💫 Heads up as Spain Women fight back for Euros opener win | OneFootball

Spain Women scored three sublime headers as they fought back from an early deficit and injury worries to defeat Finland in their Euro 2022 opener.

Scorers: Paredes 26′, Bonmatí 41′, García 75′, Caldentey pen 90+5′; Sallström 1′

After a touching on-field show of support for Alexia Putellas beforehand in which her team-mates rallied around the stricken star, things couldn’t have started worse for La Roja.

She could only watch on from the sidelines as a long ball down the right was collected by Linda Sallström who raced in and from a difficult angle, calmly fired in off the far post for a surprise lead.

Spain thought they’d levelled midway through the half but that goal was correctly ruled out for the ball having left the field of play before being hooked back into the area before the equaliser did arrive on 26 minutes.

It came from captain Irene Paredes who led by example by thumping home an emphatic header from Mariona Caldentey’s corner for her 10th goal for her country – with four of those coming against the Finns.

Another phenomenal header four minutes before half-time turned the contest around as Aitana Bonmatí steered her effort fantastically across goal and in, dedicating her goal to an ecstatic Putellas on the sideline, who ditched her crutches in celebration.

Tinja-Riikka Korpela produced two very smart stops to keep the score to the minimum after the interval but she could do nothing when Lucia García put the result beyond doubt with Spain’s third headed goal of the game from another perfect Mapi León delivery.

That saw Spain become the first team to score three or more headed goals in a single Women’s European Championship game since Sweden managed the feat nine years ago – also against Finland.

They added a fourth in injury-time with the final kick of the game from the penalty spot via Caldentey to finish with a flourish.