In the 81st minute of their FIFA Women’s World Cup match on Tuesday, things got real between Spain and Sweden.
Spain scored twice to send Sweden home and advance to the Women’s World Cup final for the first time with a 2-1 victory in Auckland, New Zealand.
Salma Paralluelo broke a scoreless tie in the 81st minute to put Spain ahead. The 19-year-old winger entered again as a substitute, just as she had in time to score the game-winner over the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. Paralluelo tapped in a loose ball near the net, splitting two defenders for the tally.
Rebecka Blomqvist brought Sweden back with her third goal of the World Cup, tying the match 1-1 with the clock reading 87:26.
Two minutes and a few ticks later, Sweden goalkeeper Zecira Musovic appeared to be spared by the crossbar, but Olga Carmona instead had the game-winner. Carmona collected a corner pass outside the box and rifled the goal off the bar and into the net to spark a celebration.
It was the second straight semifinals loss for Sweden at the Women’s World Cup.
“It felt like a punch in the stomach when they managed to take the lead again straight away. There are no words,” Sweden defender Magdalena Eriksson told Swedish radio, per ESPN.
“I’m incredibly disappointed, we gave everything we had, we even managed to equalize. We fought against a headwind today, we didn’t succeed.”
Spain will face either Australia or England on Sunday in Sydney, Australia. The two will meet in the other semifinal match on Wednesday.
—Field Level Media
