Lionesses beware! Spain still the team to beat in Europe despite post-Women's World Cup woes

It would have been easy for Spain to put up much more underwhelming results than they have done in the past 18 months. A return of 19 wins, two draws and just four defeats - one when they were already qualified for the next stage of the Nations League and one when they were all-but-confirmed of their place at Euro 2025 - is particularly incredible when one considers that, through all that time, the Luis Rubiales case has been ongoing.

The former national football federation boss was found guilty of sexual assault last week, after kissing Spain striker Jenni Hermoso without her consent. That incident occurred as the players received their medals after beating England in the World Cup final, meaning the saga has dragged on for a long time. Many players testified at the trial in Madrid, in between representing club and country at the very highest level. It must have taken its toll, with England boss Sarina Wiegman and star striker Alessia Russo this week praising players for their courage, bravery and resilience throughout it all.

"The week that I had to go to Madrid as a witness was a difficult week. It was tough for me obviously personally," Laia Codina, the Spain defender, told BBC Sport this week. "A lot of my team-mates at Arsenal could see that there were a lot of emotions. I was up and down. There was a feeling of everything again. But that week is done and I feel good. I feel I did what I had to do in that moment and I'm always supporting Jenni and my team-mates and the women."

In those 18 months, Spain haven't had all their top players available either. A dispute between members of the squad and the federation led to 15 players withdrawing from selection for the national team shortly after Euro 2022. While some of those did return before the World Cup, including Ballon d’Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas, believing some concerns were being addressed, many did not.

It was not until July of last year that Patri Guijarro, arguably the best holding midfielder in the women's game, came back into the fold, with Manchester City left-back Leila Ouahabi also returning just before the Olympics. Claudia Pina, the Barcelona forward who scored Spain's first goal in the comeback win over Belgium on Friday, was only in the squad again in November after over two years away.

Six of 'Las 15', however, haven't returned at all, with Mapi Leon the most noteworthy of them all. One of the best centre-backs in the sport, if not the best, it's hard to overstate how much her presence would bolster a Spain defence that has been worryingly leaky at times. However, her absence is a reminder of the off-pitch struggles the team has endured over the last few years.

Those defensive woes are something many thought Guijarro's return may help with ahead of the Olympics. Spain were favourites to win gold, having lifted the World Cup and then backed it up with a Nations League triumph in the build-up to the Games. But the tournament highlighted some of the concerns surrounding Montse Tome as a coach.

Tome replaced Jorge Vilda after the World Cup, having served as his assistant for five years prior, and she made questionable decisions throughout her first major tournament in charge, with the Spanish press describing Putellas' place among the substitutes for the semi-final defeat by Brazil as 'inexplicable'.

There was also the lack of work done to address the defensive frailties that were apparent throughout the build-up to the Olympics, frailties which would come back to bite them in that Brazil loss in particular, plus the absence of a 'Plan B'. Tome struggled to utilise Salma Paralluelo to her full potential at the Games, too, with the Barcelona star entering the summer off the back of a 34-goal season but finding herself neutralised throughout Paris 2024.

Given her links to Vilda, whose tactics and training players were reportedly unhappy with during the dispute that led to the withdrawal from selection of 'Las 15', it feels like Tome has even more to prove as a coach and the disappointment of the Olympics means many are not quite convinced yet.

So, what makes Spain so highly-rated still? Well, they reached that Olympic semi-final despite all of the above, and history was against them triumphing at the tournament anyway. No team has ever won the Women's World Cup and then backed it up with Olympic gold the following year, so what they did was no disappointment in terms of previous favourites, it was just that the manner of their defeats felt underwhelming and somewhat addressable.

Moreover, this is a squad packed with talent. It's hard to underrate them when they boast two double-Ballon d'Or winners, in Putellas and Bonmati, plus some 15 players called up in the past year who have lifted the Champions League trophy. With clubs like Manchester City, Real Madrid and Arsenal also represented, it is a team that boasts plenty of world-class quality as well as experience at the very top level, for club and country.

And Tome, to her credit, uses that depth well. That might sound like faint praise, but not all coaches rotate and trust their bench quite like she has, with the winning goal of Cristina Martin-Prieto on Friday night, in Belgium, a great example. The Benfica forward was a late call-up to the squad, following injury to Amaiur Sarriegi, and had only won one cap previously. But Tome turned to her when Spain needed a goal and the 31-year-old delivered.

Spain's status as favourite for this summer's Euros isn't just because of their own qualities, either. It also stems from the questions around a lot of the continent's top teams, including Wednesday's opponents, England. The Lionesses have had some disappointing results in the last 18 months, they didn't qualify for the Nations League finals or the Olympics, and they've struggled to put on any real high-level performances across an entire match since the World Cup. Throw in some big injury concerns - with Lauren Hemp, Alex Greenwood and Georgia Stanway all having recent knee surgeries - and key positions are also light.

"I think you can't even relate [this team] to the Euros and the World Cup as much anymore," England boss Sarina Wiegman said on Tuesday. "There's so many new players coming in." She's right; it's a team that has changed a lot, so much so that only 12 names from the Lionesses' World Cup squad will be involved at Wembley on Wednesday.

As for the other top nations across Europe: Germany and France have both entered new eras post-Olympics, under new coaches with minimal experience at the highest level; the Netherlands have struggled to convert draws into wins in recent outings, settling for stalemates in all of their last four competitive games; Sweden are yet to turn their ability to consistently reach the latter stages of tournament into a real title charge; and then it's into the the dark horses, the likes of Italy, Norway and Denmark.

Is it all set up for Spain to take England's European crown this summer, then? Their Olympic disappointment is likely to relieve at least some of the pressure and expectation, the end of the Rubiales trial should lift some of the emotional load that has weighed on them in recent months, and their biggest rivals for the trophy don't appear to be firing on all cylinders at this moment. Throw in the squad’s top quality and their World Cup win, and Spain have to be the favourite.

But England, and everyone else, won't go down that easily. There is still time for each to tune up before the tournament begins in July, and the Lionesses' latest chance to do so will come against the very side many believe can dethrone them. Wednesday's game should give us more of an idea of where the two biggest front-runners for that trophy are at and really whet the appetite for what is to come in just a few months’ time.