It was written in the script that this semifinal would be settled by a decisive set piece. The twist in the tale, however, was that it was scored by Spain, rather than Sweden, to secure La Roja’s first Women’s World Cup final appearance.
By doing so with their 2-1 win at Eden Park, Spain sent a message to their potential opponents in the final on Sunday — the winners of Wednesday’s semifinal between England and Australia — that their supposed weaknesses are no more. This Spain team is the real deal.
“The feeling is just happiness,” coach Jorge Vilda said. “We picked ourselves up again after [Sweden] equalised, but with soul, with magic, the team keeps overcoming [hurdles].”
Vilda’s players had already banished the question marks hanging over their credentials prior to Olga Carmona’s 89th-minute winner, which crashed in off the underside of goalkeeper Zecira Musovic’s crossbar. But by sealing the win with a clever dead-ball routine, they also beat Sweden at their own game.
Sweden’s ruthless ability to capitalise on set pieces dominated the buildup to this match. Their top scorer in this competition is Amanda Ilestedt — a centre-back with four goals. Vilda was asked how his side would deal with a team that had scored the bulk of their goals in this tournament from free kicks and corners, while his counterpart, Peter Gerhardsson, appeared irritated by the inference that his side were nothing more than one who expertly played a game of percentages from dead balls.
But in the end, the team that made the set piece count most of all was Spain, when Teresa Abelleira spotted Carmona unmarked on the edge of the Sweden penalty area and played a short corner to the full-back, who took a touch to control before scoring from 20 yards.
“I am euphoric,” Carmona said. “I can’t wait for the final. I have never experienced anything like it in football.”
Just 94 seconds earlier, Sweden’s two late substitutes had combined to cancel out Salma Paralluelo’s 81st-minute opener, when Lina Hurtig headed down for Rebecka Blomqvist, seemingly taking the game into extra time. But Spain showed grit and determination by bouncing back immediately. It was a deserved winner. They had been the better team, the one that dominated possession, and they also created 13 chances to Sweden’s five.
Yet Spain’s 4-0 group-stage defeat against Japan, and the fallout from last October’s squad mutiny, when 15 players wrote to the Spanish Federation demanding changes behind the scenes, had left a cloud of doubt over this team as to whether they really had the ability to win against a team as strong — tactically and physically — as Sweden.
Sweden aren’t easy on the eye, but they are supremely well drilled. Had they won, it would have been a victory of steel over style, but Spain had too much for them and they will go into Sunday’s final as the favourites, no matter who they face. That’s because they showed they can not only control the game against more imposing teams, but they are also able to withstand the challenges that teams like Sweden, England and Australia can pose.