World champions Spain thump Belgium in Euro 2025 qualifiers
Paralluelo goals bookended a Jenni Hermoso strike in a clinical start by the Spanish, before the Barcelona attacker scored her third two minutes after the break and Esther Gonzalez and Sheila Garcia then completed the rout. "Salma had a great game. She's a player with goals who gives us a lot," said Spain coach Montse Tome.
The victory comes at a difficult moment for the Spanish football federation (RFEF) after disgraced ex-president Luis Rubiales, who was forced to step down last September after forcibly kissing Hermoso following Spain's triumph in the World Cup final in August, was briefly arrested on Wednesday in connection with an alleged graft scandal at the federation.
The arrest came two weeks after investigators searched 11 locations, including the RFEF's Madrid headquarters and Rubiales' house in the southern city of Granada, as part of a probe into alleged corruption and other crimes.
In Leuven in Belgium, Paralluelo broke the deadlock with a precise finish from a corner in the eighth minute and Hermoso doubled the lead eight minutes later.
After 30 minutes, former Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas set Paralluelo up with a delightful backheel and the 20-year-old turned and finished assuredly inside the box.
The hat-trick came soon after the interval when Paralluelo swept home Ona Batlle's cross from inside the six-yard box. Gonzalez netted a fourth for Spain on 64 minutes, before Garcia and Gonzalez struck again in the last five minutes to complete an emphatic away win.
Earlier in Group 2, Denmark won 3-1 in the Czech Republic 3-1 thanks to an early Amalie Vangsgaard strike and two goals in four second-half minutes from Stine Ballisager and Josefine Hasbo.
Olympic hosts France beat the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in Metz
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