I think from the inside it is more complicated than Vilda is untouchable. When the story first broke I was bracing myself for another round of abuse from coach staff; these stories are getting too common and we can not accept any type of abuse. However the wording was off and the demands not very clear (at least from what was shown to the public). Without first hand knowledge on the situation, it seems this is a complain on training methods, scheduling and lost of confidence from part of the player on the coach. It seems to be mainly Barça players; Barça has their own training methods and style. IMHO, this is a old guard football federation and a group dispute. I believe the federation and national team are above current players. The federation and national teams are forever, however they must treat the players with respect and dignity. From the point of view of the federation, they might be afraid of losing control of coach appointment (their job and privilege) to players. I have seen this power struggle happen in club soccer in Brazil. I expect the Spanish federation to play hard. The question is if Spain can be competitive without Barça players. Could you imagine if they manage to win the WWC without the rebel players? I confess I am support Spain in the next WWC (after Brazil).
I don't think Spain can win WWC without Barca players. Young guns from U-20 look promising but as replacements they are still much too green and besides have very little playing time with senior NT. Spain best chance is to win the group and then jump over weaker team of Norway/Switzerland/New Zeland in round of 16 - that's within the reach. Quarterfinal vs. Sweden/USA/Netherlands.. that's a horse of a different color.
Still waiting (patiently!?) for updates on Spain's roster for the upcoming friendlies in Australia and for any other news on what's going on. Yes, there are lurkers out here relying on the denizens of this forum to tell us what's happening with Spain, which is one of the biggest stories leading up to the World Cup (and which regular WoSo Journos can't be bothered with) Don't let us down now!!! (tee-hee!)
Their media is interested: https://www.rtve.es/deportes/202302...tbol-lista-esperada-jorge-vilda/2420866.shtml According to this; it is mixed, some players doubled down on their commitment and expect to miss the WWC (Mapi Leon, Jenni Hermoso, and Lola Galhardo) but several wants to return to the NT and have spoken with the head coach. Not sure how much we can trust this news.
THANK YOU! The article also says the roster for the trip to Australia will be announced on Monday 11AM (Madrid time)
So a heads up to what is one of the bigger stories 5 months ahead of the World Cup — Spain is set to announce their roster for the Cup of Nations in Australia Monday at 11AM (where it's already Monday in Madrid), which is 5AM ET / 2AM PT in the States We'll get a look as to how many of the boycotting / locked-out players have rejoined the fold
Here's the roster: 🇦🇺✈️ Estas son las 𝟮𝟱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘀 que viajarán a Australia.💗 Nuestros 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 en la #CupOfNations serán:🆚 Jamaica.🆚 Australia.🆚 República Checa.➕ Información: https://t.co/oDgJl36kHf#JugarLucharYGanar pic.twitter.com/SWyqEllFsB— Selección Española Femenina de Fútbol (@SEFutbolFem) February 6, 2023