Coach Montse Tomé proclaimed that Spain's women's soccer team has “insatiable ambition” heading into the Olympics.
That mentality has served the squad well. La Roja is seeking to become the first team to win a gold medal in France after lifting a Women's World Cup trophy.
“We have a group of players who love what they do. We take them to work, work and work," Tomé said. "And in that work, their enjoyment comes out and their talent shines and they can be competitive, because we have footballers who have an insatiable ambition and mentality."
Loaded with talent, including reigning Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati and two-time former winner Alexia Putellas, Spain won the World Cup despite turmoil surrounding the squad.
Before the tournament even started in Australia and New Zealand, more than a dozen players stepped away from the national team citing poor treatment of the squad. Then-coach Jorge Vilda was peppered with questions about the mutiny throughout the event.
After the 1-0 victory over England for the title, Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales forcibly kissed forward Jenni Hermoso during the trophy ceremony. The kiss touched off a firestorm that led to Rubiales resigning in disgrace. Vilda was dismissed and replaced with Tomé, a former national team player.
Now settled, Spain qualified for the team's first Olympics by winning the UEFA Nations League. La Roja opens the tournament Thursday against Japan in Nantes. Group C also includes Brazil and Nigeria, who meet in Bordeaux.
Brazilian legend Marta says she's playing in her final major tournament with the national team. The six-time world player of the year, appearing in her sixth Olympics, has never won a World Cup trophy or a gold medal.
The 12 teams competing in the women's tournament play at stadiums across France. The hosts open Group A play in Lyon on Thursday against Colombia and teenage sensation Linda Caicedo. Also in Group A are Canada and New Zealand, who meet in Saint-Etienne.
The Canadians are the defending gold medalists. But the team was swept up in controversy just before the tournament's start when a non-accredited member of its support staff was detained by French authorities for allegedly operating a drone over New Zealand's training session.
The Canadian federation said it is reviewing the allegation with the IOC and Olympic organizers.
“The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair-play and we are shocked and disappointed. We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee,” the COC said in a statement on Wednesday.
In Group B, the United States seeks to move on from its disappointing finish at the World Cup. The Americans open against Zambia on Thursday against Nice, while Germany plays Australia in the group's other game in Marseille.
The Australians are without one of the sport's biggest stars, Sam Kerr, who injured her ACL in January. She's one of several high-profile players missing out on the tournament.
Germany midfielder Lena Oberdorf injured ligaments in her right knee during a European Championship qualifier against Austria earlier this month, and American forward Catarina Macario dealt with knee irritation in the run-up that forced her to withdraw.
On Wednesday, New Zealand announced that captain Ali Riley would be unable to play in France because of an unspecified injury. She has appeared in just five matches this season for her club team, Angel City, because of an upper leg injury. Michaela Foster will replace her.
The United States is playing its first major tournament under Emma Hayes, the former coach at Chelsea. Hayes didn't join the U.S. team until late May so she could finish out the Women's Super League season.
Hayes said it shouldn't be taken for granted that the United States is a lock for the medal rounds, because the field in France is balanced.
“There are top footballing nations in this tournament,” Hayes said. "I don’t think shocks in the women’s game exist anymore. I think we have to reframe our focus a little bit and have respect for the rest of the world.”
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
Brazilian soccer player Jhennifer controls the ball during a practice at the Granja Comary training center in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Teresopolis, Brazil, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine’s push to ease restrictions on the use of weapons from the U.S. and Britain will be discussed Friday in talks between the U.S. and British leaders in Washington.
Ukraine wants approval to use some weapons to strike deeper into Russia and there are signs President Joe Biden might shift U.S. policy in response. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons would put NATO at war with Moscow.
While the issue is expected to be at the top of the leaders’ agenda, it appeared unlikely that Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would announce any policy changes during this week’s visit, according to two U.S. officials familiar with planning for the leaders’ talks. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the private deliberations.
Ukrainian officials renewed their pleas to use Western-provided long-range missiles against targets deeper inside Russia during this week’s visit to Kyiv by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Blinken said he had “no doubt” that Biden and Starmer would discuss the matter during their visit, noting the U.S. has adapted and “will adjust as necessary” as Russia’s battlefield strategy has changed.
Blinken spoke similarly in May, shortly before the U.S. allowed Ukraine to use American-provided weapons just inside Russian territory. The permitted distance has been largely limited to cross-border targets deemed a direct threat, out of concerns about further escalating the conflict.
In addition to Blinken, Biden also has hinted a change could be afoot. In an exchange with reporters this week about whether he was ready to ease weapons restrictions on Ukraine, he responded, “We’re working that out now.”
Putin warned Thursday that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia. … If this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us.”
His remarks were in line with the narrative the Kremlin has promoted since early in the Ukraine war, accusing NATO countries of de-facto participation in the conflict and threatening a response.
Earlier in the year, Putin warned that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory, saying it “would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way.”
Starmer, in response to the Russian leader's comments Thursday, said on his way to the U.S. that Britain does not seek any conflict with Russia.
“Russia started this conflict," Starmer told reporters. “Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia could end this conflict straight away.”
He added: “Ukraine has the right to self-defense and we’ve obviously been absolutely fully supportive of Ukraine’s right to self-defense — we’re providing training capability, as you know."
“But we don’t seek any conflict with Russia — that’s not our intention in the slightest," Starmer said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pressed U.S. and allied military leaders to go much further. He argues that the U.S. must allow Ukraine to target Russian air bases and launch sites far from the border as Russia has stepped up assaults on Ukraine’s electricity grid and utilities before the winter.
Zelenskyy also wants more long-range weaponry from the United States, including the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, for strikes in Russia.
ATACMS wouldn’t be the answer to the main threat Ukraine faces from long-range Russian glide bombs, which are being fired from more than 300 kilometers (185 miles) away, beyond the ATACMS' reach, said Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz, Pentagon spokesperson.
American officials also don’t believe they have enough of the weapon systems available to provide Ukraine with the number to make a substantive difference to conditions on the ground, one of the U.S. officials said.
During a meeting of allied defense ministers last week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he did not believe providing Ukraine with long-range weapon systems would be a game-changer in the grueling war. He noted that Ukraine has already been able to strike inside Russia with its own internally produced systems, including drones.
“I don’t believe one capability is going to be decisive, and I stand by that comment,” Austin said.
“As of right now, the policy has not changed," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said Thursday.
Starmer said he was visiting Washington for “strategic meetings to discuss Ukraine and to discuss the Middle East.” It’s the prime minister’s second meeting with Biden since his center-left government was elected in July.
It comes after Britain last week diverged from the U.S. by suspending some arms exports to Israel because of the risk they could be used to break international law.
Biden and Starmer’s meeting also comes before this month’s annual meeting of global leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. The Oval Office meeting was scheduled in part to help the two leaders compare notes on the war in Ukraine, the languishing efforts to get a cease-fire deal in Gaza and other issues before the U.N. meeting.
The White House also has sought in recent days to put a greater emphasis on the nexus between the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East that was sparked after Iranian-backed Hamas militants in Gaza launched attacks on Israel on Oct. 7.
The Biden administration said this week that Iran recently delivered short-range ballistic weapons to Russia to use against Ukraine, a transfer that White House officials worry will allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets far beyond the Ukrainian front line while employing Iranian warheads for closer-range targets.
In turn, the U.S. administration says Russia has been tightening its relationship with Iran, including by providing it with nuclear and space technology.
“This is obviously deeply concerning,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said of the missile transfer. “And it certainly speaks to the manner in which this partnership threatens European security and how it illustrates Iran’s destabilizing influence now reaches well beyond the Middle East.”
AP reporters Tara Copp in Washington, Jill Lawless in London, Matthew Lee in Warsaw, Poland, and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.
President Joe Biden speaks during the Violence Against Women Act 30th anniversary celebration on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, talks to the media on board his plane as he flies to Washington DC., Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)
