Reigning Ballon dOr winner Aitana Bonmati scored one goal and helped create another as World Cup holders Spain came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 in their first game of the womens Olympic football tournament on Thursday.
Spain are making their Olympic womens football debut at the Paris Games but are leading contenders to win the gold medal after their World Cup triumph in Australia and New Zealand last year.
They fell behind against Japan in the western French city of Nantes to Aoba Fujinos early free-kick, but Bonmati soon equalised before Mariona Caldentey netted the winner in the 74th minute.
It is the perfect start for Spain in Group C, in which rivals Nigeria and Brazil meet later.
With 12 teams split into three groups of four, there is margin for error as the two best third-placed teams will advance to the quarter-finals.
