Spain started the classified match. The draw was worth it. With the effectiveness problems that he showed against Germany, it was enough for him to maintain concentration and shield Sandra Paños’ goal. But the national team does not know how to play to draw, or win without suffering. In addition, as Jorge Vilda assured, «if you go out to draw or speculate on the result, it would go wrong; this match is a final that we want to win and that is the only objective». style prevailedtrying to reinforce the defense in the first moments (Spain conceded the first goal against Finland and Germany before three minutes). He overcame his initial fears the national team after ten minutes, when he saw that he could control the ball, attack and keep a clean sheet against the current European runners-up. Aitana’s defective shot (min. 7) was the moment in which Spain shook off all its ghosts and believed that he could go to quarters.
Denmark’s approach was surprising, very defensive despite the fact that they needed the victory to get out of the group stage and qualify for the next round. The Nordics trusted the quality of Pernille Harder, his scorer, to decide the match. And in the 13th minute it was shown why. He knew how to take advantage of a good deep pass to sneak between the lines and face Paños. Luckily, the goalkeeper, very attentive, had gone on the run to get to the ball at the same time as Harder, forcing her high shot. First scare, a full-fledged warning.
Spain dominated with the ball but suffered excessively without it. Every time the ball fell to Pernille Harder it was like a visit to the dentist. The forward generated play, her speed dismantled the Spanish defense and her assists to the penalty spot brought the woe out of the throats of the red-and-white fans.
Athena (min. 25), that a ball was found after a header attempt that Lucía García did not reach; Mariona (min. 32), who finished off a good pass from Aitana alone from inside the area; Y Athena (min. 36), who could not take advantage of an error by Christensen, who lost the ball, generated the three best chances for the Jorge Vilda in the first part. He bailed out Denmark but was fearsome on the counterattack.
The first part closed with a header by Irene Paredes after a corner kick that Sorensen took under the sticks. The two teams that went to the changing rooms breathed knowing that everything was to be done. Spain was 45 minutes from the quarterfinals but Denmark only needed one goal to achieve the same goal. Spain had arrived but without success, while Denmark was well settled in the back and transmitted danger every time they passed the midfield.
Jorge Vilda did not like the first part. He showed it with the changes. Three at once to shake up the game and cause Spain to know how to find that clairvoyance that it lacked. Of course, the coach maintained his approach, aware that if they scored a goal, the Danes would have to score two. Temporized Denmarkwho seemed in no hurry and signed to arrive with the score tied in the last 20 minutes.
Life could have been complicated for the team seven minutes after the restart. Olga Carmona grabbed Madsen when the Danish went alone towards the Paños goal but the British Rebecca Welch did not see anything punishable. Lucky because she could have shown the red to the Real Madrid player. She continued to keep Spain in possession, but as the minutes fell, they were all aware that any success or any error could be definitive. Despite this, the Red kept looking for the goal, playing on Danish soil.
Seeing the difficulty in stringing together plays to score, Olga Carmona also decided to shoot from afar (min. 72), putting Christensen in trouble, who managed to send it to a corner. One more. It was the moment when the Denmark coach woke up from his slumber and decided to put more fire into his team. With twenty minutes to go they entered Nadim and Larsen, two very dangerous soccer players who go well with their heads. The objective was clear: counterattacks and hanging balls to the area.
Nadim needed three minutes to create danger. He took advantage of a Spanish control error to steal a ball and try a Vaseline from far away. The ball went very wide and did not even go out. But the next time he was able to open the scoring, luckily Sandra Paños took out a prodigious hand to disrupt the clearest chance of the match. Excessive suffering in the last minutes that Spain that Cardona dissipated with a goal on the buzzer. He continues dreaming of Vilda’s selection, overcoming all the setbacks that fall on him. England is the next stop in the quarter-finals.
