🎅 Wishing for a successful 2026, Sonia Bermúdez’s letter to Santa Claus | OneFootball

Spanish women's soccer is at the top of the world, bearing the star of world champions. However, the ambition of this generation is insatiable, and its new leader is no stranger to the mix of success and frustration.

Sonia Bermúdez, a legend of Spanish soccer and newly appointed head coach in 2025, knows the weight of history and the bittersweet taste of defeat. Her appointment, following a brilliant stint in the lower categories of the RFEF, came right after the National Team fell short of European glory, losing in the final of the Women's EURO in the fateful penalty shootout.

With an eye on 2026, a crucial year to establish the project and qualify for the next World Cup, Bermúdez sets aside tactics and scouting reports to write a very special letter. From her coach's heart, this is her wish list for Santa Claus, filled with hope and with the sole aim of ensuring that Spanish dominance has no end.

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Dear Santa Claus,

I know this wish list is not written by a child, but by a woman who, after more than two decades in soccer, has taken on the greatest challenge of her career: being the Head Coach of the Spanish Women's National Team. 

My first months have been intense. We conquered the Nations League and felt the support of more than 55,000 voices at the Metropolitano, reaffirming our leadership. But we also suffered the setback of being just one step —one penalty— away from European glory.

That defeat in the Women's EURO Final hurt us, but it has injected us with a voracious hunger. Therefore, my wishes for 2026 are requests aimed at consolidating our hegemony and building an unbeatable future:

Ticket to Brazil without surprises

My first and most urgent wish is that 2026 be the year in which, without speculations or unnecessary anxieties, we secure direct qualification for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.

The goal is clear: to arrive at the World Cup in full condition to defend our star and demonstrate that we are a power that not only wins but remains at the top. I ask that the team maintains ambition and that the pressure of being the current world champions propels us, rather than paralyzes us.

That our talent does not run out

Santa Claus, you well know that my heart is also in the grassroots, as I spent years watching these generations grow in the lower categories. Therefore, I wish that Spanish formative soccer continues to shine brightly on the international stage.

We cannot rest. I ask that investment continues in infrastructure, qualified personnel, and talent detection, so that the RFEF's player factory remains the most envied in the world. We need future "golden generations" to continue winning European and world titles in their categories, ensuring a quality succession that guarantees the National Team is always well-nourished.

Continue shining in individual awards

We are world champions due to the strength of the collective, but that collective is full of talents that deserve the highest recognition. My last great wish is for Spanish players to once again be the undisputed protagonists in achieving individual titles like the Ballon d'Or and the The Best award.

This is more than a whim; it is the thermometer of the level of our league and the individual quality of our players. I ask that this recognition be the norm, not the exception, and that the mark of Spanish soccer is imprinted on all global awards.

The table is set, and the excitement is at its peak. We only need health, a bit of your magic for those moments of fortune, and the certainty that Spanish women's soccer will continue to grow without limits.

Merry Christmas!

With gratitude and determination,

Sonia Bermúdez

National Coach of Spain

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

📸 Mateo Villalba Sanchez - 2025 Getty Images