Late flurry of goals sees Spain beat Sweden to reach first Women's World Cup final
Sweden arrived having beaten all before them so far, including the reigning champions USA in the Round of 16, and they burst out of the traps with Yellow waves immediately crashing upon the famous red and blue of the Spanish.
It was La Roja who would threaten first, however, as Olga Carmona’s flashing shot, which went just wide of the post, kick-started an impressive response which saw them dominate possession.
A fierce Swedish backline, which had only conceded two goals coming into the game, appeared uncharacteristically rocked by Spain's continual advances. Playing out from the back at a typical Tiki-Taka tempo, it was increasingly obvious that it was Jorge Vilda’s women who sat in the driving seat.
The Swedes finally had an effort of their own in the 42nd minute though and it was the most dangerous one of the half with Fridolina Rolfo being set up at the back post after Spain lost the ball trying to play out from the back but being thwarted by a save from Catalina Coll.
That was the closest either side would go to opening the scoring before the end of the first half.
Arsenal's Amanda Ilestedt had been immense for the Swedes once more as she continued to douse any sign of danger. Such solid foundations have often provided the base for world champions and Sweden represented an improved outfit as they started to stretch the Spanish backline.
But in an extremely tightly-contested affair it was now Spain’s turn to threaten, and they would have found an opener if Alba Redondo hadn't inexplicably hooked wide after some brilliant work by substitute Salma Paralluelo.
The introduction of the teenager had provided the Spanish attack with impetus and after a period of dominance, they found a goal that looked like it had sealed victory with nine minutes of normal time to go. The 19-year-old Paralluelo capped off a brilliant display with a wicked shot that found the bottom corner.
However, Sweden, who had suffered three defeats from their previous four semi-finals, refused to give in and struck back just minutes later through an excellent volleyed finish from Rebecka Blomqvist.
Extra time was imminent, but there was yet more drama to come as the game burst into life in the final minutes. Barely seconds after Sweden’s equaliser, Carmona’s fierce strike gave her nation the lead again and sent the crowd into a frenzy, though some may have believed that Swedish stopper Zecira Musovic could have done more as the ball slipped past her outstretched fingertips.
This is a Spain side who hadn’t even qualified for a World Cup until 2015 and had never won a knockout game, but another famous victory puts them on a brink of a first-ever WWC triumph.
Flashscore Player of the Match: Salma Paralluelo (Spain)
