiano Ronaldo growing up now has over 60 caps and is conscious of being a leader in the Spain squad. "I know how to differentiate between moments when you have to work and times when you can give a little bit of joy," she said, before suggesting that the side has improved since losing to Germany at last year's Olympics. "I think we have matured a lot since then. We are better at controlling games in different moments now. I think that will help us, but it will above all be about staying calm and focusing on our objective."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
England's Jess Carter targeted by racist abuse during Euro 2025
England defender Jess Carter has revealed she has been the target of 'a lot of racial abuse' during Euro 2025. The 27-year-old has started all of the defending champions' matches so far in Switzerland and says she will now take a step back from social media to focus on the remainder of the campaign. England next travel to Geneva where they will face Italy in the semi-finals on Tuesday night. Writing on her Instagram account, Carter said in a statement: 'A message to the fans… 'From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result I don't agree or think it's ok to target someone's appearance or race. 'As a result of this I will be taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with. 'As ever I am grateful for all of the support from the genuine fans but I am taking this measure to protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team any way I can. 'Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won't have to deal with it. 'We have made some historic changes with this Lionesses squad that I am so proud to be a part of and my hope is that by speaking out about this it will make another positive change for all. 'I'm now looking forward and focusing on putting all of my energy into helping my team.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
England's Jess Carter targeted by racist abuse during Euro 2025
England defender Jess Carter has revealed she has been the target of 'a lot of racial abuse' during Euro 2025. The 27-year-old has started all of the defending champions' matches so far in Switzerland and says she will now take a step back from social media to focus on the remainder of the campaign. England next travel to Geneva where they will face Italy in the semi-finals on Tuesday night. Writing on her Instagram account, Carter said in a statement: 'A message to the fans… 'From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result I don't agree or think it's ok to target someone's appearance or race. 'As a result of this I will be taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with. 'As ever I am grateful for all of the support from the genuine fans but I am taking this measure to protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team any way I can. 'Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won't have to deal with it. 'We have made some historic changes with this Lionesses squad that I am so proud to be a part of and my hope is that by speaking out about this it will make another positive change for all. 'I'm now looking forward and focusing on putting all of my energy into helping my team.'
