After 33 days of institutional storm, controversial appearances, cross statements, dismissals and meetings until the wee hours of the morning, the world champion recovered football. Spain returned in a big way to the grass, the place where it made a country happy. Finally, as Alexia Putellas had hoped for the day before, the players were able to dedicate themselves to what they do best: winning on the green.
It was not the best of contexts nor was Sweden, number one in the FIFA ranking, the most affordable of the rivals. Few hours of sleep, just two training sessions and a tense relationship between the footballers and the coach, Montse Tomé, who is on the tightrope. Many conditions to face the semifinalist in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, precisely Spain’s victim in the run-up to that final that crowned the team before the storm broke out.
Despite the complexity of the situation, the team conspired on the pitch to focus exclusively on the game for the next two hours. Irene Paredes led the Spanish huddle prior to the start and the best team on the planet recovered its sensations as soon as it stepped onto the green of the Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg.
As in the World Cup, when Spain defeated the Swedish team for the first time in its history, the commitment to positional play and ball possession challenged the air power and the danger in space of the Nordic team, which exploits its physical advantage like few other teams. . Athenea del Castillo was the first to test Musovic’s reflexes, who also blocked a long-range shot by Aitana Bonmatí.
Sweden
Musovic, Bjorn (Sembrant, min. 65), Ilestedt, Eriksson, Andersson, Angeldal (Bennison, min. 65), Asllani (Janogy, min. 78), Rubensson, Kaneryd (Jakobsson, min. 65), Blackstenius and Hurtig.
2
–
3
Spain
Coll, Batlle, Paredes, Aleixandri, Olga Carmona, Aitana Bonmatí, Tere Abelleira, Alexia Putellas, Athenea del Castillo (Eva Navarro, min. 71), Lucía García (Amaiur Sarriegi, min. 79) and Mariona.
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Goals:
1-0: min. 23, Eriksson. 1-1: min. 38, Athenea del Castillo. 1-2: min. 77, Eva Navarro. 2-2: min. 82, Hurtig. 2-3: min. 95, Mariona, penalty. -
Referee:
Rebecca Welch (England). She admonished Kaneryd and Lucía García. Ilestedt was sent off for a straight red card (min. 94). -
Incidents:
Match of the first day in group A4 of the Nations League played at the Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg.
Sweden responded with a high volley from Angeldal. It was a reminder that the Scandinavian team has the gift of making the most of any opponent’s mistake. They are also one of the most powerful teams in the world in the aerial game and that virtue was demonstrated by Eriksson’s goal, who headed into the net the corner kick taken by former Real Madrid player Kosovare Asllani from the right side.
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It was a blow to the battered Spanish spirit and it was noticeable in a few minutes of confusion, in which the team led by Montse Tomé could not regain control through the ball. The predictable fatigue began to take its toll on the precision of the passes and the disputes, those small battles that end up deciding the games.
Only the passage of minutes reestablished the interesting initial script and led to Spain’s recovery. Halftime was approaching when Athenea, one of the most active in the game, tried her luck from the front and beat Musovic, who was surprised by the bounce of the ball, which slipped through her gloves to seal the tie. Cata Coll deflected Angeldal’s shot in the one-on-one match and preserved the valuable tie before the break.
Movie script
The resumption confirmed the Spanish improvement, with the duel tilted towards the Swedish area. Lucía García had the 1-2 that the world champion already deserved. Musovic took a point-blank shot from Aitana, the metronome of a Spanish game that Alexia Putellas brought out with her thousand and one flashes of quality.
Spain dazzled at times and Athenea touched the second with a left-footed shot just before the triple substitution with which Sweden tried to change the landscape. The Nordic tactical turn had no effect, as the world champion carried the weight of the duel until the end. She didn’t have that freshness that was impossible after the most turbulent week in Spanish women’s football in memory, but she had plenty of quality and wardrobe.
From Montse Tomé’s bench the figure of Eva Navarro emerged, who with a master class in cutting and shooting put her left foot into the squad to complete the comeback and put Spain ahead. A practically heroic victory was close under the circumstances, but fatigue and the Swedish power in long balls into space led to a tie. Lina Hurtig was very attentive to finish the ball rejected after an action by Blackstenius, which dragged the entire visiting defense.
Logic invited us to preserve a valuable draw in the a priori most complicated visit in the group, but this vindictive team on and off the field pushed to speed up the duel in the rival field. Goalscorer Eva Navarro caressed Spain’s third with her hands but finished slightly high after a colossal through ball from Mariona Caldentey. That reckless penalty by Ilestedt for grabbing Amaiur Sarriegi at the horn was poetic justice. Mariona once again chose the silk instead of the hammer to convert the maximum penalty and seal a movie victory. The world champion is back and one step closer to her next goal, the Paris Olympic Games.
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