The Spanish National Football team has been on a dream run as they have now made it to the finals of the ongoing Women’s FIFA World Cup. Spain managed to notch up a dramatic finale; beating Sweden 2-1 in the epic clash to book their slot in the finals.
Salma Paralluelo’s 81st-minute strike, followed by a sublime curling shot by skipper Olga Carmona in the 89th minute saw Spain narrowly avert defeat. They will now face Australia or England in Sunday’s final.
While the first half of the match was pretty lackluster, the second half was full of energy and edge-of-the-seat moments. All three goals of the match were scored in the last ten minutes of the game. The first goal came for Spain, from the boot of Salma Paralluelo in the 81st minute. This was followed by the Swedish equalizer by Rebecka Blomqvist in the 88th minute. The final goal of the match was followed just a few seconds later by Spanish Captain Carmona in the 89th minute.
Carmona’s strike turned out to be the decisive goal of the match as Spain clinched a dramatic 2-1 win to walk past Sweden into their first Women’s World Cup final. Her goal was a stunning shot past Swedish keeper Zecira Musovic. This came as a treat for the Spanish team after a couple of promising efforts by the team were wasted in the first half,
The action, as it happened!
The single shot that was on goal in the first half belonged to Sweden. At the back post, Rytting Kaneryd found Frida Rolfo, but Catalina Coll of Barcelona’s team blocked her shot attempt. The effort may have contributed to Sweden’s improved performance in the second half, but chances were still scarce because both goalkeepers were aware to the threat.
The innovation came from Parallels. Jonna Andersson mishandled a clearance attempt from Mariona Caldentey, allowing the young Barcelona player to score. She then scored easily from the slot, and the VAR check for offside was also successful. Seven minutes later, Sweden tied the score. Blomqvist smashed a shot beyond Coll after Lina Hurtig nodded a cross into her path.
Following the restart, Spain won a corner, and Teresa Abelleira’s kick found Carmona near the top of the box. Then, the Spain captain lofted a magnificent shot beyond Musovic, who could only deflect it into the crossbar as it crossed the goal line. As the final seven minutes of regulation time passed, Sweden continued to press for a goal, but this did little to seriously concern Spain, who ultimately emerged victorious in spectacular fashion on the biggest stage of them all!
There’s nothing to take away from the Swedish team, but Spain simply played the better football in the first half and had the better of the chances. Their efforts and hard work paid off as the Spaniards will now face either co-hosts Australia or England in Sunday’s final in Sydney.
Having been knocked out in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup and Euro 2022, as well as finishing as runners-up at the 2020 Olympics, it is another heart-breaking near miss for Sweden. They will now play Australia in the third-place play-off on Saturday.
