Spanish defender Olga Carmona (C) scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute of a 2023 Women’s World Cup semifinal match against Sweden on Tuesday in Auckland, New Zealand. Photo by Brett Phibbs/EPA-EFE
Spain and Sweden played 80 minutes of scoreless soccer before nearly 9 minutes of bedlam Tuesday in a Women’s World Cup semifinal. Olga Carmona scored the clincher in the 89th minute, leading Spain to the finale.
Spain will meet England or host country Australia in the finale Sunday in Sydney. The Spaniards will make their first appearance in a Women’s World Cup final. Advertisement
Salma Paralluelo also scored for Spain in the 2-1 triumph Tuesday in Auckland, New Zealand. Fellow striker Rebecka Blomqvist scored Sweden’s lone goal.
“It was a very tough game,” Paralluelo said on the Fox broadcast. “It could’ve been difficult to recover from their goal, but we’ve shown that his team can deal with everything. We deserved this. We took this little step, and now we need that final push.
“Now it’s the final. I think we have to do what we’ve done in every match. We’ve overcome every challenge and now we face the ultimate challenge, the big one.” Advertisement
Tuesday’s game marked the first time in Women’s World Cup history that a three-goal match didn’t include an initial score within the first 80 minutes.
“We got ahead on the scoreboard and they tied us again,” Spain manager Jorge Vilda said. “The team overcame it, we scored the winning goal and now we have enormous happiness.
“In the first minutes of the second half, we had a bad time. They were getting very close, but the game changed and we had more bite. … We are in the final of a World Cup. My hair is standing on its ends.”
Both sides attempted early chances, with Carmona missing just wide of the right post in the 14th minute on one of those initial opportunities.
Goalie Cata Coll denied a point-blank-range shot from Sweden forward Fridolina Rolfo in the 42nd minute.
Spain forward Alba Redondo nearly broke the deadlock again in the 70th minute, but her shot from the ground went into the outside netting, just beyond the left post.
Paralluelo then sparked the scoring frenzy, beating Sweden goalie Zecira Musovic in the 81st minute.
Forward Jenni Hermoso curled in a cross from above the box to set up that score. The entry pass was deflected out, landing 10 yards from the net. Advertisement
Paralluelo eyed the loose ball and put her right boot on it just before it could find Swedish defenders. Her low shot found the right side of the net, beating a diving Musovic.
But Sweden equalized less than 7 minutes later.
Rolfo received a throw in deep down the left flank in Spanish territory at the start of that sequence. She let the pass bounce, turned and lofted a high pass into the box. Sweden striker Lina Hurtig got a head on the feed and pushed the ball into space.
Striker Rebecka Blomqvist hovered into the area and used her right boot for a one-touch, fading shot into the right side of the net.
Carmona played heroine less than 2 minutes later, sending the decisive shot past Musovic. Midfielder Teresa Albelleira started the play with a corner kick from the left side, finding Carmona above the box. The left back settled the feed and smacked the shot with her left boot.
The attempt sailed above a crowd of Swedish defenders and drilled the bottom of the crossbar, before falling in behind the Swedish goalie.
No. 6 Spain outshot No. 3 Sweden 13-5, but put just two shots on target in the victory. They out-passed their semifinal foes 524-333 and held a 50% to 34% edge in possession. Advertisement
No. 10 Australia will face No. 4 England in the other semifinal at 6 a.m. EDT Wednesday in Sydney. The winner will face Spain in the Women’s World Cup final at 6 a.m. Sunday on Fox.
