To reign in Europe. Demonstrate that, despite their stumble in the Paris Games where they finished fourth, the Spanish women's national team, the reigning world champions, remains the team to beat. The goal for Montse Tomé's team is to reach and win the final on July 27 at the St. Jakob-Park in Basel. In the same stadium where it will all begin on July 2 with the opening match between the host Switzerland and Norway.
Many things have changed since the last Women's Euro Cup, won by England in 2022. It was actually the English team who shattered Spain's dream, leaving them at the doorstep of the semifinals. That defeat marked the beginning of a major revolution.
Decisions
Tomé started his own rebellion: he left out Jenni Hermoso and Irene Paredes in the last gathering
One month after that defeat, captains Irene Paredes, Jenni Hermoso, and Patri Guijarro expressed their concern to the Federation, led by Luis Rubiales, about what they considered “poor management” of the national team led by Jorge Vilda. They did so in a private meeting. The RFEF publicly counterattacked. Vilda was “deeply hurt by the way things were handled,” and Rubiales supported him.
21 days later, the RFEF announced that 15 players had voluntarily resigned from the national team via email. After a period of tension, improvements were agreed upon in transportation, accommodation, and family reconciliation during the training camps. All returned except Mapi León, Claudia Pina, and Patri Guijarro.
The non-consensual kiss from Rubiales to Hermoso on the same stage where Spain won the World Cup changed everything. Rubiales, accused of sexual assault and coercion against Hermoso, was disqualified. Vilda was fired. His second, Montse Tomé, has taken the reins and won the last Nations League. But Spain finished fourth in the Olympics. And Tomé has made a move. In the last training camp to defeat South Korea and beat powerful France, neither Jenni Hermoso nor Paredes were included.
The path
Italy, Belgium, and Portugal are the rivals of the Spanish national team in the group stage of the tournament
There are still level tests remaining to finalize the final list, such as the second edition of the Nations League starting on February 21st.
Spain is aware that the draw determined that Italy, Belgium, and Portugal will be its rivals in the group stage of a European Championship in which 16 teams will participate, to be held in eight venues spread throughout Switzerland. If Spain manages to advance to the quarterfinals, it will have to face either Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Finland from Group A. On the other side of the bracket, big favorites like Germany, eight-time European champion, England, the reigning title holder, France, finalist of the Nations League, and the Netherlands, winner of the 2017 European Championship, await. There will be over 700,000 tickets available for the final stage of the 14th edition of the continental tournament.
Main events
Other sports events for 2025
Athletics
And in the background a child is silhouetted: Gout Gout
There are and always will be thousands of princes, but there is only one Beethoven!
Ludwig van Beethoven
In athletics, this is the era of great innovations. Michael Johnson has created the Grand Slam Track: a sort of American-style Diamond League, concentrated in the United States and the Caribbean, which will kick off in April, focusing on speed and middle distance events and bringing a shower of millions for the rigorously invited athletes. In response, World Athletics has made a move. The next summer World Championships in Tokyo will be in September. And in even years, The Ultimate Championship will be held, a kind of downsized World Championship (lasting three days) that will debut in 2026 in Budapest and, like the classic World Championship, will take place in September.
The arguments? In all cases: World Championships and Diamond League sessions drag on, athletes' performance declines after August, and the audience disconnects in multiple events: no one goes crazy over semifinals. The audience wants speed and direct duels: they are not found in a semifinal, and neither are they if the rewards are lesser. If we want audiences, the schedule must be accelerated. And if something does not make an impact, into the trash bin it goes.
These are the constraints of the post-Bolt era. Nobody, not even Mondo Duplantis, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Sydney McLaughlin, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Neeraj Chopra, or Noah Lyles, gives us what Bolt gave us. And that's why we have to innovate. Invent or wait. Wait for some fruit to ripen: are we lucky? In the background, the figure of a 17-year-old teenager is outlined, a wiry kid faster than Bolt at his age. His name is Gout Gout, that name and surname we will remember, and just a few days ago, in the Australian summer, he clocked 20.04 in the 200m (Bolt at his age was at 20.13) and broke the Australian record that the legendary Peter Norman held since Mexico ‘68 (20.06), from the times of Tommie Smith and John Carlos (leaders of the Black Power, black glove on the podium), those of the long jumper Bob Beamon, the innovator Dick Fosbury, Kip Keino, the African king, and the unforgettable discus thrower Al Oerter, Olympic gold medalist in four different Games. Looking back, athletics shivers. How much glory it used to bring. Will Gout Gout return it to us? / Sergio Heredia
FC Barcelona
What starts well...
Hansi Flick arrived without much fanfare but made a strong impact at Barcelona, which started the season like a whirlwind, surprising even its own fans and exceeding all expectations. The German, with only two signings (Olmo and Pau Víctor), leaned on the academy (Bernal - now injured - and Casadó) and made no excuses, instead, he was brave and unapologetic, even for playing the offside trap. The thrashings of Real Madrid, Bayern, Espanyol, Girona, or Villarreal turned them into the team of the moment. In the second half of the season, they must confirm that trajectory... and return to the Spotify Camp Nou. / Carles Ruipérez
Tennis
Djokovic, alone against the cubs
And finally, the unforgettable Big Three has been left with just one leg to stand on. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are no longer in the mix, and Novak Djokovic (37), the third party, finds himself alone in the battle against the passage of time. Dethroned from the top spot in the ATP rankings (he is currently seventh), Djokovic has decided to focus on capturing his 25th Grand Slam title, a milestone that would make him the GOAT of all time, as he would surpass Margaret Court. The young guns (Sinner, Alcaraz, Rune, even Korda) aim to thwart his efforts. / Sergio Hereida
Motorcycling
Marc Márquez, now or never
After five years of roller coaster, since the fateful fall of Jerez 2020 that triggered a series of injuries, recoveries, frustrations, and a change of team and bike –from Repsol Honda to Ducati–, Marc Márquez faces this 2025 as the year of all or nothing: either the MotoGP title, which should be his seventh crown, equalling Valentino Rossi, or failure. The best rider is in the best team, the official Ducati, and with the best bike, so there is no other option but to become champion again. It will be a 2025 MotoGP World Championship without Aleix Espargaró and with champion Jorge Martín on an Aprilia. / Toni López Jordà
Basketball
Spain, to defend its crown
Four-time champion of the last six editions of the tournament, Spain will once again attempt to win the Eurobasket title this summer. They will do so in one of those editions that can be described as “modern,” as the tournament will be held across multiple locations, with games being played in Latvia, Cyprus, Finland, and Poland, and the final phase taking place in Riga, the Latvian capital. Sergio Scariolo's team, the current champions after defeating France in the final in Berlin two years ago, will seek to draw on the young talents who were champions at the U-19 World Cup, such as Almansa and De Larrea. / Luis Buxeres
Cycling
Can anyone beat Pogacar?
It was not the overwhelming number of victories (25) but the insulting superiority with which Tadej Pogacar swept through each of the goals he set in 2024. No one could overshadow him in the Giro, the Tour, or the World Championships, while Evenepoel triumphed in the Olympics and Roglic took over the Vuelta, taking advantage of the fact that he was not in the lineup. In 2025, the Slovenian from UAE is seeking his fourth Tour de France title against a Vingegaard who hopes to arrive without the crash from last year, as well as races he still does not have in his palmarès like the Milan-Sanremo and, perhaps, the Vuelta a España. / Carles Ruipérez
Swimming
Marchant Superstar
In July, the figure of Léon Marchand (22) loomed large. It happened under the Great Arch of La Défense, at the Paris Olympics: the French swimmer collected four individual golds, an exceptional feat that elevated him in the world of sports (only Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps, and Kristin Otto have collected four individual golds or more in a single Olympic edition) and amazed the leaders of the discipline, in need of new icons after the departure of Phelps and the slowdown of Katie Ledecky. The World Championships in Singapore, in July and August, will determine Marchand's trajectory: we will see if he consolidates his success or if he fades away. / Sergio Heredia
