Spain reach World Cup semi-finals for first time, Japan or Sweden await

Spain reached the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup for the first time with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands in extra time, with Sweden and Japan playing later Friday for the right to face them.

Barcelona teenager Salma Paralluelo hit the winner with a smart finish on the counterattack in the 111th minute in Wellington after a game full of incident had ended 1-1 in normal time.

Spain, who have recovered from a 4-0 humbling to Japan in the group phase, dominated the first half and twice hit the woodwork in quick succession. They also had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR.

The 2019 runners-up the Netherlands got a foothold in the second half and thought they had a chance to take the lead when French referee Stephanie Frappart pointed to the spot for a foul on Lineth Beerensteyn in the box.

Frappert was advised by VAR to review and she ruled there wasn't sufficient contact from Irene Paredes, her yellow card and the penalty rescinded.

Spain went ahead from the spot with nine minutes left of normal time through Mariona Caldentey after Paralluelo's cross struck Stefanie van der Gragt's flailing hand just inside the penalty box.

Defender Van der Gragt -- playing for the last time before retirement -- made amends in the first minute of stoppage time when she blasted past Cata Coll inside the far post for 1-1.

The Netherlands had the better of extra time, but second-half substitute Paralluelo was the hero for Spain as she went down the left, beat a Dutch defender and lashed the ball hard and low into the bottom corner.

"It's hard now," said Van der Gragt, whose last game in football was an eventful one.

"We had the chance in extra time and we didn't score, they had one chance and they scored. That's football."

Clash of styles

Japan and Sweden face off in the last eight at 0730 GMT in Auckland for the right to play Spain on Tuesday.

It is expected to be a clash of styles.

One of the few teams to have lined up with three centre-backs, Japan have been devastating on the counterattack, surgical with their passing in behind the opposition defense and clinical in the final third.

In Hinata Miyazawa they have the leader in the race for the golden boot with five goals.

Sweden have built their success on a solid defense that has also let in just one goal, in their opening game against South Africa.

Physically they are a handful for opponents and they are particularly dangerous at set-pieces.

The average height of the Sweden side that started against the US was six centimeters (more than two inches) taller than the Japan team which lined up for their 3-1 win over Norway in the last round.

"This won't be like the physical game we had against the USA," said Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson, whose side dumped out reigning champions the United States on penalties in the last 16.

"It will be a lot more technical and fast-paced."

The other two quarter-finals are on Saturday, when co-hosts Australia play France in Brisbane.

European champions England clash with Colombia in Sydney later in the day.

The winners of the two ties meet in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

© 2023 AFP