Sports
FWWC: Spain dashes Sweden’s First World Cup Win with 2-1 Victory in the Semifinal.
Jinxed Sweden on Tuesday(today) lost the coveted semifinal encounter against Spain in the women’s world cup semifinal 2-1 within 10 minutes to the end of the match at the Eden Park Stadium in Auckland.
It was the fourth time Sweden was eliminated from the semifinal stage as the team fell in 1991, 2011, 2019 and now 2023 which is most unfortunate from any side at the world cup.
Barca’s left winger, Paralluelo Ayingono who scored against Netherlands, opened scoring for Spain in the 81st minute when Sweden failed to neatly clearly their lines and Paralluelo’s shot went through a cluster of legs.
Wolfsburg player, Rebecka Blomqvist who also scored against Argentina, was involved in a medley of headers from Asilani to Hurtig and then Blomqvist whose header brought the equalizer at the 88th minute.
Just a minute after, Real Madrid’s left back, Olga Carmona from a corner kick beat Goalkeeper Musovic in the 89th minute for the winner.
It was the first time in the women’s world cup history that we saw a first goal scored 10 minutes to full time and within the few minutes left for play, three goals were scored.
Sweden will meet the loser between England and Australia at the 3rd Place match at Eden Park Stadium on Saturday at 0900 hours to determine who makes the podium finish.
Spain will meet the winner for the England versus Australia match to know the new world cup champion on Sunday.
To get to the quarterfinals, Spain beat Costa Rica 3-0 on 21st July; refused Zambia freedom via 5-0 drubbing on 26th July and surprisingly lost to high tech, Japan 4-0 on 31st July. For the knockout stages, Spain hit Switzerland 5-1 in the round of 16. Spain is current highest team scorers with 13 goals in this tournament and has conceded 5 goals now. She defeated Netherlands 2-1 in the quarterfinal.
Spain on 16th February 1983 defeated Netherlands 1-0; but Ned won 2-1 on 16th November 1983; at the 2010 world cup played 11th July Spain won 1-0; the highest win for Netherlands against Spain was at the 2014 world cup played 3rd June with a 5-1 win; Ned was superior again on 31st March 2015 beating Spain 2-0 and on 11th November 2020 they played 1-1 draw.
The Spanish side had beaten Slovenia 17-0 at Palamos on 20th March 1994 but the country suffered heavy defeat from Sweden 0-8 on home ground at Ganalia, Spain on 2nd June 1996. The Spanish women are making their 3rd appearance at the world cup finals. Their best performance was getting into the Round of 16 at Canada 2019 where USA beat the country 2-1 at Reins on 24th June.
Sweden at the knockout stages had diffused the high tech Asian Tigresses, Japan 2-1 in the quarterfinals and dismissed USA 5-4 on penalties after a goalless full time in the round of 16. Earlier on 23rd July defeated South Africa 2-1 on 23rd July; pounded Italy 5-0on 29th July and also crashed Argentina 2-0 on 2nd August all in the group matches.
Sweden never won the trophy; they were runners-up at USA 2003 and lost to Germany 1-2 at extra time. Sweden won Bronze three times at China 1991; Germany 2011 and France 2019. She was at the quarterfinals twice at Sweden 1995 and USA 1999 but was also at the round of 16 at Canada 2015.
This is the first meeting of the two teams in any major competition as Sweden won 1-0 at the group stages of 1997 UEFA Women’s Championship. I have record of ten other meetings as Sweden on 16th July 1950 won 3-1; Spain ran away with a lone goal victory on 11th June 1978; while Sweden won 3-2 on 7th October 2006.
On 17th November 2007 Spain made it a 3-0 drubbing of Sweden just like it was on 10th June 2019 which were the highest wins for Spain; on 14th June 2008 Spain had clinched it 2-1; they played 1-1 on 15th October 2019 and scored a goalless draw on 14th June 2021; Sweden obtained victory 2-1 on 2nd September 2021 and it was Spain 1 Sweden 0 on 14th November 2021.
Spain is in their first semifinal in three appearances. Should Spain win, the nation will join the league of Elite squad that made it at the first getting to that position of final four like USA who made it once; Norway once; Netherlands twice and Germany twice.
Sweden is playing her 5th semifinal reaching the finals in 2003 but lost in 1991, 2011 and 2019. They could become the first team to lose four times at this stage of the competition.
If Spain wins, they will be the second team to have lost a group game before by 4+ at the world cup but still reach the final after Norway in 1991 that lost 0-4 against China.
Sweden would have been the first European nation to reach the multiple finals of the competition they made in 2003, the record of Norway 1991 and 1995 and Germany 1995, 2003 and 2007 notwithstanding.
This is Spain’s 4th world cup match against fellow European nations. She lost 0-1 to Germany at the group stage in 2019 but beat Switzerland 5-1 and Netherlands 2-1 at the knockout stages this year.
England will meet hosts Australia in the second semifinal on Wednesday 16th August at 1100 hours.
Something unique is that we are expecting a new champion for the world as previous champions, four times winner USA; two times winner, won one time each have been exited in this tournament.
By Eniola Olatunji
Manuel Neuer has been called up to Germany’s World Cup squad – two years after his international retirement.
The 40-year-old was named as part of Julian Nagelsmann’s 26-man squad for the tournament this summer, having not featured for his country since Euro 2024.
Among the list include Premier League players Malick Thiaw and Nick Woltemade – both of Newcastle – Arsenal striker Kai Havertz, Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz and Brighton’s Pascal Gross.
Injured duo Serge Gnabry and Anton Stach and forwards Karim Adeyemi, Kevin Schade and Niclas Fullkrug are among those to miss out.
Germany’s World Cup squad in full
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Pascal Gross (Brighton), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart)
Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle)
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has opened up on the club’s decision to appoint Xabi Alonso as their new manager.
The Blues confirmed the Spaniard as their next head coach following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, with Alonso set to take charge ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Mikel had previously been vocal about Chelsea’s managerial philosophy, urging the club’s ownership to move away from short-term head coaches and interim appointments and instead bring in a proper manager with full control over the squad
Speaking on his most recent podcast, Mikel said:
“I am glad the owners listened to me, and listened to the fans.
“Forget about coaches, what we have always had are managers, and what we need is a manager who decides on the players he wants out and the players who can stay.
“We need a strong personality, and that is what we have got now in Alonso.
“That title has been changed from coach to manager, but I hope it’s not just words and he is actually allowed to manage the squad. But I am very happy with the appointment.”
Chelsea are still in the hunt for Europa League football, and a win over Sunderland on the final day of the Premier League season would go a long way in determining whether Alonso inherits a European stage to build on next season.
Enzo Maresca is believed to have signed a three-year deal to replace outgoing Man City manager Pep Guardiola, after it was revealed that the legendary head coach will be leaving the Etihad at the end of the season.
Speculation around Guardiola’s departure date has been rife as the season draws to a close, despite the Catalan having one year left on his contract.
According to report, Man City’s sponsors were among those to have been told that Guardiola will be calling time on a remarkable trophy-ladened spell on Sunday.
The report also shared that Maresca, Guardiola’s former assistant, was a front-runner for the vacant spot at the dugout, with Fabrizio Romano confirming on Tuesday morning that the ex-Chelsea manager will be taking over.
The Italian head coach has been out of work since his mutual departure from Stamford Bridge under strained circumstances on January 1.
But even before his acrimonious mid-season exit, Maresca has been viewed as a long-term successor to Guardiola following their stint working together at Man City.
The 46-year-old served as Guardiola’s assistant between 2022 and 2023 after previously coaching Man City’s youth sides, before departing to earn Championship promotion with Leicester.
Maresca then went on to win the Uefa Conference League and the Club World Cup with Chelsea during his 18-month spell in west London.
Guardiola is set to celebrate his time in English football with an open-top bus parade in Manchester after winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season, but until Monday night, the manager had been notably vague over his future plans.
But before news broke of his shock exit, Guardiola had been keen to tamp down any suggestions that he would be commemorated with any fanfare.
‘The club don’t have to do anything, honestly,’ Guardiola, who has yet to officially confirm his departure, said. ‘The important thing in our lives is that when you look back, you can look with a big smile and say “that was good”.
‘Bernardo (Silva) and John (Stones) can feel that. We spoke about it over the last few days. When you’re old, a grandfather, you can look at the memories. That is the most important thing in life.’
Tired of addressing his contractual situation, Guardiola added with a dose of sarcasm: ‘Whatever happens at the end of the season – and when I extend my contract for three more years – I can look back and say, “how nice has that been?”
‘That is the most important thing by far. Most of the people who lived this time here together can feel it.’
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