Jennifer Hermoso Fuentes (born 9 May 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX Femenil club Tigres UANL and the Spain national team.
She is the all-time top scorer for Spain, and was part of her country's championship side at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, where she was also awarded the Silver Ball.
Months later, she competed in the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 with Spain, scoring her first competitive international goal in a group stage win against England.
Following Barcelona's second-place finish in the 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League, Hermoso signed for Pachuca in Mexico's Liga MX Femenil.
[6] After developing with their youth teams, Hermoso made her senior debut for Atlético Madrid in the Segunda División on 5 December 2004, scoring a goal in a 6–0 victory over Vicálvaro.
[23] On 21 June, Hermoso started the 2014 Copa de la Reina final against Athletic Club Femenino, which went to a penalty shootout after being tied 1–1 in extra time.
[34] On 2 May, Hermoso scored 6 goals in a single match against Basque side Oiartzun in a 13–0 win, positioning her to finish as top scorer over Atlético Madrid's Sonia Bermúdez.
[40] PSG finished second in Division 1 that season, securing a spot in the 2018–19 UEFA Women's Champions League, and also won the 2017–2018 Coupe de France.
[46] Hermoso was named the ninth-best playmaker of 2018 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS)[47] and the best Spanish player of 2018 by The Guardian.
[51] In her first match back as a Barcelona player, she scored a hat trick within 18 minutes against CD Tacón (now known as Real Madrid Femenino) in the newly opened Estadi Johan Cruyff.
[61] In the first leg of Barcelona's Champions League quarterfinal tie against Manchester City, Hermoso entered the match as a substitute, only recently having been medically cleared.
[75] In August 2021, she was named a finalist to the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award alongside Barcelona teammates Alexia Putellas and Lieke Martens.
[84] Hermoso made her debut with Spain's U-19 national team on 12 April 2007 against Serbia in the second qualifying round for the 2007 U-19 European Championship, where she scored two goals.
[87] She made her senior-team debut on 21 June 2012 against Turkey in a 4–0 victory that allowed Spain to play in the playoffs of the UEFA Women's Euro 2013.
[92] In June 2013, national team coach Ignacio Quereda confirmed Hermoso as a member of his 23-player squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 finals in Sweden.
[96] She participated in all 10 qualifying matches for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada and scored 7 goals, switching between center and attacking midfielder.
[99] Hermoso did not play the other two matches of the group stage, in which Spain lost and did not qualify for the next round, a disappointing outcome that was criticized by the Spanish press.
[100] After the poor results in the World Cup, the 23 players in Spain's squad demanded the resignation of Ignacio Quereda with a collective statement.
After the Spanish Team once again did not process further than the quarter-finals at the 2022 Euros, many players internally voiced their concerns about multiple issues (e.g. training / preparation for games).
[116] Spain ultimately reached the World Cup final, defeating England 1–0, with her missing a penalty in the second half,[117] to take the title for the first time in their history.
[118] After playing 97% of total minutes and scoring 3 goals plus giving 2 assists, Hermoso finished second in voting for the distinction of player of the tournament, behind teammate Aitana Bonmatí, and thus received the Silver Ball.
"[119] After the match, during the medal presentation, she was kissed on the lips by Luis Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
[124] In a subsequent statement, Hermoso explicitly denied having given her consent for the kiss and that Rubiales' claims were "categorically false and part of the manipulative culture that he has generated".
[125] In a show of solidarity, 53 Spanish players, including all 23 members of the 2023 World Cup squad, signed a letter supporting Hermoso's position.
[126] The scandal led to statements of support for Hermoso from several active and former soccer players, other athletes and politicians, including Spain's deputy head of government Yolanda Díaz.
On 25 August, Rubiales gave a speech in front of the RFEF assembly where said that he would not be intimidated by "false feminism," claimed that he was being "socially assassinated," and exclaimed five times in a row that he refused to resign.
[140][139][141] On 27 October 2023, Hermoso played her first international match since the World Cup during the Nations League, coming off bench to score the only goal in the 89th minute in a 1–0 away victory over Italy.
Hermoso's free-roaming positional play is key to Barcelona's tactical setup, for it allows her space to receive the ball and create chances.
[149] Since 2022, she has also been pulled further back from her established position as the center-forward, moving to left or right midfield whenever Putellas or Bonmatí respectively have been unavailable, thus further proving her high quality as one of Spains most versatile players.
Physically, Hermoso is known for her comparatively tall stature of 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in), which aids in her ability to head in goals and makes her a threat on set pieces.