FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Women's Champions League - Final - FC Barcelona Training - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - May 20, 2022 FC Barcelona's Alexia Putellas during training REUTERS/Alberto Lingria/File Photo
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain should arguably be considered one of the strongest and most exciting teams at this year's Women's World Cup with a talented group of young players led by Alexia Putellas.
The best player in the world is set to return to the biggest stage after a major knee injury sustained before the 2022 European Championship sidelined her for almost a year.
But as Spain prepare to travel to New Zealand, where they face Costa Rica, Zambia and Japan in Group C, a cloud of doubt remains over the squad after a mutiny scandal.
Last year 15 players told the Spanish FA (RFEF) they were quitting internationals while manager Jorge Vilda was in charge.
The RFEF backed Vilda during the darkest hours of the revolt in September 2022 and he left all the players involved in the dispute out of the squad amid the controversy.
Putellas' leadership was reportedly crucial to bringing the dressing room back together and cooling nerves, but Spain will go to the tournament with a depleted squad as only three of those 15 unhappy players have made the World Cup list.
Marquee names like Sandra Panos, Claudia Pina, Patri Guijarro and Mapi Leon, key players in Barcelona's brilliant Champions League title campaign, are among those left out.
However, Spain's talent pool is so deep that even without Putellas and 15 of their brightest stars, they remained highly competitive, having lost only one of their last 11 games since being knocked out by England in the Euro 2022 quarter-finals.
Vilda's side enjoyed a perfect 2023 World Cup qualifying campaign, winning every game and finishing eight points above second-placed Scotland in Group B.
Vilda has defended his depleted squad, saying he has the best players he wants. With the return of dynamic midfielder Putellas, the first player to win the UEFA Women's Player of the Year award and Ballon d'Or twice in a row, he is confident.
"The core of the group has always been with us. Some (of the 15) have ended up coming too and I am convinced that they are going to work hard and fight for their country's jersey," Vilda said when announcing his squad in early June.
"There will be harmony. The objective playing for Spain and fighting for a World Cup is enormous, more than a reason to be all together."
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Ken Ferris)
