Coll: I want opponents to fear me

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For Cata Coll, there was one moment that changed everything. The second-choice goalkeeper behind Sandra Panos for Barcelona, she travelled to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 with Spain behind Misa Rodriguez in the pecking order. On the bench for her side’s three group games, not even Coll herself expected to be drafted into the starting XI for the last-16 clash with Switzerland.

That evening in Auckland was an unforgettable moment for a player making, remarkably, her first start for the senior side. That said, the now 22-year-old was by no means short of international experience, having won the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with her country and finished second at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

With Coll between the sticks, the Spanish went on to thrash the Swiss, edge out the Netherlands in extra-time, beat Sweden in the semis and sink England in thefFinal. Though it was English custodian Mary Earps who took the competition’s adidas Golden Glove, Coll herself played a significant role in Spain’s triumph.

Nominated for The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper prize alongside Earps and Australian Mackenzie Arnold, Coll caught up with FIFA ahead of the gala, set to take place on 15 January in London.

FIFA: What does being nominated for The Best mean to you?
Cata Coll: At the end of the day, you’re always pleased to be nominated for things like this. It’s true that you see such inspirational players nominated for these awards, so it’s always nice [to be included], but I think that, though it gets said a lot, these are collective awards and you win because your team’s won. It’s about being a good team and this year we’ve had that with Spain and with Barcelona, where we had a very good season and won the Champions League. I’m pleased but these are definitely collective awards that are then reflected in individuals.

Have you had time for your World Cup experience to sink in? What memories stick with you, apart from becoming a world champion?
More than anything else, the people. There were six of us, mainly younger players, who formed a friendship group and that’s what’s stuck with me. We spent our days off together, we’d see each other all the way through the World Cup and I don’t think we saw any long faces once – we were laughing all the time. In the end that’s what you have to hold on to, that’s what you remember. It’s true that you’ve won the World Cup, you’re super happy, but in the end football moves very fast. I remember that we won and we were back in training with Barcelona 10 days later, focusing on other things. So when you think about it, you end up remembering those moments you spent with your team-mates, with your friends, and that’s what sticks with you.

I’d like to go over a key moment in your year: what was it like when Jorge Vilda decided to start you in the last of the World Cup?
It felt normal, but it wasn’t something I was expecting [to happen] in the last 16, which is a game in which everything’s on the line and if you lose, you go home. I wasn’t expecting it but when the line-up came out and I saw myself in the starting XI, after that everything went smoothly, it all went well. It’s true that, though there are several of us ready to play [in each position], that’s something you don’t expect, especially as a goalkeeper. Us keepers know that you either start or you don’t play, so you don’t get your hopes up. I seized the opportunity full of confidence as that’s who I am, someone with a lot of self-belief. I thrive under the pressure of big matches and that’s why it went well for me.

How do you handle the situation of being a goalkeeper at a World Cup and not being the recognised first-choice starter?
I think that I’m a very competitive person, I love a challenge. You know you’re there as second choice, but you never know what might happen. You might be subbed on or simply someone gets injured or something else happens to the other goalkeeper, so you need to be prepared. I’ve been to loads of tournaments, lots of World Cups, and it’s happened before that I went to a World Cup as second choice and ended up starting. [Prior to Australia & New Zealand 2023] I’d been out for a long time through injury and so I took it as a reward for that hard work. It was really exciting [to be called up] and I also saw it as an opportunity to go back to Barça in good shape. I’m a very competitive person, I went there to compete and the competition [between the goalkeepers] was very healthy.

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