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
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola says Alexander Isak is a “massive” player for him – but adds he “fights” with the player about needing to do more for the “collective”.
Isak scored twice in the opening nine minutes in the 2-0 win over Ipswich to take his tally to three for the season – but Iraola hinted the player needs to do more off the ball for the team.
“He’s a massive player for us,” he told Sky Sports. “My demands will not be about the goals: he’s fit, in a good shape and he will produce the numbers.
“But my fights with him are more about other stuff, how to help the team in other situations. But it’s good he has played two full games and today a good amount of minutes, scoring the goals.”
Iraola did not reveal which specific areas Isak needs to improve, but it could be interpreted that Iraola wants his striker to do more in the pressing.
“I will demand other things so we can play well,” he said in his post-match press conference about those demands to Isak. “And if we play well, we are in good positions, the goals will come.
“He has to contribute to the collective and when everyone helps, after the goals and results will come.”
Iraola also said to Sky: “Today we were much, much better in our press. We were recovering very high and then we can contact him in good positions.
“If we recover the ball lower, it will be more difficult to find him to have less spaces. So we need more quality effort to put our No 9 in situations like he had today.”
Aryna Sabalenka briefly halted her US Open match against Kamilla Rakhimova because of a strong smell of cannabis before cruising into the fourth round in New York.
Top seed Sabalenka raised the issue after going 3-0 up in the first set against Uzbekistan’s Rakhimova, telling umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore that “someone is smoking weed”.
The Belarusian asked the umpire to intervene “because it’s so strong”.
Asderaki-Moore spoke to an official on her radio and made a smoking gesture to someone behind her, before play continued.
Two-time defending champion Sabalenka went on to secure a confident 6-3 6-4 victory on Louis Armstrong Stadium as she chases a fifth Grand Slam singles title.
Sabalenka said afterwards she was not sure where the smell of cannabis was coming from but asked fans to be more mindful.
Smoking is not permitted on site at Flushing Meadows but the smell of cannabis sometimes wafts on to court from the nearby Corona Park.
It is legal to smoke it in New York for adults aged 21 and over.
“It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best,” Sabalenka said.
“I don’t know if it was coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium.
“I just hope they’re going to be a bit more aware of that stuff.”
Sabalenka is not the first player at this year’s US Open to complain about the smell of cannabis at Flushing Meadows.
Britain’s Katie Boulter previously said it was distracting, while Harriet Dart and Francesca Jones also noticed the smell.
In past years players including Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev have also complained.
Egyptian football star Mohamed Salah has welcomed his third child and first son, named Lail, Trabzonspor President Ertuğrul Doğan said after the Turkish club’s third-round league match against Amedspor.
Doğan said Salah and his Cameroonian teammate André Onana travelled outside Turkey following the match as their wives were due to give birth.
“After the Amed match, we travelled abroad with Onana and Salah. Onana welcomed twins, while Salah welcomed a baby boy. I congratulate their families and wives,” Doğan was quoted as telling Turkish media.
Salah’s sister, Rabab Salah, later revealed the baby’s name on Instagram, posting a photograph of a baby hat and congratulating her brother on the birth of Lail.
The child is Salah’s first son. The Egyptian star and his wife, Magi, already have two daughters, Makka and Kayan.
Doğan’s comments came after a photograph of Salah and Onana aboard a private jet circulated online, prompting questions among Trabzonspor supporters and local media about the reason for their trip.
The club president said both players had travelled for family reasons following the match.
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