AUCKLAND – Olga Carmona’s gorgeous 89th-minute strike gave Spain a 2-1 win over Sweden on Tuesday to propel them into the Ladies’s World Cup last for the primary time of their historical past.
Spain’s thrilling victory at Eden Park units up a showdown in Sydney on Sunday with both Australia or England, who meet within the different Ladies’s semi-final on Wednesday. The last-four conflict in Auckland gave the impression to be drifting in direction of additional time earlier than suddenly bursting to life when substitute Salma Paralluelo put Spain forward with 9 minutes left.
Rebecka Blomqvist equalised for Sweden within the 88th minute just for full-back Carmona, Spain’s captain, to attain with an outstanding shot in off the underside of the crossbar from the sting of the field 60 seconds later. “We’re so happy with the whole lot we have now finished and for attending to the ultimate as a result of now we’re one small step away from glory,” mentioned Paralluelo.
It has been a exceptional run for a nation who had by no means previously gone past the final 16 at a Ladies’s World Cup, and for a group who had been in disarray within the months main as much as the match. Fifteen Spanish gamers instructed their federation final September that they not wished to be thought of for selection, primarily out of unhappiness with coach Jorge Vilda, and solely three of them returned for this Ladies’s World Cup run.
Whereas their dream of World Cup glory stays alive, Sweden are left with a well-recognized feeling after going thus far at one other main match earlier than falling quick. That is the third time in 4 Ladies’s World Cups that they’ve reached the semi-finals, solely to lose on every event.
Peter Gerhardsson’s aspect additionally misplaced within the final 4 on the European Championship final 12 months, having been overwhelmed within the last of the Tokyo Olympics on penalties towards Canada in 2021. “Everybody simply feels unhappiness and large disappointment,” mentioned Gerhardsson, whose group had been so spectacular in beating Japan 2-1 within the final eight.
“We had been up towards an excellent Spanish aspect they usually had been capable of disrupt us much more than Japan did.” Host nation New Zealand bid a fond farewell to the match, having generated a complete attendance of greater than 700,000 folks in 29 matches throughout 4 cities.