In an interview with Spanish radio station Cope, Spanish women's soccer player El Mozo expressed her dissatisfaction and criticism of the Brazilian women's soccer team's style of play after the women's soccer semifinal loss at the Paris Olympics. As the No. 10 player of the Spanish team, she bluntly expressed her dislike of the Brazilian team's way of playing, but at the same time acknowledged the Spanish team's own mistakes.
It's really hard to accept being scored four goals by a team that, in my opinion, doesn't play soccer at all," said Hermoso. But I also understand that scoring goals is the key to the game. What we need to reflect on is why we made mistakes in a game like this and why we weren't able to play our style."
She further noted, "I liked the way we played in the second half, when we played with more discipline and more fighting spirit. However, it is really very difficult to turn the ball over when the other team is already ahead. Brazil obviously studied us and knew how to target our weaknesses and they kept hitting us behind the ball, which made me feel very uncomfortable."
On Brazil's style of play, Hermoso said bluntly, "For me, it's not soccer. I don't like this kind of soccer. They may think it works and wins games, but I have always believed that soccer should be a sport of passion and skill, not just exploiting loopholes in the rules and mistakes of the opponent to win."
Despite being critical of the Brazilian team's style of play, Elmoso also remained sensible and calm. She said, "We have to accept the reality that Brazil has reached the final and we can only compete for the bronze medal. But that doesn't mean we give up. We still need to prepare for the next battle for the bronze medal and go all out to get the best result."
Meanwhile, Elmoso also called on the fans and the media to give the team more understanding and support. She said, "We know that the fans have high expectations of us, but we are human beings and there will be times when we make mistakes and are not in good shape. We hope everyone can understand our situation and continue to support us. We will repay everyone's trust and support with practical actions."
