'Determined' Paralluelo help Spain to reach World Cup semi-finals for first time

Over a tense 90 minutes in Wellington full of incident, Mariona Caldentey scored an 81st-minute penalty for Spain, only for Stefanie van der Gragt to equalise in added time. With the quarter-final seemingly headed for penalties, the 19-year-old substitute Paralluelo produced a brilliant solo finish in the 111th minute to put Spain into the last four.

They will now face Sweden or Japan in Auckland on Tuesday while the tournament is over for the Dutch, beaten finalists four years ago. Barcelona forward Paralluelo, who had started every previous game at the tournament, said she was determined to make an impact when coach Jorge Vilda introduced her from the bench in the 71st minute.

"It means everything to me. It was a unique moment, great euphoria to have lived through it and I'm extremely happy," the teenager said. Vilda predicted the former sprinter will blossom into a global star, having only made her Spanish senior debut nine months ago - when she scored a hat-trick against Argentina.

She scored twice in last year's Under-20 Women's World Cup final win over Japan, before going on to taste European Champions League glory two months ago with Barcelona. "Salma is a player with enormous potential and she's not reached her best," Vilda said. "Right now she is excellent, but in the future it's going to be much, much more."

"We've always dreamed of something like this... but we're not stopping here," said Vilda, as his Spain side chase more history. We've reached somewhere we've never reached before. It was a match with a lot of emotions, VAR decisions. And the goal from Salma - it was sheer joy," he added.

 

August 11, 2023