Spain is headed to the Women's World Cup final for the first time in the tournament's history.
La Roja defeated Sweden 2-1 in a thrilling semifinal game in New Zealand on Tuesday. It is just the third time Spain has played in the tournament and the furthest it had advanced, with the squad stepping up in the final moments of the competition to secure a spot in the championship match. The feat was even more impressive as they were up against the experienced Blue and Yellow. The Swedes were competing in their fifth Women's World Cup, one of which, in 2003, they were runner-ups.
“This is a historic day,” said Spain's coach Jorge Vilda. “We’re in the final, that’s what we wanted.”
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Despite a 0-0 score at the half, Spain dominated possession in the first half -- getting multiple looks at the net but miss-executed in the final third. In two of the plays, defender Olga Carmona and midfielder Aitana Bonmati each fired wide of the goal.
Finally, after 40 minutes of play, Sweden created a couple of opportunities, including a shot on target, but couldn't capitalize. Sweden defender Nathalie Bjorn latched onto a loose clearance and picked out forward Fridolina Rolfo but the shot was eventually pushed away by Spain goalie Cata Coll.
Spain finished the half with three shots and possession 67% of the time.
In the 70th minute, Spain forward Jennifer Hermosa pulled out an excellent cross onto the edge of the box but Redondo miss executed the target. Striker Salma Paralleula kept the play alive, passing it to Redondo but she fired it wide.
Shortly after, Paralleula redeemed herself in the 81st minute with the team's first shot on goal and successfully fired it in to give Spain a 1-0 lead. Paralleula battled two defenders but squeezed her shot through the gap to grab the far bottom corner.
Moments later in the 88th minute, striker Rebecka Blomqvist of Sweden pulled off the equalizer, thumping a header past Coll from close range to tie up the game 1-1.
Spain answered less than a minute later as Carmona, who was just outside the box, fired it into the top corner to give Spain the lead again at 2-1.
“It was a very tough game. It could’ve been difficult to recover from their goal, but we’ve shown that his team can deal with everything,” said Paralluelo. “We deserved this. We took this little step, and now we need that final push."
Spain will play the winner of the Australia-England semifinal match in the Women's World Cup final on Sunday at 6 a.m. ET.
“Now it’s the final. I think we have to do what we’ve done in every match," said Paralluelo. "We’ve overcome every challenge and now we face the ultimate challenge, the big one”
“Now it’s the final. I think we have to do what we’ve done in every match," said Paralluelo. "We’ve overcome every challenge and now we face the ultimate challenge, the big one."
Sweden will take on the loser of the semifinal game for third place on Saturday at 4 a.m. ET.
