Six Spanish international footballers, five of whom had been on strike since the Rubiales affair, finally showed up on Tuesday at a first gathering of their selection in Madrid, after having reaffirmed on Monday that they did not wish to play again with La Roja for the moment. Real Madrid player Olga Carmona, who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final on August 20 against England, and four other internationals on strike, joined their coach and her staff in a hotel near the Madrid airport, noted an AFP journalist. All were signatories of the press release published Friday, in which 39 players, including 21 of the 23 world champions, announced that the conditions were not met for them to play again with Spain. After the resignation of Luis Rubiales following his forced kiss imposed on Jenni Hermoso, and the dismissal of coach Jorge Vilda, whose methods they criticized, they are demanding profound structural changes within the Spanish Football Federation. A sixth player, Athenea del Castillo, who is not on strike, also showed up on Monday, while her other teammates are expected at the Oliva camp, near Valencia, according to the Spanish press, to prepare for the match Nations League in Sweden on Thursday.
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