Weigman lauds Hermoso's 'remarkable courage'

England manager Sarina Wiegman said it shows "remarkable courage" for Jenni Hermoso to appeal against Luis Rubiales' acquittal for coercion and reiterated her support for the Spanish team ahead of facing them on Wednesday at Wembley Stadium.

The 2023 World Cup final was marred by the disgraced former RFEF president Luis Rubiales' actions during the medal ceremony and ahead of the replay of that final, with 55,000 tickets allocated for the crunch Nations League fixture, the conversation is still heavily weighted on the off-pitch issues.

Last week in a Spanish court, Rubiales was found guilty of forcibly kissing Hermoso after Spain secured the 1-0 win over England. He, along with three others, were acquitted for coercion, a decision Hermoso has since decided to appeal against.

Wiegman admitted at a news conference on Tuesday that Hermoso, who is not part of the squad facing the Lionesses, has shown "remarkable courage" for announcing her decision to appeal the court's ruling.

While the case has been ongoing, Spain's dominance has not dwindled. Las Rojas have avoided defeat in their last seven games with their most recent loss coming against Germany in the Olympic third place playoff.

"It says how brave they are. It says first of all that they're a very good team, but it also says that they show resilience and they're so brave," Wiegman said of their ability to maintain their standards on pitch during the turbulence off pitch.

"And again, we're talking about it again today. I think we have to keep talking about it. I would almost say unfortunately and we have to keep telling the world that we stand in solidarity and hopefully it'll make change."

Alessia Russo, who plays alongside two Spanish players at Arsenal, Mariona Caldentey and Laia Codina, was full of praise for the Spanish team, especially those she knows well, insisting that their standards did not drop on the pitch while the case was on going.

"We've stood in solidarity with them since the moment that it began and it's really a shame that they've had to have gone through this," the forward added. "We hope that it makes change go further forward and I think you spoke on it before, it's a testament to the players to be so brave to speak out, but also to still be performing at the level that they are. And I've got teammates that have been through it and they've acted with so much class through it all and we stand with them and back them all way.

"I mean we're all with them through the process. I know it's been tough on teammates who I've played with. I mean they're fantastic girls and like I said before, they act so much class. I think it's a real shame for what they've been through. They've been professional through it all and have never let their football standards slip so massive respects at the moment. They're top players as well and their standards are always sky high and yeah, I'm grateful to have teammates and people like that around me day in, day out.

The pair admitted that the women's community is a "special" place. While they are and will continue to compete on pitch, there is a solidarity off pitch.

"I think the women's game, that community, that's kind of special," Wiegman said. "We are absolutely competing when we play each other, but when we go after the pitch, we support each other, we support Spanish in the situation. But I think overall women football players are supporting female football players and women in society. So I think that's a bigger picture than just that."

Russo added: "I think the community that women's football has is really special and quite unique about the game. I think whether it be good or bad, we help and we come together as one. I think we're really good at celebrating each other's successes. Ultimately, we all want the same full wins football, we want it to be at the highest levels without moments like this happening. I think the community of women's football in general is really special."

England are on the back foot heading into the second game of the Nations League. The Lionesses squandered their 1-0 lead against Portugal on Friday to draw the side 1-1 while Spain, the competitions holders, came from behind against Belgium to secure a 3-2 win.

England have been struggling to find form, only winning two of their last six games. Despite this, Russo insists that England are in a "good place" and believes this, a game between the reigning European Champions and the World Champions, is the perfect test ahead of defending their crown in July in Switzerland.

"I think winning games in general gives you confidence as a team, but also we learn a lot from maybe performances that aren't as positive and I think that's part of football and it's part of the journey that we're on.

"Ultimately we want to be our best ready for the Euros and this is another massive step in our journey. We want to be testing ourselves against the top oppositions and with our group and the nations league, we've got that. So I think it's really good prep."