2023-08-05 07:00:09
The Spanish celebrate one of the goals against Switzerland (REUTERS/David Rowland)
Once again, Nietzsche was right: what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. The Spanish bump had been tremendous against Japan and skepticism was through the roof before the round of 16 of the Women’s World Cup. However, hunger overcame everything before the opportunity to make history and sneak into the eight best teams on the planet. Switzerland paid the piper and did not even come close to a radically different team from the one that crashed at the close of the group stage: incisive, who did know how to make sense of possession and, as in a good part of this championship, a goalscorer (1-5).
Aitana Bonmatí was the compass that pointed the way to victory. A few months ago, it was not even planned that he would travel to the tournament. Now nothing would be understood without his presence in it. Barely five minutes were enough to clarify that Spain was going to be as ambitious as it could not and did not know how to be in the previous harakiri. Salma Paralluelo put in a poisoned cross from the wing, Alba Redondo caressed the goal by centimeters and, on the rebound, the great player of this team did not forgive.
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Nothing was going to divert Jorge Vilda’s girls from their road map. Not even an erroneous back pass from Laia Codina that ended up becoming an own goal (1-1 in the 11th). At minute 17, he returned to command the scoreboard thanks to the target that Redondo had previously missed. With a headed goal, the hearts of her teammates and all the brave ones who decided to get up early this Saturday were fully up again.
Corro from Spain after the victory (REUTERS/Molly Darlington)
There was no longer a trace of the apathy of the previous party. Nothing could be further from the truth: Spain had plenty of joy on all sides. Increasing the income was a matter of time, as Bonmatí demonstrated in a move worthy of displaying his own: after another scandalous service from Paralluelo, the Barça player took her time picking up the ball, changing her leg and, with the left-handed, consummate the 1-3.
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In the first half, there would still be time for the rookie Codina to redeem herself from the ruling that threatened to give the Helvetians wings. The 1-4 brought her signature, taking advantage of a loose ball in the small area at the exit of a corner. At the break, everything was already seen for judgment: a true Spanish gale devastated Auckland.
Risking could not have gone better for Vilda, who decided to throw the blanket over her head and make up to five changes with respect to the lineup of the Japanese shipwreck. It had an effect: no one had managed to score a single goal against Switzerland until the Spanish harassment and demolition, with a marvelous verticality, was too much for Gaëlle Thalmann.
The Betis goalkeeper did not concede a target from Esther González, one of the footballers who has made it the most difficult for her during her Spanish journey. However, she still had to endure one more celebration from La Roja in the second half. And she could be thankful that the review wasn’t even bigger, because the intensity didn’t drop one bit.
Aitana Bonmatí in action (REUTERS/David Rowland)
It was Jenni Hermoso who completed the task in minute 70. The defensive imbalances that cost Spain so dearly a few days ago favored her on this occasion. Switzerland hesitated, lost the ball and the 1-5 was a matter of seconds. We will have to wait until Friday to fight for a place in the semifinals with the winner of the Netherlands-South Africa. Meanwhile, the World Cup candidacy, in an event as open as the one at hand, is back there after jumping on the bandwagon came to seem like a leap of faith. The one who wants to win ours as a result of this blow on the table.
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