On the eve of the biggest game of his career, Spain boss Jorge Vilda was again forced to awkwardly address the player revolt which nearly cost him his job.
Vilda will lead Spain into a Women’s World Cup final against England on Sunday at Sydney’s Stadium Australia.
It caps a remarkable turnaround for the 42-year-old, whose position was under threat last year when 15 players raised concerns about his methods.
The issue was brought back into the spotlight when Dutch star Vivianne Miedema posted on social media that the final was “slightly overshadowed by the absence of some of the best players in the world”.
Some of ‘Las 15’ have returned to the fold but pundits can’t help but wonder how much stronger Spain could be if they had players such as Mapi Leon and Patri Guijarro on deck.
Vilda, as he has done all tournament, danced around the issue when Miedema’s post was brought to his attention.
“What we want to do tomorrow is be the best in the world, and we’ll do this by winning the final,” Vilda said through an interpreter.
The Spain boss then continued to underline that his team were all pulling in the same direction.
“From the very beginning, the players have been united,” Vilda said.
“They've been working a lot, today (Saturday) will be our 65th training session.
“They will have memories of the rest of their lives, they've enjoyed it, they’ve had fun when we've been together and tomorrow we also want to celebrate together.”
Lionesses captain Millie Bright refused to bite when asked about the fact that her team were set to play a weakened Spanish outfit.
“I’ve not looked at it like that, it’s England versus Spain in a World Cup final,” Bright said.
“I think they're a fantastic team and I think we've seen that in their performances so far.
“That's why they're in the final and I think they deserve to be there. And for us, we're focusing on ourselves and preparations and making sure that we're in the right place.”
Both sides will be vying for their first World Cup title in their first meeting since the Lionesses dumped Spain out of last year's Euros at the quarter-final stage.
England, truth be told, have also suffered some upheaval on their run to this final.
Forward Beth Mead and regular skipper Leah Williamson, who captained them to last year’s Euros final win, haven’t featured at the tournament after being ruled out with injury.
England's uber-relaxed Dutch boss Sarina Wiegman has also had to change to a 3-5-2 formation after spending time without midfielder Keira Walsh (injury) and creative linchpin Lauren James (suspension).
“We’d absolutely love everyone to be here but it's been a great opportunity for other people to come in and step up,” Bright said.
“We’ve shown how adaptable we are - I think we're really blessed as a nation. It’s down to the mentality and the culture that we have in the England set-up (that we are here)."
American referee Tori Penso will officiate the final, completing a rare double after also working England's semi-final win over Australia.
