온라인카지노Sweden, ranked No. 3 by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), has reached the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023 after beating Japan, ranked No. 11, who missed a penalty by Thurro.
Sweden defeated Japan 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the tournament on 11 November at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
The Swedes, who progressed through the group with three unbeaten games, halted Japan’s four-match winning streak after beating FIFA’s top-ranked USA on penalties.
With 11 goals conceded in their three group games, Japan have been the tournament’s favourites with their dominant performances.
They raised hopes of a first title in 12 years with a 3-1 win over Norway in the round of 16, only to be stopped by Sweden.
It was Sweden’s second consecutive quarter-final appearance, following the 2019 World Cup in France. They did not reach the final that time as they were stopped by the Netherlands.
Sweden’s next opponents will be Spain, who beat the Netherlands in their previous match. The two teams will kick off at 5pm on the 15th at this venue.
Japan failed to create any significant attacking chances in the first half as they were pushed back by Sweden’s heavy pressure.
While they failed to register a single shot on target, Sweden fired eight shots on target while enjoying 54 per cent ball possession.
Amanda Ilestedt opened the scoring for Sweden in the 32nd minute when she took advantage of a miscommunication on a free kick, but Filippa Angeldahl doubled the lead from the penalty spot six minutes into the second half.
The pressure from the physical Swedish midfield made it difficult for the Japanese midfielders to get the ball forward and blunted Japan’s trademark counter-attacks.
For Japan, it was particularly painful to see Riko Ueki miss a penalty in the 31st minute that they had earned themselves. Ueki’s shot hit the post and bounced away, wasting a golden opportunity.
Japan, who waited until the final minutes of the match to push forward, saw a free kick from Aoba Fujino hit the post in the 42nd minute. On the ensuing attack, Hayashi Honoka made amends for the hard-fought goal with a right-footed shot.
Revitalised, Japan fought hard in stoppage time, registering two shots on target, but were unable to turn the game around.
Japan’s elimination means that all the defending champions have packed their bags for this World Cup.
A record 43,217 fans turned up at Eden Park to watch Sweden win.
Salma Farahuelo celebrates.
Earlier in the day, Spain beat the Netherlands 2-1 after extra time in the first quarter-final at Wellington Stadium.
After cruising to a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in their first game of the tournament, followed by a 5-0 thrashing of Zambia, Spain looked to have lost their spirits after going down 0-4 in their final Group C match against Japan.
Undaunted, however, the Spaniards came out firing on all cylinders in their round of 16 clash with Switzerland, securing a 5-1 victory and knocking out defending champions the Netherlands.
This is the first time Spain have reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, and they have come from behind to reach the last four, matching their best ever performance. The Spaniards are now 4-1 so far.
Frustrated Dutch players
Despite dominating possession throughout the match, as evidenced by shots on target (28 to 10) and ball possession (62 per cent to 38 per cent), Spain were unable to break the 0-0 deadlock until the final whistle.
However, in the 34th minute, Spain had a golden opportunity when a handball by a defender attempting to clear a cross was ruled out after a video assistant referee (VAR) review.
Mariona Caldentei opened the scoring from the resulting penalty spot, but the Netherlands responded in stoppage time when veteran centre-back Stephanie Vanderhraagt broke into the back of the defence and curled a cool right-footed shot home.
It wasn’t until the sixth minute of the second half of extra time that the two sides were evenly matched, with Salma Parajuelo sprinting from the halfway line to the penalty spot, where she beat a defender with a deceptive move before slotting home with her left foot to seal the win.
There were 32,021 fans in attendance at Wellington Stadium.