Peace comes to the women's national team: the return of Jenni Hermoso and Mapi León marks the beginning of "a new era" for Bermudez.

There was maximum anticipation this Friday to find out the first 23 chosen by Sonia Bermúdez . The big question was clear: would Jenni Hermoso return, sidelined by Montse Tomé, with whom she had several disagreements? The answer, a resounding 'yes' accompanied by another important return, that of Mapi León , highlights a reality that had been sorely lacking in the Spanish women's national football team : peace has finally arrived, led by the new national coach, at the beginning of "a new era," as the coach emphasized, for La Roja .

She had been the forward for exactly one year , since October 2024, without being included in the national team's plans. A period in which Luis Rubiales was tried for his kiss with the footballer and in which she had several exchanges of words with the previous coach. Three years had passed without seeing the centre-back , the only one of the '15' who had yet to return, in a Spain shirt: her last match with the national team was at Euro 2022, despite Tomé including her in his squad on her debut as coach for a training camp that ended the 'Oliva pacts'.

Both will be available to Bermúdez for the Nations League semifinals—a two-legged tie for the first time—in which Spain is defending its title against Sweden, on October 24 and 29. " A very tough opponent , who in my opinion had a great Euro Cup, with decisive players, very strong physically. They're a team that moves very well, and they penalize you if you lose the ball in low areas," the Madrid-born coach analyzed.

The focus in Las Rozas, however, wasn't on football, but on the players. Question after question sought to unravel the inside story of the returns of two crucial players in the history of the Spanish women's national team. " Mapi has a lot of experience, she's in good form , and the federation has been working for a long time to allow her to return. From a normal perspective , she tells us she's excited, that she wants to wear the Spanish shirt ," he limited his response, for the first time, to the Barça player.

" We had a first meeting with Jenni , and we highly value her performance. She's coming with enthusiasm, she has a lot of experience, and I think she can contribute to us in different roles and on and off the field . Her commitment is huge, and she can play in different positions," he said of La Roja's all-time leading scorer.

And that's as far as the coach goes: "It doesn't matter to go into details. The important thing is that they're on the list today , that we're counting on their talent, and we're basing our efforts on their performance. In Mapi's case, everything that was done before isn't bad."

"We're starting from scratch; I'm not going to go into what happened before. It's a new era, a new stage , and we're delighted to have both of them here," Bermúdez concluded. Words, backed by actions, with the call-up of both international players, put an end to the last remaining shadow of the storm in the women's national team. A new chapter begins for Spanish women's football: that of Sonia Bermúdez.