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Sweden’s forward #15 Rebecca Blomkvist celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women’s World Cup semi-final football match between Spain and Sweden at Eden Park in Auckland on August 15, 2023. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)
ABBA's music has become a familiar sound in the winning team's dressing room following Women's World Cup games but after Sweden once again lost in the semi-finals, this time 2-1 to Spain, they will need no reminding that the winner does indeed take it all.
Olga Carmona's stunning late strike gave Spain a 2-1 win over Sweden on Tuesday to propel them into the Women's World Cup final for the first time in their history. Spain's thrilling victory at Eden Park sets up a showdown in Sydney on Sunday with either Australia or England, who meet in the other semi-final on Wednesday. The semi-final in Auckland seemed to be drifting towards extra time before suddenly bursting to life when substitute Salma Paralluelo put Spain ahead with nine minutes left.
Spain's thrilling victory at Eden Park sets up a showdown in Sydney on Sunday with either Australia or England, who meet in the other semi-final on Wednesday.
Officially, the Peter Gerhardsson era started when he first took charge of the Sweden women's national team in autumn 2017, marking his first match with a win over Croatia to get the Blågult's qualification bid for the 2019 Women's World Cup off to the perfect start. Yet, inheriting a team that was entrenched in the typical Swedish 4-4-2 and playing a style the coach likened to an old-fashioned English system, it would take almost four years for the squad to finally begin looking like the real (attacking) deal under the 63-year-old.
Penalties. A major storyline around this World Cup has been extra time and then dramatic penalty shootouts at every stage of the tournament.
The penultimate stage of a major tournament is familiar territory for Sweden and although they have failed to clear that hurdle several times recently, that strong pedigree could serve them well against Spain in their Women's World Cup semi-final. The two teams will vie for a spot in the final at Auckland's Eden Park on Tuesday, setting up a showdown in Sydney with either co-hosts Australia or European champions England for the chance to be crowned a first-time World Cup winner. "It's going to be a high-pressure Spain and high-pressure Sweden," Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson said. "For me, it's lovely football." Sweden are the highest-ranked nation remaining - at world number three - and are appearing at their fifth World Cup semi-final. They have played in all nine editions but only reached the final once, when they lost to Germany in 2003. The Scandinavians have not won a major trophy since the inaugural 1984 Euros, when only four teams took part. They also reached the semi-finals of last year's Euros and the 2019 World Cup, and have been runners-up at the last two Olympics. Sweden won all three group games this tournament and dispatched two World Cup winners - the United States and Japan - in the knockouts. They will be confident of continuing that momentum against Spain, who have never reached the last four of the showpiece tournament. "We have the benefit of experience," captain Kosovare Asllani said. "We have gone far in the last few tournaments but I am particularly pleased with the way we have done it this time. "We have won our matches in different ways and it shows the strength of this team."
SYDNEY : The penultimate stage of a major tournament is familiar territory for Sweden and although they have failed to clear that hurdle several times recently, that strong pedigree could serve them well against Spain in their Women's World Cup semi-final.