LA ROJA

Last night we watched the first Women's World Cup semifinal on the television in the flat we are staying at in Sydney. We had worried about our ability to watch the match because we had heard many of the game were not being televised locally. Fortunately, our hosts subscribed to the right streaming package!

Not surprisingly, the Spanish women's team shares a similar style of play as the men's team who helped me to fall in love with football and their style of play during their World Cup run. Every player is prepared to receive the ball and make positive forward passes. Any number of players can beat you because of their quick interchanges and ability to effectively read the game.

On this night against Sweden, it was a very tight affair. Though Spain had the majority of the ball, they were not able to penetrate the Swedish defense. That was until the introduction of Spanish attacker Salma Paralluelo, whose entered the game late into the second half. She struck the back of the net off a loose ball in the box in the 81st minute. However, Sweden picked up a loose ball of their own and leveled in the 88th minute. Though Sweden were considered the experts at set pieces, it was ironically Spain who made them pay on a late corner. They played it short to the left back Olga Carmona who struck her shut with venom with her left boot.

The Swedish goalkeeper Musovic, who was a hero against the U.S. in their round of 16 match barely got fingertips to the ball, tipping it into the undersurface of the bar and into the goal. 

What a comeback! What fight! Spain stayed true to their style of play but also improvised to get the job done. One must imagine that losing 4-0 to Japan earlier in the group stage and then giving up a late goal to the Netherlands in their quarterfinal match before prevailing in extra time must have given La Roja - as Spain are called  - the belief that they can pick themselves up and keep going. Tonight, they provided once and again that the state of Spanish football is very healthy, indeed.