Spain have booked ticket for the final of the 2023 Women’s World Cup after seeing off tournament favorites Sweden in the semifinal.
The Spaniards had to fight hard to break Sweden’s sturdy backline, who have conceded only two goals in the tournament, heading into the match.
Spain dominated proceedings but were tamed in the final third when launching attacks.
The Swedes also showed a spirited performance against their European neighbours but a series of lose and rickety passes upfront prevented them from upsetting the Spaniards.
Both sides lived up to the bidding as the wrestled to hold sway over the game but were still locked in a barren draw with the first half far spent.
While enjoying a good spell of possession going forward, the Spaniards needed to do more to break down Sweden’s stone-wall defence.
The first half ended with both sides unable to break the goal deadlock but Spain still held the promise of running away with victory as they showed a superior performance.
The game continued barren minutes into the second half with Spain still in control of proceedings. Both sides made a series of early substitutions to chisel the game in their favor but nothing changed.
It was still goalless with the hour mark crossed.
After a marathon of failed attempts to take the lead, Spain manager Jorge Vilda seemed to have gotten to the root of the attacking deadlock.
Vilda made a shrewd but telling substitution seven minutes into the first half which ended up turning the game around in a flash.
She brought off reigning Ballon d’Or winner and Barcelona forward Allexia Putellas for Salma Paralluelo. The substitution was magical, proving a turning point of the game but the Spaniards had to wait 24 minutes more to land the first punch.
Paralluelo turned the game around for the Spaniards, sharpening their attack and adding more precision to their press and advance up Sweden’s final third.
In the 81st minute, she finally dropped the curtain-raiser to give Spain the lead.
It was a deserved lead for the Spaniards having exerted more control of the ball going forward.
Sweden fought back immediately, attempting to find an equaliser and nailed it just 6 minutes after Spain’s strike.
Rebecca Blomqvist netted the equaliser in the 87th minute to bring back the Swedes hope of reaching the final.
Just a minute after Blomqvist’s equaliser, Olga Carmona raced Spain into the lead after he fired into the underside of the bar.
With few minutes left to play, Sweden attempted another late challenge to respond and level the scores again but Spain hanged on to the lead to secure a deserved 2-1 win.
La Roja will be heading into the final of the competition where they will take on the winner between England and tournament co-host Australia on Sunday, 19 August 2023 while the loser will face Sweden in third place playoff on Saturday 18 August 2023.
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