For Veronica Boquete, the road to the Women’s World Cup has been a bumpy ride

A driving force, Veronica Boquete been an integral part of the team for the last decade. But it says much about the profile and the underachievement of the Spanish women’s side that in a 10-year span, she’s still to break the 50-cap mark. To put in in context, Megan Rapinoe made her debut for the United States in 2006 and has racked up over a century of appearances so far. For a very long time, Spain just didn’t get the games. They didn’t qualify for major tournaments. They didn’t really do much at all. That is, until 2012, when Boquete intervened again to make another firm statement for women’s soccer in the country.

There is still a big gulf between us and the main powers due to conditions in the professional game but not due to quality.

Veronica Boquete

Ever since, there has been significant progress. At the Euros, Spain made it to the quarter-finals, beating England along the way. Boquete scored three times at the tournament, leading by example. They qualified for their very first World Cup without losing a game. In Canada, playing in Group E with Brazil, South Korea and Costa Rica, Boquete is realistic about her team’s chances. However, she also pointed out “all the effort we have put in,” and that anything can happen.

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