Spain thrash grieving Portugal 5-0 in Women’s Euro clash

BERN – Spain showed why they are favourites to win Women’s Euro 2025 by hammering Portugal 5-0 in their Group B opener on July 3, as both teams paid tribute to Portuguese men’s international Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash.

The world champions were two ahead inside seven minutes in Bern thanks to goals from Esther Gonzalez and Vicky Lopez and never looked back from there, rattling in three more, thanks to Alexia Putellas, another for Gonzalez and a late header from Cristina Martin-Prieto.

Spain coach Montse Tome was delighted with their bright start, which forced Portugal to attack. She added: “I think the team did brilliantly and I’m very happy.”

A difficult day for Portuguese football was made worse less than 90 seconds after kick-off when Gonzalez scored past goalkeeper Ines Pereira.

Then 18-year-old Lopez became Spain’s youngest-ever scorer at a women’s Euro in the seventh minute.

Captain Putellas got in on the act four minutes before the break.

World Cup 2023 winners Spain were relentless and Gonzalez was in the right place at the right time moments later when Claudia Pina’s cross bounced back off the post, onto her and into the net.

There was more good news for Tome as Aitana Bonmati recovered well enough from viral meningitis to play the final nine minutes, by which time Spain had taken their foot off the gas.

Two-time Ballon d’Or Feminin winner Bonmati returned to training with the Spain squad only on July 2 and her cameo is a major boost for Spain, who have never won a Women’s European Championship. And she was on the field to see Martin-Prieto complete the rout moments before the final whistle.

In the earlier Group B game, Arianna Caruso thumped in the only goal of the game just before half-time to give Italy a 1-0 win over Belgium in Sion.

La Roja lead Italy on goal difference after showing no mercy to Portugal, who were grieving Jota after the 28-year-old’s death alongside his brother Andre Silva, 25, in a car crash in northern Spain.

Portuguese fans marched to the ground ahead of the match with banners and chants honouring Jota, and the tributes continued inside the Wankdorf Stadium.

The capacity crowd stood for a moment’s silence while a group of Portugal fans held up cards which read “Rest in Peace”. Meanwhile, a banner said “Thanks for everything”.

Paying respects to Jota and Silva, Portugal coach Francisco Neto said: “I was assistant coach for the Under-19s when (Jota) played there and we met there. We kept contact. He always knows the result (of the women’s team), he followed the team and the players. This is the culture in Portugal.”

Back in Jota’s hometown Gondomar, Prime Minister of Portugal Luis Montenegro joined members of his family for a private wake on July 4.

A public wake is expected to take place at a chapel, followed by a funeral on July 5 at a church at 10am local time (5pm, Singapore time), the office of Gondomar’s mayor said.

Jota’s Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah said on Instagram that it would be “extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back”.

“I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the (summer) break,” he said.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said in a statement on July 3 that “Diogo was not just our player”, adding: “He was a loved one to all of us. He was a teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles, he was very special.”

Jota was making his way back to Liverpool by car after he was told he should avoid plane travel for up to six weeks following lung surgery to address a fractured rib, his physiotherapist Miguel Goncalves told broadcaster Now late on July 3.

Goncalves added that Jota was recovering well and had planned to take a ferry from Spain to England. AFP, REUTERS