From the country that claimed the last four Ballon d’Or awards, Spain has a new star.
The 18-year-old Vicky López announced her arrival on the big stage Thursday by helping Spain to an opening 5-0 rout of Portugal at the Women’s European Championship.
It was Spain’s biggest win at the tournament, eclipsing the 4-1 win over Finland at Euro 2022.
López added the second goal just minutes after Esther González scored the first, and she proved a constant threat for the beleaguered Portuguese defense, setting up chances for Alexia Putellas and playing a decisive role before González’ second goal.
Her performance earned praise from Spain coach Montse Tomé, even if she understandably tried to reign in the burgeoning expectations.
“She’s a young player with whom we have to be patient,” Tomé said. “We’ve been working with her for a year, almost two years now. We have a lot of faith in her talent, and she’s at a point where we’ve been able to give her minutes (of playing time) now. She responded well. She did the job she had to do very well.”
Tomé said López still had plenty of time to develop. “We have to keep helping her improve. She’s very young, and we’re here to help her continue enjoying what she does,” the Spain coach said.
It’s clear that Tomé’s faith is paying off for the player.
“When I play with confidence, I play better,” López told media in the mixed zone after Thursday’s match. “When you play without confidence, it’s bad. Ultimately I’m grateful for the trust that I’m shown because I try to be myself on the field.”
López played till the 81st minute when she made way for Aitana Bonmatí, who started on the bench after being hospitalized for viral meningitis last week. Bonmatí won the last two Ballon d’Or awards. Putellas won the previous two. All three players are teammates at Barcelona.
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At 18 days and 342 days old, López became Spain’s youngest player to appear at the European Championship. She’d already set the record as the country’s youngest player when she made her debut last year.
López became the youngest player to play in Spain’s top women’s league when she played for Madrid CFF aged 15. She joined Barcelona in 2022 and went on to break more records there because of her age, including becoming the club’s youngest player, male or female, to appear in the Champions League.
“My family is the foundation of my entire life, and, of course, my father,” said López, whose mother died when she was 11 years old, and who still looks to the sky after she scores.
Though Bonmatí is likely to play a greater role in the next games, López will get more opportunities to shine. She’s already thinking of the team’s goals.
“We’re hungry for more,” López said. “I think if we keep going like this, playing as a team and having that luck in front of goal, we’ll be able to play a very good European Championship.”
Up next, Spain plays Belgium on Monday (noon ET on FS1).
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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