Spain vs Sweden Women's World Cup Semifinal Live Score: Spain players celebrate after teammate Olga Carmona scored her side's second goal during the Women's World Cup semifinal soccer match between Sweden and Spain at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. (AP)Spain vs Sweden Semifinal Highlights, Women’s World Cup 2023: Spain will play for its first Women’s World Cup championship after Olga Carmona’s goal in the 89th minute lifted La Roja to a 2-1 victory over Sweden in the Tuesday semifinal.
Spain, which overcame last year’s near mutiny by its players against coach Jorge Vilda, will play the winner of tournament co-host Australia and England on Sunday in the final in Sydney. The winner Sunday will be a first-time World Cup champion.
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Sweden has now lost in four of five semifinals and will play for a fourth third-place finish.
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Live Blog
It's heartbreaking for Sweden because in the last five tournaments, they've got to the semi-finals. They are still one step away, they're missing out again this year. Sweden managed to knock out the defending champions USA, the 2011 champions Japan but Spain could not be defeated. Sweden yet to find the answer of reaching a final, consistently making the semi-finals.
Well, it took more than 80 minutes for this match to spring into life but when it finally did the momentum swung back and forth but it was Spain who edged it in the key moments. Spain has qualified for their first World Cup final after captain Olga Carmona scored an 89th minute goal to put them ahead with just minutes left in the game. Carmona’s goal came just one minute after Sweden’s Rebecka Blomqvist scored to equal the teams at 1-1 in the dying minutes of the game. But Carmona’s goal sealed the deal for the Spaniards who collapsed in a heap on the pitch when referee Edina Alves blew the full time whistle.
The smile on Rebecca Blomqvist's face had barely vanished after equalising for Sweden seven minutes after Paralluelo had managed to break the deadlock. But then, Olga Carmona laces her left boot and has a crack from outside the box. A stunner that catches fingertips off Zecira Musovic on it's way to bang the crossbar and go in. Three goals in less than 10 minutes. Spain go up for a second time as we go into stoppage time. Auckland surely know how to host bangers in World Cup semifinals.
- Rahul Pandey
95 mins: Spain 2-1 Sweden
What a frantic conclusion to this game. Seven minutes have been added on and Sweden are pumping balls into the box to try and find another leveller.
Born in the northeastern city of Zaragoza to a Spanish father and a mother from Equatorial Guinea, 19-year-old Salma Paralluelo has represented Spain in athletics as well as football – excelling at the 400-metre (437-yard) hurdles until her last competitive race in 2020.
In her last match, it was a left-footed-top-corner stunner that had sealed a first-ever Women's World Cup semifinal spot for Spain. A winger by nature, she kept looking for the ball to drop to her strong foot in the semifinal after coming in as a substitute today. But as Jenni Hermoso's cross dropped to her right foot, the Barcelona player wouldn't hesitate in firing in a low shot to beat the keeper to her left. This, with just 10 minutes left on the clock in regulation time. This, is for a place in a World Cup final. This, at 19, making her the second youngest player to score in a Women's World Cup semifinal.
- Rahul Pandey
90 mins: Spain 1-1 Sweden
WHAT DRAMA! In what could be a fairytale finish for Spain, Olga Carmona has scored to put her team ahead with just one minute to go. The kick, which originally came from a corner, has put Spain ahead with just the seven minutes of injury time left to play.
87 mins: Spain 1-1 Sweden
Rolfe does very well down the left to loop a cross into the box. Lina Hurting – who has just come on – wins a header, sending the ball across goal for Blomqvist who gets the shot away to level
81 mins: Spain 1-0 Sweden
Salma Paralluelo has been exceptional since she came on and she's done it again! Paralluelo breaks the deadlock. Spain get it out to Hermoso on the left. Andersson’s clearance is poor and it falls to Paralluelo who hooks the ball in with her right foot. It's a wonderful first-time finish from the Baarcelona star, who fires the bottom corner with her supposedly weaker right foot from about 15 yards.
77 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
First substitution for Sweden. Olivia Schough replaces Johanna Kaneryd
76 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Rolfo does very well to keep the ball in at the left byline and whip a cross into the box. But it doesn’t catch Cata Coll any issues and she catches the ball with ease. Kaneryd then tries her luck with a cross from the right. It’s a superb ball into the box and just missed Blackstenius who was lining up a header.
Dear me, Spain won't get a better chance to go 1-0 up. Hermoso whips in a brilliant low cross from the left and Alba Redondo has a go at it. The ball whiskers wide only for Paralluelo to stretch out wide and keep the ball in. It finds Redondo - lying inside the six yard box - but the Spain number 17 hits the side netting with only Zecira* Musovic to beat.
- Rahul Pandey
73 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Alba Redondo is being replaced by Eva Navarro
71 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Spain was inches away from taking the lead. Hermoso pops in a cross – Redondo takes a chance, it was going wide but Paralluelo keeps it in. Redondo can’t direct the ball on the target with the final chance.
70 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
We’re into the final 20 minutes of regulation time in Auckland, and the rain is starting to pour down. It’s getting very slippery out there in the middle of the pitch, and we are just starting to see the desperation creep into the game. Spain have dismantled the Swedish attack from earlier, and momentum is swinging between both Sweden and Spain in this second-half.
68 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Caldentey takes the free kick, it hits the wall and it’s out for a corner. She looks very frustrated with that and it's no wonder, it was a good opportunity to challenge Zecira Musovic in the Sweden goal.
Salma Paralluelo comes on for Alexia Putellas, who hasn't really been in her element at these finals. And just like that, Spain have a long ball breaking through the Swedish backline. Paralluelo carries the ball to the left channel before pulling one back in for Jenni Hermoso, who sets up Mariona Caldentey. A quick three pass move that almost gives Spain the lead. As close as they've come to scoring in the game so far and Barcelona's young sprinter forward can come in handy to liven up that forward line for La Roja.
66 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Spain look to find an opener with a great ball coming to Paralluelo from Redondo and her header is just over the bar. Asllani is the spark for Sweden again, she passes to Angeldahl but the Manchester City player has a poor touch and the chance is up in flames. Paralluelo has given Spain a new lease of life.
61 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Rain is coming down in Auckland, after the first half was clear. Hermoso sets Spain away on a counter. Redondo finds Bonmati making a run into the box, but Rubensson tracks back to put her off and stop the attack.
60 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Paralluelo is straight on the ball, she lays it off to Hermoso in the box who finds Redondo but she is crowded out. Hermoso is down and injured here, she remained on the ground after a tackle from Kaneryd. She is back to her feet and okay to continue though
57 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Salma Paralluelo comes in for Alexia Putellas. The 19-year-old Paralluelo was the difference maker in Spain's quarter-final win over the Netherlands, scoring in the 110th minute. Can she have the same impact here?
Sweden are really trying to turn Spain around, getting them running back towards their own goal. Asllani in particular has been making some good runs in the channel and getting good balls into the box. Sweden just need more numbers in there.
- Sue Smith (Former England international on BBC One)
52 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Sweden look to capitalise on a throw in but they are judged offside. A great run from Asllani sees her pop in a good cross but Rolfo’s run doesn’t match her skill and the chance is wasted. Aslani digs out a cross from the very right corner of the pitch, but it goes beyond everyone in the box.
49 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Caldentey spots Redondo in space, a great ball is passed but Musovic comes out to collect. It’s almost perfectly weighted, but Musovic reads it well to come out and gather the ball.
46 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Spain kickoff the second half. The half starts with Carmona crashing into Asllani during an aerial duel. Sweden are awareded a free kick which Asllani gets up to take. It’s floated into the box but Spain get it away.
Oh, Aitana Bonmati! Sniffs a chance, snatches the ball and springs towards the opposition box in a matter of seconds, leaving behind her marker. A good 20m covered before Sweden get a semblance of the threat and deal with it. Her spatial awareness has overseen four of Spain's five wins in major capacity. This, in the dying embers of the first half has been one of the more free-flowing moves in the semifinal so far as the referee blows his final whistle. It was nip and tight early on but as we've moved there have been sightings of openings towards the close of the half.
Stats
Possession: ESP 67 - 33 SWE
Shots: ESP 3 - 2 SWE
On target: ESP 0 - 1 SWE
The referee blows up for the break. An absorbing first half in Auckland. It’s very tight between both teams. This match has been a real arm wrestle with no team ready to give an inch. Spain dominated most of the match but Sweden has started to throw punches at the fag end of the second half. Spain has 53% of ball possession.
45 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Spain have had a couple of chances inside the six yard box. Sweden have found the space down the inside left channel on a couple of occasions with Kosovare Asllani has moved to the left to help Fridolina Rolfo only to be dealt with by the Spanish defence. Their first shot on goal cones from the Barcelona left-winger's first-time volley from the left of the six-yard box. Ball lost in their own territory and before the Spanish defence gets a hang of what's happened, Rolfo's shot forces in a save from Catalina Coll.
44 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
The free kick comes to the right and it’s about to be crossed but Carmona sees it out for a throw. It is well worked into the box, it falls to Rolfo who rifles off a powerful shot but Coll makes a huge save! It’s out for a corner. Andersson takes the corner but Coll watches it all the way and punches clear. Angeldahl does well to win another corner though. Sweden starting to throw punches now.
40 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Some heavy touches from Spain just disrupting their attack at the moment, Bonmati does get a chance though after a great turn. Her shot is wide.
35 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
A number of players are crowding around the referee after she gave Spain a free kick for a handball from Angeldal. It looked like the Swede was fouled in the build-up. The free kick is swung into the box from the left but the Sweden defence deal with it. The ball works its way back to Putellas on the right. She does very well to lose her marker and send a cross into the box, forcing Musovic to palm the ball away. The resulting corner causes some panic amongst the Swedish defence, but they keep their composure to get the ball away and survive a spell of Spanish pressure. The game’s flow is so disrupted, there will be a spell of calm possession and suddenly there’s a chance. There’s not a clear cut stream of play.
31 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Paredes is almost closed down by Blackstenius after some sloppy play in her own penalty area, but the ball safely rebounds away to another Spanish defender. Kaneryd then chases a ball down the right channel, but two Spanish players crowd her out and get it away.
30 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Andersson does well to expel Spain’s latest chance with Hermoso trying to pounce on a Caldentey cross. Putellas is fouled by Rubensson, Swede players are not happy with that call.
28 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Caldentey marks a run down the left and swings a cross into the box. It’s a dangerous one which finds Hermoso who can’t get a shot away under pressure from two Swedish defenders. Spain are having some success down their left.
26 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Keeping possession of the ball hasn't been a problem for Jorge Vilda's Spain at this World Cup. Even in the one game they lost to Japan in the group stages. The real failure in that 4-0 loss was what they did with the ball. Sweden, with their stern backline, seem just the opposition tailor made to kill the rhythm of those short exchanges in the midfield and final third. In the opening quarter of the game though, La Roja's inability to register more than one shot has also been owing to their own scruffy passages of play. The Swedes have made sure the orchestrator in chief, Aitana Bonmati is surrounded by multiple yellow shirts at all times. All level in Auckland as the clock hits 25.
24 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
What a ball that is for Redondo, she passes to Hermoso but Rubensson does really well to tackle her cleanly in the box.
23 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson, who will celebrates his 64th birthday next week is the oldest coach to lead a team in the semifinals of the FIFA Women's World Cup
21 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Spain are definitively passing the ball around better than their opponents, switching play from side to side with ease. Bonmati leaves Rubensson on the floor with a lovely dummy. She curls the ball into the box from the left looking for Hermoso, but it’s just a little bit too high and drops into the arms of Musovic.
18 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Rolfo embarks on a powerful run towards goal, seemingly just barging her way through the Spanish defence. It takes three of them to finally stop her. At the other end, Redondo cuts inside from the right and tries to play the ball square to a team mate, but she only finds a Swedish defender.
17 mins: Spain are looking the stronger side but Sweden are able to hang in the match and get the result
15 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Sweden immediately lay down their own attacking marker with Kaneryd almost in! But she was offside.
14 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Carmona attemps an effort on the goal. This time she take aim with a low drive from the edge of the penalty box which goes fractions wide of the post.
11 mins: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Chance for Spain. There was a bit of panic in the Swedish defence but Spain couldn't able to cash it. A real first chance of the match. The ball came in and Redondo popped it on from the far post. Musovic was out of position and Eriksson only cleared so far, eventually they get it away.
A lot of midfield battles happening at the moment, no clear cut chances at goal yet.
Asllani swings the ball into the box from the right. It was a deep cross, but caused no issues for Cata Coll who caught it well. Both the keepers have had an early touch of the ball which will help to settle the nerves. An end to end game so far.
A lively start at the lively Eden Park. Sweden have the ball early on, passing it around the team for some early touches.
Sweden get us underway, kicking from right to left as it appears on the screen. Sweden are wearing all yellow and will line-up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Spain are in red shirts and blue shorts. They are playing in a 4-1-2-3 shape to begin with The referee is Edina Alves from Brazil.
The players are out on the pitch and the anthems will follow. We are seconds away from the kick-off.
This is only Spain’s third appearance at a Women’s World Cup and their impressive run to the semi-finals is the furthest that they have ever been at the tournament.
Hello and welcome to our live blog of the first semifinal of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, where Spain will take on Sweden.
It is Spain's first semifinal match in a major tournament since the 1997 European Championships, and the reward for making it this far? A match against the second-ranked team in the world that has already eliminated the U.S. and Japan in this tournament.
The Swedes are playing in a fifth World Cup semifinal: they were runners-up in 2003, finished third three times, and, just to note how consistently strong the Swedes have been, they lost the gold medal match to Canada two years ago at the Tokyo Olympics.