Ainhoa Marín celebrates her goal for Real Sociedad in the Champions League preview. Image: Real Sociedad.
Ainhoa Marín, the maturity of a footballer earning her maiden Spain call-up
The Catalan winger received her first call-up to the Selección española for the double friendly against Estados Unidos. The forward, who won the Mundial Sub17 with La Roja in 2018, is the second-highest dribbler this season in Liga F Moeve, with 31 completed dribbles, 48% of which have been successful.
09 OCT 2026
The big news in the Spain national team squad list to face the double friendly against the United States is Ainhoa Marín (Badalona, 21 March 2001). The winger, who started playing football at Unificació Llefià, signed this past summer for Real Sociedad, where she has become an undisputed starter on the right wing, both in Liga F Moeve and in European competition. “We want to see players. Every time we make a squad list, it’s very difficult because there's a lot of quality,” said Sonia Bermúdez about the forward's call-up. Her greatest strength has always been her dribbling. Since childhood, her father showed her several videos of Johan Cruyff. The Catalan also looked up to Ronaldinho, and started performing her first dribbles against the boys.
That ability to get past her opponents left its mark in the academies of FC Barcelona, RCD Espanyol and CE Seagull, before joining Deportivo Abanca in the summer of 2021. With the Galician side, she not only gained promotion to the top flight, but also established herself in the elite, becoming one of the best players in Liga F Moeve. In her last two seasons in Primera División, she scored 9 goals and provided 11 assists, being key to two consecutive seasons of survival with the Deportivo side. This season, she has taken another step in her career by signing for Real Sociedad, where she has already accumulated a total of 710 minutes across 10 matches in domestic competition, the Champions League qualifiers, and the UEFA Women's Europa Cup qualification round.
The forward has provided one assist, and scored a truly stunning goal against Chelsea in the Champions League qualifiers. A magnificent right-footed shot from the edge of the box to send the ball directly into the top corner, and make it temporarily 0-1 on the scoreboard. Although later, the English side would end up winning the tie. Her ability to beat players remains her trademark, and she is currently the second player in Liga F Moeve with the most completed dribbles, with 31 dribbles, an average of 5.17 per match, only behind Valencia's Rebecca Elloh. Furthermore, 15 of those dribbles have been successful, over 48%. Her constant threat in attack is decisive for the Donostiarras, and now for the national team.
However, the Catalan not only excels in attack, but also, with 1.5 balls recovered per match, she is the first to help with defensive duties. Her statistics are completed with 1.2 fouls won per match, and a 44% success rate in duels. Furthermore, Ainhoa Marín already knows what it's like to represent the Spain national team at youth levels. The winger won the U17 World Cup in 2018 with La Roja, although after the first match she had to leave the camp due to injury. She has also been called up to the U19 National Team, and last season she was called up to the U23 National Team, with whom she scored against France (3-2) thanks to her determination to fight for the ball. That same mentality that has earned her a call-up to the senior national team.