Why is Spain battling for Olympic bronze and not with the USWNT for gold? How the world champion fell shockingly short at Paris 2024

While Spain did come into the Olympics as the big favorite for gold, it must be said that it was not because this was a perfect team. It is a remarkable side, of course, one that won the World Cup less than 12 months ago, but there were signs that it was a beatable one, too.

Defensively, La Roja has looked fragile under Montse Tome, the former assistant who took over as head coach back in September. It might have only lost two and won the other 12 of Tome’s 14 matches in charge ahead of the Olympics, but three of those wins required dramatic comebacks after poor defensive work left Spain in a tough position.

There were certainly areas of weakness for opposition scouts to be encouraged by and evidence out there of how to beat the world champion – provided by Italy in December and then the Czech Republic just last month.

Clearly, both Colombia and Brazil took notice of those frailties because both exposed them this past week – the former to put Spain on the brink of a quarter-final exit and the latter to beat it to the Olympic gold medal match.

Just as Colombia star Mayra Ramirez found on Saturday, this is a Spain defense that makes errors, and that led to Brazil being gifted opportunities, too, with the eventual 4-2 scoreline flattering La Roja. Indeed, the Selecao could have scored five or six with the chances it had, maybe even more.

Those were not all handed to the South American side, either. Spain has been particularly easy to attack out wide throughout Tome’s tenure and it is something the coach has failed to address. That’s where Brazil really got at the world champion in Tuesday’s big win, as evidenced by the second and third goals especially.

If a team has positive wingers that are willing to drive forward and make runs into space, then Spain have a problem. Both Colombia and Brazil did.

But this is the world champion, right? If it concedes a goal or two, it surely still has the talent to fight back and win. Bonmati and Putellas are among eight players in this Spain squad who just won a quadruple with Barcelona, while stars representing huge clubs like Arsenal, Real Madrid and Manchester City also populate the roster.

Yet, at this tournament, Spain has consistently struggled to break down teams that sit in and defend. Against Colombia, it eventually did so very late on, pulling a 2-0 scoreline back to 2-2 as the South Americans succumbed to the pressure in the 79th and 96th minutes. But things were different against Brazil because, unlike its South American rival, it kept players on the pitch that could act as outlets on the counter and give the defense some respite.

It's in these situations that one has to question what Spain’s back-up plan is. Unlike the Barca side that so many of its players represent, and unlike the men’s national team, it does not always have those pattern-breaking wide players, like a Caroline Graham Hansen or a Lamine Yamal. It doesn’t look for a more direct pass to switch things up, because that option is rarely there.

Instead, it’s about patience and possession, waiting for a gap to open that rarely does. That’s why, for a long time, the only real danger that Spain could cause Brazil on Tuesday night came from long-range efforts, three of which were well-saved by a terrific Lorena in the opposition goal.

That said, Spain does have more direct options in these wide roles that can offer a different dimension if the game plan allows – be it Lucia Garcia, Athenea del Castillo or Salma Paralluelo, who spent the majority of her tournament playing as a No.9. Sadly, despite coming into the Olympics off the back of a 34-goal season at Barca, she consistently struggled to make an impact there.

This wasn’t a huge shock, though. In the big games, which opponents look to mark her out of, the 20-year-old has failed to really shine when starting as a centerforward. It was the case in several group-stage matches and previously in Barcelona’s Champions League final just a couple of months ago. The surprising element was more that Tome persisted with giving her that role.

At the World Cup last year, Paralluelo stormed to prominence because of the threat she offered with her pace and directness out wide, sometimes as a starter but largely as an impact sub. That’s not to say she should be restricted to a role on the bench and that she cannot adapt – she has not scored 34 goals for Barca this past year by chance – but to suggest that there was more Tome could have done with the talented forward in France, especially to help offer the team something different.

That’s not the only question to ask of the coach in the aftermath of the Brazil defeat. There is the lack of improvement defensively, which was definitely not helped by the decision to deploy a third different centerback partnership of the tournament on Tuesday. That the defense at 52 minutes was different in three of the four positions to the one that started the match said it all – and also did little to aid the confusion that arose far too often at the back.

There is the ‘Plan B’ and whether it exists, there is the opportunities - or lack thereof - granted to certain members of the squad at Paris 2024 and, certainly the most controversial aspect of Tuesday’s loss to Brazil, there is how she used Putellas, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, in the knockout stages.

When Colombia was 2-0 up in Saturday’s quarter-final, Tome chose to take the Barcelona star, one of Spain’s best performers at this tournament, off. Given the team needed two goals, it certainly raised a few eyebrows. However, La Roja found a way to come through and suddenly it was approaching the semi-final with Putellas well-rested, having avoided the slog of extra-time in that match.

Yet, she found herself on the bench on Tuesday. That surprise turned to shock when it took until the 77th minute, when Spain was already 3-0 down, for her to enter the field. In her short time on the pitch, Putellas was her team’s best player by quite a margin, hitting the crossbar, forcing a superb save out of Lorena moments later, providing the corner delivery that led to Spain’s first goal and heading the ball onto Paralluelo to assist the second.

"I think, inside, we were fine,” Tome told reporters after, asked to explain a decision that was described as "inexplicable" in the Spanish press. “Alexia, of course, contributes and has contributed to the team. Other days it's been the turn of other players. They can't all come in."

And while questions will surely be asked of Tome’s future given these examples, lingering effects of the issues that plagued Spain ahead of last year’s World Cup also remain. Less than 12 months before that tournament, 15 players made themselves unavailable for selection, wanting improvements within the federation to be made. Ahead of the World Cup, several of those stars came back, though many high-profile names - including the Barcelona trio of Patri Guijarro, Mapi Leon and Claudia Pina - stayed away.

Guijarro returned to the squad just before the Olympics, sparking jubilation among fans of La Roja as it would allow Tome to tap into the midfield trio, also including Bonmati and Putellas, that helped Barca become the best in Europe. However, her re-integration into the team was at short notice and, given the differences in the playing styles of club and country, she could not be as impactful as one might expect.

Along the same lines, it has been hard not to watch Spain these past two weeks and think about how much it would be boosted by the presence of Leon, the best centerback on the planet. Yet, she still has not made herself available for selection again.

This semi-final defeat does not mean Spain is suddenly a terrible team. It is the world champion, it impressed in winning the Nations League and it could still get on the Olympic podium this week, set to face Germany in the bronze medal match on Friday. It is also worth noting that no team has ever done the World Cup and Olympic double, winning the two back-to-back, and La Roja’s semi-final defeat only continues that trend.

However, this should act as a wake-up call for Spain, for Tome and for the federation. The past 12 months have been incredible for this team, and yet it has issues to address that it has prevailed in spite of. If it wants to win the European Championship next summer, those need to be looked into.

It is also impossible not to feel like this is a missed opportunity. Spain came into the Olympics as the strongest team in the 12-nation field, with an uber-talented squad featuring Bonmati at the peak of her powers and players like Jenni Hermoso, Irene Paredes and Putellas who, all over 30, are unlikely to be in better places when the next Games roll around in four years’ time.

Given its incredible youth teams, few would bet against La Roja winning Olympic gold in the future – but, all things considered, it should be bitterly disappointed that it won’t have a shot at doing exactly that right here, right now, in the present.