When you concentrate on it, even the personal purpose was spectacular.
Yes, Spain scored 5 occasions in its 5-1 victory towards Switzerland on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Yes, the targets had are available in every type, a veritable tapas menu of methods to put the ball within the web: nifty passing, fancy footwork, opportunistic finishes.
But even the personal purpose, the one which Spain defender Laia Codina needs she had again, the one which ensured that Switzerland’s humbling exit from the World Cup was not a shutout, was a looker — a easy end through which Codina caught her personal goalkeeper out of place and beat her cleanly from close to midfield.
It was a self-inflicted wound, however not a lethal one. Spain was again on high six minutes later because of Alba Redondo.
Aitana Bonmatí made it 3-1 with some fantastic footwork that left a minimum of two Swiss defenders mendacity on the grass round her. Codina atoned for her personal purpose with one into the proper web simply earlier than halftime, and Jenni Hermoso pounced on an errant backpass to make it 5 halfway by way of the second half.
But Spain knew it was over lengthy earlier than that. It will transfer on, to face the winner of Sunday’s Netherlands-South Africa recreation within the quarterfinals, the newest step in a reconstruction challenge that started after the staff practically broke aside in a mutiny towards its coach, Jorge Vilda, final 12 months. That challenge now will proceed for a minimum of yet another recreation, and with the gamers brimming with confidence.
The victory was the staff’s first within the knockout rounds of the most important match. Given how complete it was, it may not be its final on this World Cup.
Source: www.nytimes.com