Aitana Bonmati highlights what cost Spain Euro 2025 glory

Spain’s quest to win a first UEFA Women’s European Championship title ended in brutal fashion via penalty shootout loss to England.

Montse Tome’s side were tipped as pre-final favourites after being paired against old foes England in a repeat of the 2023 FIFA World Cup final.

Olga Carmona’s was the hero in that game, as her winner sealed a first world crown for Spain in Australia, but the roles were reversed in Switzerland, as England goal keeper Hannah Hampton shone for the Lionesses.

Mariona Caldentey’s headed a dominant Spain in front before the break, but England rallied after the restart, as Alessia Russo fired the defending European champions level.

The flow of the game ebbed back in Spain’s favour from their, but time and again Hampton stepped up for England, as the match drifted to extra time and ultimately penalties in Basel.

Penalty misery for Spain as Bonmati misses

Barcelona stopper Cata Coll kept out Beth Mead’s retaken penalty but Spain’s takers fell short with Patri Guijarro the only scorer for La Roja.

Double Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati was denied by Hampton – with Caldentey also kept out – before Salma Paralluelo dragged her penalty off target.

Bonmati was awarded the competition’s MVP award, after a superb campaign in Switzerland, but it was scant consolation for the 27-year-old.

Bonmati admits where Euro 2025 final was lost

The Catalan-born playmaker compared Spain’s inability to kill off the game late to Barcelona’s defeat in the 2024/25 UEFA Women’s Champions League final as Arsenal struck a dramatic clincher.

“We were superior in terms of play, but that’s not everything, it’s about scoring,” as per quotes from Diario AS.

“In the end, if you go to penalties, you’re playing for it in that moment. I apologise for my miss.

“We worked really hard for this. But, the same thing happened to us [Barcelona] in the Champions League final with Arsenal. From the 70th minute onwards, the game was ours.

“We saw it clearly, we were superior, they weren’t getting close to us. But, no one is to blame, we all played together, we win together and we lose together.

“Right now, with all of this frustration and pain, it’s cruel.

“Finals mean that in one day everything or nothing is decided. Now it seems everything is bad, but I think we’re the team who played the best, were the most talented. But that’s not always enough in these games.”