Spain's Jenni Hermoso scored an impressive 89th-minute winner against Italy on her return to the national team.
Hermoso played her first minutes for La Roja since finding herself at the heart of a storm when former federation president Luis Rubiales kissed her on the lips during the World Cup trophy presentation.
She said the kiss was not consensual, and Rubiales eventually resigned following global outcry. He was then given a restraining order, with a judge banning him from going within 200m of Hermoso.
The forward missed games against Sweden and Switzerland in the aftermath of the incident, but returned in triumphant fashion when she netted on the rebound as a second-half substitute.
"What better joy than to get back here and feel good again, to score the goal that gets the win. Now I can only smile," the attacker told Spanish broadcasters RTVE.
Spain’s newly appointed head coach, Montse Tomé, who says she omitted Hermoso from the squad in September to protect her, commented post-match: "I would like to say how happy I am with that goal, considering the time she has spent on the pitch. We saw her smiling and I think everyone is smiling."
Hermoso has previously shared the distress that Rubiales' kiss caused her, saying she felt disrespected and that her reputation had been tarnished.
She added after the game: "I can tell you [I thought about] many things, but life sometimes gives you little gifts, and today I thought about a lot of people behind [me] this time.
"I am happy because thanks to them today I enjoyed football once again."
The goal, Hermoso’s 52nd from 102 international games, ensured Spain extended their winning run to seven. Despite controversy surrounding former manager Jorge Vilda and the quality of training and preparation, La Roja’s ‘golden generation’ are currently ranked second in the world by FIFA.
They top Nations League A group four with maximum points after three matches, and will again play Switzerland on Tuesday evening. The last encounter between the two countries finished 5-0 in the Spanish side's favour.
Spain beat England 1-0 in Sydney to win the Women's World Cup for the first time in their history.
FIFA suspended Luis Rubiales over his unsolicited kiss on Jennifer Hermoso, with Spain threatening to pull out of UEFA. After mounting pressure, Rubiales later resigned in an interview with Piers Morgan.
Alex Greenwood tells FourFourTwo that England have changed more mentality-wise than ability-wise, with manager Sarina Wiegman imperative to that – and Wiegman's success with the Lionesses has seen her linked with the England men's team as a possible successor to Gareth Southgate, with the FA saying she would be under consideration for the role.
