Putellas double and Pina ensure Spain douse Red Flames

Spain continued their rich goalscoring form and closed on the knockout stages of Euro 2025 as they put six goals past Belgium on a rain-soaked evening in Thun.

- Tom Garry

The world champions were twice pegged back by equalisers, but Elisabet Gunnarsdóttir's side were eventually overpowered and, after Portugal's draw with Italy last night, have been eliminated. Spain, exemplifying their speed of thought and their speed of movement, are speeding towards the latter stages of the tournament in style and are in the quarter-finals.

They had scored five times in their opening victory against Portugal last Thursday and went one better in their second outing. This Group B match was being contested in the pretty town of Thun, where surfers love to ride the Aare river, in the centre of the old town, including earlier yesterday afternoon, as the heavy downpours of rain only strengthened the river's force. Each time the surfers fell and were swept downstream, they would swim back upstream, to try their luck again, adjacent to the tournament fan zone.

The scene proved rather reminiscent of Belgium trying to resist wave after wave of Spanish attacks in the second half, but it felt as though every time Belgium clawed themselves back into the match, a fresh torrent of Spanish brilliance swept them away again.

Alexia Putellas began the relentless scoring when she rounded off a neat team move, after superb play from Vicky López, to clinically tuck the ball home.