Spain beats Sweden and qualifies for Women FIFA Football Cup final for the first time

Spain will play for its first Women's World Cup championship after Olga Carmona's goal in the 89th minute lifted La Roja to a 2-1 victory over Sweden in the Tuesday semifinal.

Spain, which overcame last year's near mutiny by its players against coach Jorge Vilda, will play the winner of tournament co-host Australia and England on Sunday in the final in Sydney.

The controversy surrounding Spain dates to last September, when 15 players signed a letter complaining about Vilda and the conditions for the national team. Three of those players are on this World Cup team, and Vilda a day before the game against Sweden praised the Spanish federation for its support.

Now, La Roja has a chance to become a first-time World Cup champion.

Ranked seventh in the world by FIFA, Spain's defeat of second-ranked Sweden makes it the highest-ranked team remaining in the tournament.

“This is a historic day,” said Vilda. “We’re in the final, that’s what we wanted.”

Sweden has now lost in four of five semifinals and will play try to finish third for a fourth time.

Carmona's goal capped a flurry of late scoring that saw Sweden tie the game, then Spain win it 90 seconds later on the surprise score.

Salma Paralluelo, the 19-year-old super-sub who also scored the game-winner in Spain’s 2-1 extra-time quarterfinals victory over the Netherlands, scored in the 81st minute to break a scoreless game. She gestured for the crowd to cheer, and the crowd thought it was celebrating Spain's decider.

But the celebration was brief. Rebecca Blomqvist tied it for Sweden in the 88th.

Then, just 90 seconds later, Carmona beat Sweden goalkeeper Zecira Musovic with the game-winner.

“It was a very tough game. It could’ve been difficult to recover from their goal, but we’ve shown