{"id":9151,"date":"2026-07-18T02:26:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9151"},"modified":"2026-07-18T02:26:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:26:49","slug":"the-first-to-win-mens-and-womens-trophies-back-to-back-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9151","title":{"rendered":"The first to win men\u2019s and women\u2019s trophies back-to-back : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-134273\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 4140;&#10;        --source-height: 2937;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2937+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"Pedro Porro #12 of Spain celebrates after the 2-0 victory during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi Final match between France and Spain at Dallas Stadium on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Texas.\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                Pedro Porro #12 of Spain celebrates after the 2-0 victory during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi Final match between France and Spain at Dallas Stadium on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Texas.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Florencia Tan Jun\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><br \/>\n              <svg class=\"icon icon--info\"><use href=\"#icon-info\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n              <b>toggle caption<\/b><br \/>\n            <\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Florencia Tan Jun\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If the Spanish Men&#8217;s National Team pulls off a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcur.org\/sports\/2026-07-15\/argentina-is-back-in-the-world-cup-final-after-a-thrilling-semifinal-win-over-england\" target=\"_blank\"><u>World Cup victory on Sunday<\/u><\/a>, the Spanish football federation would make history as the first to bring home successive World Cup championships on the men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s side in the history of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>The women&#8217;s team won the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/1189322535\/fifa-world-cup-2023\" target=\"_blank\"><u>2023 World Cup<\/u><\/a> and will enter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/mrR8Q37MpcVqgp0\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>next year&#8217;s tournament in Brazil<\/u><\/a> as defending champions. While the men&#8217;s team has been a perennial contender, appearing in 17 out of 23 World Cup tournaments, they last won the Trophy back in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>The FIFA Women&#8217;s World Cup has had a much shorter history than its male counterpart; having started in 1991 compared to 1930 for the men. During that time, it has only had five different champions: the United States, Germany, Norway, Japan and Spain.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-backstage-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap backstage\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Only two of those teams, Germany and Spain, have also won the men&#8217;s World Cup.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\"><strong>The Spanish System<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Spain has a robust men&#8217;s soccer league system, led by the Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera Divisi\u00f3n, more commonly known as La Liga. Its teams are consistently among the top-ranked in Europe.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.realmadrid.com\/en-US\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Real Madrid<\/u><\/a>, based in the capitol, is one of the world&#8217;s most successful soccer clubs. FC Barcelona is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/mikeozanian\/2024\/05\/23\/the-worlds-most-valuable-soccer-teams-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>third-most valuable soccer club in the world<\/u><\/a>, and Argentina&#8217;s Lionel Messi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/soccer\/story\/_\/id\/37608065\/barcelona-messi-overtakes-pele-scoring-record-644-goals-club\" target=\"_blank\"><u>broke Brazilian legend Pel\u00e9&#8217;s record<\/u><\/a> for most goals scored for a single club for the Catalonian team. Trips to Barcelona&#8217;s stadium, Camp Nou, have reached <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcbarcelona.com\/en\/tickets\/camp-nou-experience\" target=\"_blank\"><u>near-pilgrimage status<\/u><\/a> for diehard soccer fans.<\/p>\n<div id=\"resg-s1-134277\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 5394;&#10;        --source-height: 3596;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/5394x3596+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb2%2F7c%2F4ba58e0e454dbdbe85ce0dd376b6%2Fgettyimages-1610976022.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"Spain's players and officials celebrate with the trophy after winning the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women's World Cup final football match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney on August 20, 2023.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                Spain&#8217;s players and officials celebrate with the trophy after winning the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women&#8217;s World Cup final football match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney on August 20, 2023.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Franck Fife\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><br \/>\n              <svg class=\"icon icon--info\"><use href=\"#icon-info\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n              <b>toggle caption<\/b><br \/>\n            <\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Franck Fife\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Spanish women&#8217;s soccer has lagged far behind, with both a league and a national team system plagued by poor coaching, underinvestment and abuse.<\/p>\n<p>In 2015, the entire Women&#8217;s World Cup squad <a href=\"https:\/\/equalizersoccer.com\/2015\/06\/19\/spain-players-call-firing-ignacia-quereda-womens-world-cup-exit\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>successfully called for the removal<\/u><\/a> of coach Ignacio Quereda, whose leadership of the team since 1988 led many female players to accuse the Royal Spanish Football Federation of indifference to the women&#8217;s team. Even before the 2015 tournament, some longtime national team players said they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sports\/soccer\/spanish-soccers-me-too-moment-was-decade-making-2023-09-01\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>refused to return to international duty<\/u><\/a> as long as Quereda kept coaching.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2021 documentary, &#8220;Romper el silencio,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/4838138\/2023\/09\/07\/spain-quereda-rfef-rubiales-vilda-world-cup-2015\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>players alleged Quereda sexually harassed<\/u><\/a> and verbally abused them.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-secondary-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap secondary\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<aside id=\"mid-story-recommendations-mount-piano\" class=\"mid-story-recommendations-mount-piano\" aria-label=\"recommended stories\"\/>\n<!-- END ID=\"MID-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" CLASS=\"MID-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" ARIA-LABEL=\"RECOMMENDED STORIES\" --><\/p>\n<p>In the run-up to Spain&#8217;s 2023 Women&#8217;s World Cup victory, players again called for improvements to the women&#8217;s national team training and resources, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/2022\/sep\/23\/mutiny-spain-squad-women-football-refuse-play-oust-head-coach-jorge-vilda\" target=\"_blank\"><u>15 players asking not to receive a national team call-up<\/u><\/a> until the federation made changes.<\/p>\n<p>Then, after Spain won, federation president Luis Rubiales <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/08\/22\/1195252925\/spain-world-cup-kiss-luis-rubiales-jennifer-hermoso\" target=\"_blank\"><u>forcibly kissed forward Jenni Hermoso<\/u><\/a>, alongside other alleged indecent behavior. The entire Women&#8217;s World Cup squad stood behind Hermoso, calling for the removal of Rubiales and national team coach Jorge Vilda, who supported Rubiales. The players turned the international spotlight and goodwill of their 2023 victory into an international rallying cry that highlighted the poor treatment of female players.<\/p>\n<p>Rubiales was suspended for three years, then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/02\/21\/nx-s1-5304263\/luis-rubiales-sexual-assault-spain-trial\" target=\"_blank\"><u>tried and found guilty<\/u><\/a> of sexual assault.<\/p>\n<p>Members of the current Spanish men&#8217;s World Cup squad supported Hermoso and the other Spanish players in the wake of the Rubiales incident. Borja Iglesias, a striker, refused to play for the Spanish federation after Hermoso&#8217;s assault until Rubiales was removed.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavozdegalicia.es\/noticia\/gradario\/2026\/07\/15\/emotivo-abrazo-borja-iglesias-jenni-hermoso-dallas-referente-\/00031784137369482132843.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><u>In a viral moment<\/u><\/a> on Tuesday, he found Hermoso on the sidelines after Spain defeated France in the World Cup semifinal and they hugged.<\/p>\n<p>Spain will face Argentina at 3pm ET Sunday in New Jersey.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bucketwrap featured area\" id=\"resg-s1-134232-100\" role=\"featured\" aria-label=\"featured\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-134232-101\" class=\"bucketwrap statichtml\">\n                  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/g-s1-98388\/2026-world-cup-north-america\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" style=\"display: inline-block; max-width: 100%;\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/13\/4b\/8dd1f5054f37ba5cb29047f68fe5\/homepage-wide-1000x250.png\" alt=\"Soccer Edition: World Cup stories, beyond the scores from the NPR Network\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; border: none;\"\/><\/a>\n      <\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"RESG-S1-134232-101\" CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP STATICHTML\" --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP FEATURED AREA\" ID=\"RESG-S1-134232-102\" ROLE=\"FEATURED\" ARIA-LABEL=\"FEATURED\" -->\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP FEATURED AREA\" ID=\"RESG-S1-134232-100\" ROLE=\"FEATURED\" ARIA-LABEL=\"FEATURED\" --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcur.org\/people\/madeline-fox-1\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Madeline Fox is News Director at KCUR<\/em><\/a><em>. For more World Cup coverage from KCUR, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcur.org\/world-cup-kansas-city\" target=\"_blank\"><em>check out Soccer City 2026<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pedro Porro #12 of Spain celebrates after the 2-0 victory during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi Final match between France and Spain at Dallas Stadium on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. Florencia Tan Jun\/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Florencia Tan Jun\/Getty Images If the Spanish Men&#8217;s National Team pulls off a World&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4140x2329+0+0\/resize\/1400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Ff1%2F0289ef444c2f845329f4de800d36%2Fgettyimages-2286113490.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}