Comendador: I am so proud of my achievements

Amidst a shower of confetti at the Stadion Miejski LKS Lodz, Pau Comendador couldn’t help but smile and celebrate on Sunday evening after La Rojita beat DPR Korea on penalties in the final of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Poland 2026™.

Overcome by immense joy, the young Spain winger can now finally call herself a world champion. “We’re really happy and now we need to enjoy the moment and celebrate,” a grinning Comendador told FIFA.

Having lifted the trophy alongside her team-mates in Poland, the Real Madrid player also picked up some individual accolades after a stellar showing all tournament. Her outstanding performances saw her awarded the adidas Bronze Ball behind DPR Korea’s Ri Kuk-hyang, who won the adidas Silver Ball, and her team-mate Rosalia Dominguez, who was named the player of the tournament.

However, it was the adidas Golden Boot that truly caught the eye as  Comendador enjoyed a fruitful campaign in front of goal and finished as top goalscorer with six goals. The young attacker will have to make space on her mantelpiece alongside her Golden Boot that she won two years ago in Dominican Republic where she bagged five goals on route to picking up the award at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™.

The Madrid-born talent has become the first female player in history to win two Golden Boot awards in two different age categories at women’s FIFA competitions.

“I’m really happy and so proud, and of course it’s all down to my team-mates,” she reacted upon realising the historic significance of her achievement. “It makes me think about all the hard work I put in to get here.”

Sweet revenge

Two years ago in the Caribbean, Comendador had to put on a brave face during the trophy presentation to hide her devastation as DPR Korea lifted the trophy after winning 4-3 on penalties after the sides couldn’t be separated in normal time.

“Just how football has given me some of the best days of my life, this time, it’s given me one of the worst,” she had written on social media, before adding that “everything happens for a reason.” On Sunday, however, the 19-year-old was able to put those demons to rest.

Despite dominating possession, David Aznar’s side could not find a way through a well-organised DPR Korea outfit who battled hard to take La Rojita to a penalty shootout. Having been substituted before extra-time, the forward could have feared a repeat of the same heartbreak. But this time, she approached the decisive shootout with confidence.

“It resembled what happened last time, but this time, I felt something different in us. We were feeling much stronger,” she told FIFA.

A ticket to Brazil?

The young starlet was right to put her faith in her team-mates, and particularly in goalkeeper Laia Lopez, who saved two spot-kicks as Spain confidently converted all four of their own. The top scorer at Poland 2026 was congratulated by her team-mates after the game.

“Pau Comendador is an exceptional player,” said her team-mate, Elen Gurtubay. “You can tell that by looking at her goals and statistics – she has a lot of quality in front of goal and she has the beating of anyone. I just want to congratulate her for getting this far.”

With two Golden Boots already to her name, the young winger is being tipped for great things in the future, and potentially even a seat on the plane for the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in Brazil next year.

She was quick to sidestep the question on the possibility of breaking into the senior team, but when asked about her ambitions for the rest of the season, however, her answer was crystal clear: "I just hope that everything continues to go well for me and that I carry on like this.”

With the bitter disappointment of two years ago behind her, the future looks extremely bright for the Spain starlet.