A clumsy Spain lost. Lost to Italy, victim of a chaotic second half (2-3)which began with the first Italian goal when the team had 10 players on the field due to an error by coach Montse Tomé that introduced a double substitution that did not materialize as it should, prologue to Cata Coll’s ruling that meant 1-1 For the Italians who were there, they did, with 11 players.
But before that, Spain already had the ticket in its hand for the semifinal of the final four of the Nations League, the penultimate step to be in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Montse Tomé’s team was already there, taking advantage of Switzerland’s victory over Sweden (1-0).
It is his first defeat with the world champion star on his chest. He did not know how to dominate Spain in the match, having the wind at his back thanks to Athenea del Castillo’s goal that rewarded his correct first half. He dominated at the beginning although everything got messed up at the beginning of the second half when the Italian equalized after an incomprehensible error.
Unusual! This was the entire sequence in which Spain started with 10 on the field and conceded a goal after an error by Cata Coll.
Despite the defeat, Spain will be in the semifinals of the UEFA Nations League. pic.twitter.com/CrPgMyV2F3
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) December 1, 2023
A goal that came when Montse Tomé’s team had 10 players. Something incomprehensible. Truly intolerable. This confusion was taken advantage of by the Italians, despite the fact that an offside request was unsuccessfully requested prior to Giancinti’s shot. while Aitana was no longer on the field and Esther had not yet entered.
At the beginning of the second half, Spain jumps with nine players. And it starts against Italy playing with 10, with one less, which causes Giacinti to tie
It was a surreal scene. Spain jumped with nine players. The two changes had been made, but only Lucía García came in on time, although she still had her boots untied. Once the referee whistled, Esther was still not ready as she was getting ready to leave. She did not know that she had to step onto the grass, so it took her a while to appear since she had to remove all the layers of her equipment in addition to putting on her shin guards.
“We don’t know what happened, but this can’t happen again,” lamented Tere Abelleira, indicating, after the defeat against Italy, that they had “achieved their goal, but the first minutes of the second half were not good. It was all very fast, but they are things of the game and we cannot afford it. We seek excellence.”
“Why did we start with 10 in the second half? We started with one less player because Aitana informed us late that she was not available”
Spanish coach
“We entered the second half disconnected. We conceded two goals early. Why did we start with 10 at the beginning? We started with one less player because Aitana informed us late that she was not available,” Tomé acknowledged to Teledeporte on TVE. “So, in that time we managed to activate Esther to go in and there they scored the second goal. It was difficult for us to react,” added the coach.
“Aitana gave us little notice and didn’t give us time. That’s why we started the second half with one less player,” Montse Tomé reiterated, already in the press room, trying to justify the scene that took place at half-time. Aitana stayed in the locker room and Spain played with 10 for two minutes, which was decisive because Italy took advantage of that superiority to make it 1-1.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened. It can’t be repeated,” argued Athenea del Castillo, scorer of the Spanish goal. She didn’t know anything because she stayed in the locker room as she was one of the substitutes. She found out after the game. “It was everyone’s mistake, I just found out. He said the changes as soon as the talk started,” she added. “You can’t make these mistakes of going out with one less,” said Athenea.
Disastrous start to the second half
A placid first half gave way, however, to a chaotic second half that caused insecurity to appear in Spain, capable of conceding up to three goals in less than 20 minutes, demonstrating an unexpected fragility. Each goal was a portrait of a defensive error by the world champions. And both in the 1-2 and in the 1-3 it came in the small area of Cata Coll, surpassed by that torrent of Italian play, which left Spain cold. As cold as the Galician night.
Spain wanted to react to the slap that Spain gave him. But between the wood – the crossbar spat a beautiful outside shot by Tere Abelleira – and the lack of success – Salma Paralluelo did not score in the small area – what spread concern among the Spanish fans. until it appeared Esther GonzálezHis control was excellent, his shot was phenomenal to place the world champions close to Italy.
The game went crazy. Spain ran wild, supported, of course, by a wonderful save by Cata Coll from Galli’s left footed shot from outside the area. In the Pasarón stadium (Pontevedra) he thundered a unanimous cry: “Yes, we can! Yes we can!” It was time for Tomé’s team to intimidate an Italy that made the only decision that was possible.
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He locked himself in his area, while Spain tried to find a way to equalize a match that became unexpectedly complicated. He had not lost the team since that defeat, a painful defeat against Japan in the World Cup (4-0, July 31). And it is, therefore, the first defeat for Montse Tomé since in added time Mariona Caldentey’s chance did not materialize.
A defeat without any weight because the world champions have a clearer route to the Paris Olympics because three of the four qualified for the final four of the League of Nations will have that Olympic prize. Meanwhile, Italy offered a lesson in efficiency and pragmatism: five shots, four on goal, three goals. A defeat that is also a serious learning experience because you cannot start a second half with only 10 players on the field.
The Spain-Italy record (2-3)
Spain: Taste Coll; Olga, Laia Alexandri, Irene Paredes, Ona Batlle; Jennifer Hermoso, Teresa, Aitana; Mariona, Paralluelo, Athenea del Castillo.
Changes: Lucía García by Athenea del Castillo (m. 46): Esther by Aitana Bonmatí (m. 49); Ivana Andrés by Irene Paredes (m. 67);
Italia: Giuliani; Di Guillielmo, Lenzini, Linari, Boattin; Bergamaschi, Caruso, Giuliano, Cambiaghi; Dragons, Giancinti.
Changes: Singer for Giacinti (d. 54); Chain for Dragons (m. 54); Galli by Giuliano (d. 71); Piedmont by Cambiaggi (m. 90+1); Saved by Di Guigliemo (m. 90+1).
Gol: 1-0, Athenea del Castillo (m. 12); 1-1, Giancinti (m. 46); 1-2, Cambhiagi (d. 57); 1-3, Linarius (d. 64); 2-3, Esther González (m. 76)
Referee: Eleni Antoniou.
Yellow cards: Ivana Andrés (d. 82); Lucía García (d. 85)
Spectators: 12.000.
2023-12-01 21:31:45
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