Spain coach: Putellas fit for World Cup opener

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Spain coach Jorge Vilda says back-to-back Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas is ready to play in Friday’s World Cup opener against Costa Rica.

Putellas, 29, has not completed 90 minutes since tearing her anterior cruciate ligament a year ago in preparation for the European Championships in England.

Upon arriving in New Zealand last week she trained alone, sparking concerns about her fitness, but sources in the Spain camp said it was pre-planned after a long journey.

“Everyone is available for Friday,” Vilda confirmed at a pre-game news conference Thursday. “As for Alexia, we have optimised all the sessions we have had to have the best Alexia with us.

“We have been careful with what she does, putting all possible measures in place to ensure she is in the best possible condition to play [on Friday].”

Putellas returned for her club, Barcelona, on Apr. 30 after 10 months out and featured as a substitute in their final six matches of the season, including the Champions League final win over Wolfsburg.

She has since started and played 60 minutes in each of Spain’s World Cup warm-up wins over Panama and Denmark, scoring against the former.

With Putellas in the side, expectations are high back in Spain as La Roja prefer for their third appearance at a World Cup but the first where they are considered among the favourites.

They have never previously won a knockout game at a major tournament — losing to the United States in the last 16 of the 2019 World Cup and to England in the quarterfinals of last year’s Euros — and Vilda hopes that will change this time round.

“We have a playing style which is recognisable and known around world,” he said. “We know there are big expectations about what we can do on the pitch, which is a privilege and an extra motivation.

“I would emphasis that at youth level we are best in the world by a distance. That’s the step we need to take at senior level.

“It’s been the small details that have seen us eliminated [in the last Euros and World Cup] but we want to give our all and go deep into the tournament.

“In our first World Cup [in 2015] we were ranked 20-something in the world and now we are sixth. We didn’t have players who were references and now we have players who are recognised among the best in the world.

“It has all happened very quickly and we are now in a moment when we can compete and enjoy ourselves.”