How a year across the border helped set Cristina Martin-Prieto up for Spain Euro 2025 call

At the age of 31, Cristina Martin-Prieto finally received her first call-up to the Spain squad last year. Now, she's ready to take on her first major tournament, with a year at Benfica the catalyst...

A superb year at Benfica helped earn Cristina Martin-Prieto a Spain call-up. Image: Tânia Paulo / SLB

It’s rare you see someone make their senior international debut having already turned 30, but it’s rarer still you see it for the current number one ranked team in the world and the current world champions.

With a roster filled with world class attacking talent, in the past 12 months Spain have embraced now 32-year-old striker Cristina Martin-Prieto, ironically gaining her first call-up after leaving home for the first time to cross the border in order to play for Portuguese giants Benfica last summer.

It’s a move which has paid huge dividends, with Martin-Prieto’s 19 goals in 22 games both helping Benfica to another domestic title, and herself to the league’s Golden Boot award.

Now, she’s ready to help her country on the biggest continental stage, and potentially announce herself and her qualities to a wider audience for the first time.

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“Her attributes are quite unique,” says Benfica assistant head coach, André Vale. “She’s different, very strong physically, but she was in a league where that was noticeable. She was able to show herself, and what I loved was even at 31 she was a player who wanted to keep developing, keep being humble, always listening to you, her age was never a limitation to her dream of going to the national team squad and the Euros.

“People might think she’s on the downside of the curve, but she was like, ‘No, I will keep working, working and working’ to fulfil her dreams. It didn’t…I’d say surprise me, no, but what I loved about her is how she adapted to us. She was used to Tenerife and Sevilla where the play was low block and counter attack, whereas we are very much on the ball, dominate the ball and attack a lot.

“But there was not a moment she complained about something new, she wanted to understand what we do. It was not about us adapting to her, she wanted to adapt to us, a more possession-based game of football which at that time was not natural to her.”