2023-08-11 05:45:43
Barcelona, Spain will play in the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup for the first time in its history. The controversial Jorge Vilda’s team hit rock bottom against Japan in the group stage, but have managed to overcome the doubts and have squeezed their weapons to go from less to more in the championship that is being played in Australia and New Zealand.
In a match that forced the fans who wanted to follow it live from Europe to go to bed late – or to stay up very early – they beat the Netherlands team after 120 minutes of play. He was better than the opponent for the majority of the footage, but he sweated the bacon to reach the goal because he lacked effectiveness in front of goal. Blaugrana players Mariona Caldentey and Salma Paralluelo decided in the 80th and 110th minutes.
Bolstered by their excellent match against Switzerland in the round of 16, the Spanish players came out with the same impetus to play the first quarters in the combined team’s history at a World Cup. It didn’t matter that Aitana Bonmatí, his indisputable beacon in the creation zone, received a real tick mark from Jackie Groenen so that he didn’t come into play. Because Spain has proven to have alternatives to Ribetana.
In this context, the figure of Ona Batlle has emerged, a footballer that Barça acquired this summer. The side of Vilassar de Mar, who is almost ambidextrous, gave a recital in a first half in which the Dutch did not kick even once. If in defense he has controlled the boarding schools of Pelova in his area, in attack he has had enough nose and lungs to capitalize on much of the danger of his team. She sponsored the clearest action for the Spanish before the break, a goal by Esther González that went up on the scoreboard and was immediately disallowed by colleague Frappart at the behest of the VAR. The Madrid striker was offside (39′).
The goalkeeper from the Netherlands has supported her team with up to three meritorious saves in the first half. The best, when he deflected a shot from Redondo onto the post, which in the rebound crashed the ball back into the wood. Van Domselaar has also successfully responded to two more attempts by Esther, the first from outside the area and the second in an action in space served by Mariona, which has been the only novelty that Vilda has included in the eleven of Spain in relation to the party of Switzerland. Spain’s offensive flurry before the break saw as many as 11 shots, although it didn’t do much good. On the opposite field, ex-Blaugrana Lieke Martens, the best player in the world in 2017, was walking around in complete and utter irrelevance.
Frappart has used VAR three times in Spain – Netherlands
The dynamic was maintained right from the start in the second half, with Spain proposing with the ball and the Netherlands surviving without it. Esther and Mariona, well assisted by Jenni Hermoso – who has repeated from inside to the detriment of the lagging Alexia Putellas – have had a couple of opportunities just leaving the changing rooms, but they have not managed to move the score either. With the balance of danger in attack so tilted in favor of those of Vilda, everything indicated that the goal in favor would be a matter of time. However, the minutes passed and the Dutch, quite intact in the physical section, continued to resist to the point that the heavens almost opened for them with a penalty from Paredes to Beerensteyn that Frappart corrected after consulting the VAR screen.
As the forces were equalized on the grass, the French collegiate has returned to the video referee to indicate, now yes, the eleven meters with all the ones of the law. He has done it in favor of Spain by a hand as unfortunate as clear from the exculer Van der Gragt in a random action. Mariona, one of the footballers opposed to Vilda’s regime who has returned to the selection for the World Cup, took responsibility for the penalty and scored a goal not without suspense, since the ball touched the post before going in (80 ‘).
But the football morning in Wellington still reserved for the Netherlands a golden opportunity to recover in a game in which they have been trailing. And, for more inri, it was taken advantage of by Van der Gragt, who amended the penalty committed minutes ago with a definition of pure battering ram to send the duel to extra time. The selector Andries Jonker, former assistant of Louis van Gaal, did not believe it. The sky was opening, now yes, for the combine Orange.
In the opposite technical area, Vilda tried to react to the psychological blow with changes to face the extra time. One of the shockers has been Alexia, who is still far from her best version. But it was Paralluelo, one of the substitutions that the Spanish coach had ordered before the 90th minute, who converted the decisive goal in extra time in which Beerensteyn, very fast, had two clear opportunities for the Dutch to take the lead. In the 110th minute, the Barça attacker received Hermoso in the area – great vision of the game, that of Madrid–, feinted Nouwen and found the net with a cross and placed shot. Spain is in the semi-finals and awaits a rival between Japan and Sweden, who face each other this Friday.
Spain: Cata Coll; Oihane Hernández (Olga Carmona, 91′), Irene Paredes, Laia Codina (Ivana, 78′), Ona Batlle; Tere Abelleira, Aitana (Guerrero, 87′), Jenni Hermoso; Alba Redondo (Salma Paralluelo, 70′), Esther (Eva Navarro, 100′) and Mariona (Alexia, 100′). Coach: Jorge Vilda. Netherlands: Van Domselaar; Spitse (Snoeijs, 85′), Van der Gragt (Casparij, 106′), Janssen; Pelova, Roord (Wilms, 61′), Groenen, Egurrola (Dijkstra, 97′), Brugts (Nouwen, 89′); Martens and Beerenstein. Coach: Andries Jonker. Goals: 1-0 (Mariona, penalty, 80′), 1-1 (Van der Gragt, 92′), 2-1 (Salma Paralluelo, 110′). Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France). Yellow cards: Egurrola (61′). Red cards: None. Stadium: Wellington Regional. 32,021 people.
#Spain #sweats #bacon #history #Netherlands