WWC: Spain beat Dutch to reach first World Cup semi
Teenage winger Salma Paralluelo came off the bench to score a 111th-minute winner as Spain beat the Netherlands to reach the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup for the first time.
Mariona Caldentey had appeared to give Spain the win in normal time when she slammed home an 80th-minute penalty via the post after Stefanie van der Gragt handled in the box.
Van der Gragt went from villain to hero by smashing home a stoppage-time equaliser – but Paralluelo found space in the area in extra time to earn Spain’s first major semi-final for 26 years.
Paralluelo, 19, received the ball from Jenni Hermoso, kept her calm in the box and struck perfectly in off the left post to become Spain’s youngest scorer at a Women’s World Cup – and their newest hero.
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The Netherlands, runners-up in 2019 where they were beaten by the USA in the final, were outplayed for long periods although they should have taken the lead seconds before the winner, when Lineth Beerensteyn fired over from yards out.
Spain will play Japan or Sweden, who meet in Auckland at 08:30 BST on Friday, on Tuesday.
Before Paralluelo grabbed the headlines, this appeared set to be a game defined by the video assistant referee (VAR).
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Spain appeared to have taken the lead on 37 minutes when Esther Gonzalez slammed in from close range after Alba Redondo miscued her volley into the striker’s path, however it was disallowed for offside on review.
The Spanish should have been out of sight by that point. Redondo hit the post twice in a matter of seconds – first seeing her header brilliantly tipped on to the woodwork by Daphne van Domselaar, before contriving to turn the rebound off the same upright.
The Netherlands were left aggrieved in the second half when referee Stephanie Frappart initially gave a penalty for Irene Paredes barging Beerensteyn to the ground, only to overturn her decision
VAR then stepped in to give the Spanish a penalty for Van der Gragt’s handball.
It appeared to be reward for Spain’s dominance – but instead that arrived through substitute Paralluelo, the latest teenage star to make a splash at this World Cup.