Report: México Women’s Senior National Team to play Spain

Reports surfaced today in Spanish outlets that México would be heading to Spain for the next FIFA international window. According to Marca, they’ll face off against Spain on either Monday, April 12 or Tuesday, April 13 in Marbella. It’s worth noting that Spain will be using the matches as a tuneup for the UEFA Women’s Euro, while México’s quest to qualify for the World Cup doesn’t officially start until the Concacaf Women’s Championships start in November. Four teams from Concacaf will qualify for the tournament, which will be held in Australia and New Zealand.

Reports had surfaced earlier that México would be playing the Netherlands on Friday, April 9 but the Netherlands confirmed they’re playing Spain on April 9 and Australia on April 13.

México hasn’t historically taken advantage of international windows, so this will be another welcome departure from the previous era. México is also taking a considerable jump in quality over their last opponents. In the latest rankings, México is ranked 28th in the world. Their last opponents were Costa Rica, who rank 35th. Spain currently ranks 12th in the world.

Spanish restrictions on COVID-19 will require team members “must have a medical certificate with a negative COVID-19 RT – PCR or TMA test result, taken at most 72 hours before arrival.”

While this will certainly be a tough match for México, the higher level of competition should help the team prepare for facing off against tougher teams in Concacaf. Playing outside of México will be an advantage as well, as the matches against Costa Rica were both in México City. Playing in Europe will also have side benefits, as European teams will be able to easily scout Mexican players playing against high-level European teams.