By Rockin Reese
Women’s World Cup Finals
It may not feel like it, but a week has passed, since the women’s soccer team of Spain achieved their biggest victory of their existence. After a grueling month of association football, they were the team who raised the FIFA Women’s World Cup in triumph. We already covered the group stage & the preliminary round of the knockout stage. Let’s get through the rest of the tournament.
Spain actually began the quarter-finals of the tournament against the Netherlands. This game was scoreless for the first 80 minutes of the game, until Spain was awarded a penalty kick, after Netherlands player Stefanie Van der Gragt used her arm to block a shot by Salma Paralluelo.
Mariona Caldentey would misdirect (Netherlands goalie) Daphne van Domselaar & score the goal for Spain on a ricochet off of a post. Van der Gragt would redeem herself in extra time, by tying the game for Netherlands. After Lineth Beerensteyn missed 2 great chances to win for Netherlands, Paralluelo would score the winning goal for Spain, as her kick ricocheted off of a post, like Caldentey’s goal.
The second quarter-finals match featured Sweden taking on Japan. Just after the 31-minute mark, Sweden’s Amanda Ilestedt scored the first goal of the game. At the 47:30 mark, Sweden’s Jonna Andersson had a corner kick that was touched by Japan’s Fuka Nagano, which called a penalty, after review. Filippa Angeldahl easily scored on (Japan goalie) Ayaka Yamashita to give Sweden a 2-0 lead. Honoka Hayashi would score just before the 87-minute mark, but Japan couldn’t tie in extra time. Sweden would win 2-1 & advance to the semi-finals.
The third quarter-finals match featured (the host country) Australia taking on France. After extra time expired, the game was still scoreless, meaning it would take penalty kicks to determine a winner. France would take the first kick, but Selma Bacha would be easily stopped by (Australia goalie) Mackenzie Arnold. Caitlin Foord scored on Australia’s first attempt against (France goalie) Pauline Peyraud-Magnin. Kadidiatou Diani tied the shootout, easily scoring on Arnold.
Stephanie Elise-Catley was blocked Peyraud-Magnin. (France’s captain) Wendie Renard got Arnold to react first & move in the wrong direction, leading to an easy goal. (Australia’s captain) Sam Kerr responded by tying the shootout. Eugénie Le Sommer regained the lead for France, by getting Arnold to commit the same mistake she made against Renard. Mary Fowler tied it for Australia, as she got Peyraud-Magnin to do what France got Arnold to do twice. Ève Périsset had her shot ricochet off of Arnold, which caused it to hit a post. Arnold tried to win it for Australia, but her shot was off a post.
Onema Geyoro managed to score, despite Arnold getting her hands on the ball. Katrina-Lee Gorry tied it for Australia, despite Peyraud-Magnin getting her hands on the ball. Sakina Karchaoui went high to score for France. Tameka Yallop scored for Australia, after she faked Peyraud-Magnin out. Maëlle Lakrar got Arnold out of position to help France regain the lead. Ellie Carpenter had her shot ricochet off of a post & behind Peyraud-Magnin.
After Arnold came off of the line too early, Kenza Dali was given a 2nd chance to kick, but Arnold blocked that kick, too. Clare Hunt had a chance to win, but Peyraud-Magnin blocked it. Vicky Bècho had Arnold out of position, but her kick went off of a post. Cortnee Vine got her kick past Peyraud-Magnin, giving Australia a 7-6 shootout win.
The last quarter-finals match was England vs. Colombia. After 43 1/2 minutes of scoreless soccer, Colombia finally scored, as Leicy Santos just got managed to get her high kick under the crossbar. In extra time of the first half, (Colombia goalie) Catalina Perez made 2 saves in a crazy scramble. However, Lauren Hemp was in the right place at the right time for England & scored in a wide open net. Just before the 62:30 mark, Alessia Russo scored the winning goal for England. Colombia had some chances to tie in extra time, but their kicks went wide.
Now, it was the semi-finals. Win & you play for the World Cup. Lose & you play in the consolation game. First, it was Spain vs. Sweden. This game went scoreless for 80 minutes (like Spain’s match with Netherlands), but there wouldn’t be need for a penalty kick, this time. After Spain’s Jennifer Hermosohad a kick deflected by Andersson, Paralluelo found a way to score on (Sweden goalie) Zećira Mušović. Nearly 7 minutes later, Sweden tied the game, thanks to Rebekah Blomqvist. At the 89-minute mark, Olga Carmona scored the winning goal. Spain advanced to the finals, while Sweden played in the 3rd place game.
The other game in the semi-finals was England vs. Australia. After 35 1/2 minutes of scoreless soccer, England score first, after Ella Toone. Kerr tied the game for Australia, approximately 27 minutes later. Hemp would regain the lead for England, while splitting two defenders. Just before the 86-minute mark, Russo would seal Australia’s fate wirh a 3rd goal. England would advance to the finals, while Australia played for 3rd place.
The penultimate match of the tournament was Sweden vs. Australia. After 25 1/2 minutes of scoreless soccer, Sweden would have a case of déjà vu. Australia’s Hunt was called for tripping, which resulted in a penalty kick. Fridolina Rolfö would easily score on Arnold. Just past the 61:30 mark, Kosovare Asllani would double-up the lead for Sweden. Just like she had done all game, Mušović would shut Australia down & preserve a 2-0 victory for Sweden.
Now, it was time for the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals…Spain vs. England. Early in the game, there were tremendous saves made by (Spain goalie) Cata Coll & (England goalie) Mary Earps. For the first 28 1/2 minutes, both teams looked great on offense, but couldn’t get a ball past a goalie, until Carmona scored on Earps. Spain had chances to extend their lead, but they either misplaced their kicks or Earps made a save. Likewise, England either misplaced their kicks or Coll made a save.
Coll’s biggest save came at the end of the game, when Chloe Kelly nearly scored on a corner kick, but the ball landed right into Coll’s grasp. With a 1-0 victory, Spain would be the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Champions. Besides winning the cup, Spain would also walk away with 2 more honors. Aitana Bonmatí would be the recipient of the Golden Ball, which is awarded to the best player of the tournament. Paralluelo would win the FIFA Young Player Award, which is award for the best player in the tournament under 21 years old, at the start of the clanedar year.