Euro 2025: Bonmatí says Spain being 'the best team of the tournament' wasn't enough to win trophy

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Being the most skillful and technically best team at the Women’s European Championship wasn't enough to get Spain the title on Sunday.

The 2023 World Cup winner and 2024 UEFA Nations League title holder still does not have a European title for its stellar generation after a penalty shootout loss to England in the final after a 1-1 draw after extra time.

Spain trailed for just four minutes’ play across six games in the entire tournament. England led for barely five minutes’ play in its three knockout rounds games – and none against Spain.

“We were the best team of the tournament, but sometimes that’s not enough,” Spain star Aitana Bonmatí said.

Bonmatí cut a sad figure walking to the trophy ceremony platform to collect her trophy as the best player of the tournament, which she began days after being hospitalized with a bout of viral meningitis.

Bonmatí’s spot kick in the shootout was one of two saved by England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. Mariona Caldentey, whose 25th-minute headed goal seemed to set Spain on track for victory, also had her penalty saved.

Caldentey also went close to scoring a second time in the first half, in which tournament top scorer Esther Gonzalez had three chances to score.

Early in the second half, Caldentey’s Arsenal teammates Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo combined to level the score on Russo’s header.

“I’m a bit in shock,” Bonmatí said. “It was cruel. We played better, created more scoring chances, but in soccer sometimes that’s not enough. It all came down to the penalties.”

“I’m sorry for my miss,” said two-time Ballon d’Or winner Bonmatí, whose teammates Caldentey and Alexia Putellas also failed from the spot in a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Switzerland.

“I think this team deserved more. At least not living with this bitter feeling,” Spain coach Montse Tomé said in translated comments.

Spain captain Irene Paredes said it was “hard to look for the positives so soon. Right now, it’s a very tough moment.”

“England were happy just to reach penalties but, in the shootout, we didn’t perform well,” said Paredes, whose Barcelona team also lost the Women’s Champions League final in May to an English opponent, Arsenal. “To be a champion you need some luck, and I believe they had it.”

Spain still is a world champion and will soon prepare to start qualifying for the defense of its title. The 2027 World Cup is being played in Brazil.

“We will be back,” Bonmatí said. “There will be a World Cup in a couple of years, and that’s our goal now. This is a golden generation, with a lot of young players.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton stops a shot from Spain's Aitana Bonmati during a penalty shootout at the end of the Women's Euro 2025 final soccer match between England and Spain at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Spain's Aitana Bonmati walks away with her second place medal at the end of the Women's Euro 2025 final soccer match between England and Spain at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

England players applaud Spain's Aitana Bonmati on her way to receive her second place medal at the end of the Women's Euro 2025 final soccer match between England and Spain at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Til Buergy/Keystone via AP)

Spain's Aitana Bonmati poses with the "Best Player" of the tournament award at the end of the Women's Euro 2025 final soccer match between England and Spain at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump this week quietly appointed four new members to the Commission of Fine Arts, one of two federal panels reviewing his plan to build a White House ballroom.

One of the four is James McCrery, an architect who had led the now $400 million ballroom project until Trump replaced him late last year. McCrery also served on the commission during Trump's first term as president.

The White House announced the project last summer and Trump later demolished the East Wing to make room for the ballroom. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued in federal court to halt construction until the fine arts panel and a second federal commission give their approval.

The four new members were revealed in court papers filed Thursday by a White House official as part of that lawsuit. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The commission, which normally has seven members, has been vacant for months. Trump dismissed six commissioners last fall after the East Wing was demolished. A seventh commissioner, who was the panel’s chair, resigned after Trump took office last year because their term had expired.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has accused the Trump administration of violating federal laws by starting the project before submitting it for independent reviews by the commissions and Congress, as well as the public.

The three remaining members appointed by Trump to the Commission of Fine Arts are: Mary Anne Carter of Tennessee; Roger Kimball of Connecticut; and Matthew Taylor of Washington, D.C.

The National Capital Planning Commission, the second federal panel with oversight of construction on federal land, including the White House grounds, heard an initial presentation about the ballroom at its meeting on Jan. 8.

Marine One helicopter is seen on the South Lawn of the White House to transport President Donald Trump to nearby Andrews Air Force Base, as work continues on the construction of the ballroom at the White House, Tuesday, Jan., 13, 2026, in Washington, where the East Wing once stood. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)