Spain heads into the EURO
Three headers and a penalty goal allowed Jorge Vilda’s men to come from behind in their debut against Finland to dedicate the first win to Alexia Putellas
MADRID, 8 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish women’s soccer team has won a solid victory against Finland (4-1) this Friday in its debut at the European Championship in England, a match where the superb aerial game of Jorge Vilda’s allowed them to recover from the early goal of the Nordic and dedicate the first win of the event to Alexia Putellas.
The spectators at MK Stadium in Milton Keynes had not yet been seated when Linda Sällström stunned the Spanish defense to overtake Anna Signeul’s after 50 seconds. However, Spain, with two headers from Irene Paredes and Aitana Bonmatí, scared away the ghosts to come back before the break.
Lucía García, also with the head, was in charge of sentencing in the 75th minute the duel of the first day of Group B, which still had the penalty goal scored by Mariona Caldentey in added time.
With this, Jorge Vilda’s men recover from the unexpected loss of their leader and current Ballon d’Or winner, Alexia Putellas, due to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee three days before the premiere at the continental event.
Right from the beginning, it was time to row. Just a few seconds after the initial whistle, Sällström, on the first arrival in the rival area, defined perfectly with a low shot to make it 0-1 for Finland, a goal that, however, did not change the script of the Spanish.
A shot off the crossbar by Leila and a somewhat annulled goal by Patri Guijarro warned of the intentions of ‘la Roja’, who had to wait for a set piece in the 25th minute to neutralize the Finnish goal; In a corner kick, Irene Paredes came from behind to, with a hard header, the ball to the bottom of the net.
Near the break, Aitana Bonmatí, key in the high Spanish possession -67%-, confirmed the comeback with a header to the squad against which the Nordic goalkeeper could do nothing (min. 43). The azulgrana approached the stands to dedicate her goal to Alexia Putellas, who watched attentively as her teammates managed to turn the match around.
Vilda’s women continued to insist on returning to the locker room, with constant arrivals in the Finnish area until the ruling in the 75th minute. In a new exhibition of aerial play, Mapi León put a cross into the area before which Lucía García flew to score the third.
Mariona Caldentey, already in stoppage time, was in charge of completing the win from the penalty spot after Marta Cardona was knocked down in the area (min. 95). With this, Spain recovers from the scare and adds its first three points in England to lead Group B while waiting for what Germany and Denmark do.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: SPAIN, 4 – FINLAND, 1 (2-1, at halftime).
–ALIGNMENTS:
SPAIN: Cloths; Leila (Sheila García, min.61), Mapi León, Irene Paredes, Ona Batlle; Aitana Bonmatí (Athenea del Castillo, min.79), Patri Guijarro, Irene Guerrero (Laia, min.61), Lucía García (Claudia Pina, min.86), Mariona Caldentey and Esther González (Marta Cardona, min.79).
FINLAND: Korpela; Hyyrynen (Kuikka, min.66), Westerlund, Pikkjämsä, Koivisto; Alanen, Summanen (Ahtinen, min.85), Öling, Engman (Sainio, min.46), Franssi (Danielsson, min.85) and Sällström.
–GOALS:
0-1, min.1: Sällström.
1-1, min.26: Irene Paredes.
2-1, min.41: Aitana Bonmatí.
3-1, min.75: Lucia Garcia.
4-1, min.95: Mariona Caldentey.
–REFEREE: Kateryna Monzul (UCR). She admonished Irene Paredes (min.54) for Spain and Alanen (min.81) for Finland.
–STADIO: Milton Keynes MK Stadium. 16,819 spectators.