Sonia Bermúdez: “The thing about England adds up, but Iceland is another context and three totally different points”

The national women’s soccer coach, Sonia Bermúdez, assured that they are “very involved” to win this Tuesday against Iceland and seal their direct ticket to the World Cup in Brazil next year, and made it clear that the great victory against England reinforces them, but that the match in Reykjavik is “another context” and “three other different points.”

“We all wanted to go into this match with these options, to add three points and be able to qualify directly, so we are very committed to the match because we know that Iceland in their field is a very difficult, very tough opponent, but we are looking forward to it to try to achieve the objective,” said Bermúdez in statements to the official media of the RFEF.

The Madrid native is clear that “of course it adds up” to come to this match after beating a rival like England. “Obviously, when you win as you did, everything influences, but it is true that now there are three completely different points. We are in another context, in another country, at Iceland’s home, so the team is already thinking about tomorrow and being able to add those three points,” he stressed.

In addition, they also have “extra motivation” for never having beaten the Icelandic team at home, “a very powerful team in aerial play, in duels, in set pieces, in second plays, who move quickly and have very powerful players on an offensive level.”

“We will try to be like in Castellón, very close to the loss to cut those transitions and try to score a goal as soon as possible to be able to seal the pass,” continued Bermúdez, who knows that now “everyone wants to win Spain.” “I’m very clear about it, so I think they will come out very strong, especially playing at home, but the team is focused on what we’re playing for,” he said.

For her part, the team’s captain, Irene Paredes, recalled how “totally important” Friday’s clash against England was and that they came back “with a very, very good game and a very good result. We come with good feelings, but in the end the key match is this, we want to win and we are here for it,” she noted.

“The team arrives very well after the match the other day and in the end we depend on ourselves, we want to win and there is no greater incentive than qualifying for a World Cup,” stressed the center, who stressed that Iceland “plays at home” and that in the first round they had “clear chances with the 0-0 draw.” “It is true that we solved it well later, but it will be a tough game in which we are going to have to be one hundred percent to have a chance of winning it,” he warned.

Paredes knows that his rival “has very physically strong players who feel very comfortable with crosses and shots, and with set pieces.” “So, we will have to be serious about that and then hopefully we can play our game and generate many chances,” he said.