“We have made history, it is the first time we have reached the quarterfinals in a World Cup,” said an euphoric Aitana Bonmatí after the victory (1-5) against Switzerland. The Catalan soccer player, the best of the match with two goals and an assist, described the team’s performance as a “perfect reaction”: “It’s not easy to go 1-5 in the round of 16 of a World Cup.”
After the painful defeat against Japan, which cost them first place in the group, the team had to react if they wanted to advance to the next round: “We needed to recover sensations and I personally needed to. We have come out very well, being ourselves, taking the pressure off. We have come to win and that’s how it has been”, assessed the Barça footballer, who is not satisfied with reaching the quarterfinals: “This team has a lot to say”.
Jorge Vilda also congratulated himself on this historic feat: “We have made history and we are happy,” he stated, although he was more critical: “We have shown ourselves what we can do, and without having our best version either.” The coach especially highlighted the “competitive level” of the team: “How we have won the duels and the second plays. From here is when football comes out of Spain, and it is something that we have not had in other games, ”he warned.
Undoubtedly one of the plays of the match, fortunately without consequences for Spanish interests, was Laia Codina’s own goal against Cata Coll’s goal, two footballers who were making their World Cup debut today against Switzerland. “He wanted to kill Codina, luckily later he ended up in a beautiful anecdote,” recalled the Balearic goalkeeper. Codina herself also spoke about this action: “When he entered I said ‘that’s it’ and as in life, when they hit you, you get up. When I saw that he had the option to score, I said ‘this is mine’, and that’s how it was. She had to be mine, for the team.” “A new story begins, we want to write more golden pages. I get the willies. This team can do great things”, promises the FC Barcelona central defender.
