On Friday (Oct. 27), Jenni Hermoso scored the only goal in Spain’s 1-0 defeat of Italy in her first international game since winning the Women’s World Cup.
Hermoso did not play in either of Spain’s two UEFA Nations League wins in September, a decision which new coach Montse Tome said was taken to ‘protect’ Hermoso after the player pressed charges against Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales for his unsolicited kiss after the World Cup victory. Hermoso criticized that decision, asking “protect me from what?”
It was Hermoso’s 89th-minute goal, after she had come on as a substitute around 20 minutes earlier, that made all the difference on Friday after Alexia Putellas’s shot was saved. 
“What better joy than to get back here, to feel good again and to score the goal that gets the win — now I can only smile,” said Hermoso, who has become a symbol of the fight against sexism.
“Life sometimes gives you little gifts…Today I thought about a lot of people who have been behind me during this time. I am happy because, thanks to them, today I enjoyed football once again.”
Spain is currently at the top of their group in League A with three wins. They play Switzerland later this week and both Sweden and Italy in December.