Spain vs. Sweden highlights
Both teams began the game unhurt, and it remained that way for the majority of the game until a flurry of activity in the 80th minute and beyond, when three goals were scored in only 10 minutes of game action.
The victory gives Spain its first-ever place in a World Cup final, headed by rising sensation Salma Paralluelo, who scored the game's opening goal. Later, just one minute after Rebecka Blomqvist tied the game for Sweden, Olga Carmona added the winning goal for Spain.
A thrilling second half between Spain and Sweden produced three goals in nine minutes, with fullback Olga Carmona's fizzed shot on the verge of stoppage time nudging La Roja into their first major championship final. Carmona collected a short corner kick on the left outside of the penalty area and rifled a shot off the underside of the crossbar, startling Swedish custodian Zecira Musovic, one of the stars of this year's Women's World Cup, to clinch a 2-1 victory.
Carmona's stunning effort came just seconds after Sweden stunned the loud audience with an 88th-minute equaliser from replacement Rebecka Blomqvist, her directed strike off a nodded-down header wiping out a Spanish lead for the second game in a straight. In a competition when manager Peter Gerhardsson's club has depended largely on crosses and set pieces to supplement its staunch defence, the goal was gloriously, prototypically Swedish. A looping cross reached the head of Lina Hurtig, who scored the game-winning penalty kick against the US in the Round of 16, and she cushioned it brilliantly for Blomqvist.
But, as it has done throughout the competition, the new guard continues to supplant the old in women's football. A very skilled Spanish team led by Jorge Vilda plays with the type of grace and flare that has boosted the sport's appeal, and that level of quality was too much for an ageing Sweden outfit in its sixth World Cup quarterfinal.
Salma Paralluelo, a teen star, opened the score with an instinctive, predatory strike on a loose ball in the area, her second goal in as many games, finally breaking the tenacious Swedish defence. Carmona, a 23-year-old rising star who completed 80% of her passes and won five of her eight duels, delivered the winning strike nine minutes later. Spain becomes the youngest squad to reach the final since 1995 (average age 25.3).
0 Comments