Wearing captain's armband, with just a little over a minute left for the full-time whistle to go, Olga Cormona of Spain picked up the pass from the corner, set her up and shoot it straight from the edge of the area into the goal post with her left leg as nonchalantly as it could get. The 43,000-plus crowd at Auckland's Eden Park erupted as Spain had done it. A feat that was never achieved in the past. Spain are into the final of the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time with a thrilling 2-1 win over Sweden and will now face the winner of the second semi-final between Australia and England.
It was a slow-burn affair with neither of the teams letting the other having much say. The ball hadn't reached the goal post even once in the first 80 minutes before Salma Paralluelo, who was coming from a strong quarter-final outing against the Dutch, opened the scoring for Spain in the 81st minute. With just nine minutes left, it seemed like a clincher but the Swedish side had a trick up their sleeves.
With just over a couple of minutes left for the full time, Rebecka Blomqvist of Sweden helped her side equalise and suddenly the match had become a nerve-wracking encounter in the last 10 minutes. But it was just Cormona and her side's day as she had the last laugh with a sensational strike, which was her only second international goal, as Spain sealed the final spot.
This is Spain's third World Cup appearance. The La Roja's had advances to the knockouts four years ago but lost to the eventual champions USA.
For Sweden, it was yet another heartbreak as they had a semi-final finish four years ago in France and also in the European Championships.
