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ANALYSIS: There are few things more exciting in football than the sight of a forward or a midfielder holding the ball up on a flank, while a fullback prepares to come storming past them down the outside.
As such an attacking move unfolds, it can be quite a sight. The fullback usually has a head of steam and has ditched their marker, allowing them to surge into a dangerous area and receive the ball with plenty of time and space in which to use it.
But what usually happens is a cross – and those often hit a defender and go no further.
When Spanish captain Olga Carmona received the ball from Mariona Caldentey on the left flank, half an hour into their win over England in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Sunday night, she opted to unleash a left-footed shot.
Hit with pinpoint accuracy, the ball nestled just inside the far post of England keeper Mary Earps’ goal, beating her outstretched arm.
KAI SCHWOERER/Stuff
Olga Carmona scored the winning goals for Spain in their semifinal and the final at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Spain had turned their early dominance into a 1-0 lead. There were 75 minutes still to be played, full of twists and turns, including a penalty save from Earps against Jennifer Hermoso that kept England in the game midway through the second half, but 1-0 was ultimately where it ended.
A week ago Carmona had scored just one international goal. The Real Madrid defender now has three, having also scored in the 89th minute of Spain’s semifinal win over Sweden at Eden Park in Auckland on Tuesday night.
She came from nowhere on that occasion too, receiving the ball at the top of the box from a corner, a minute and a half after Swedish forward Rebecka Blomqvist had equalised down the other end of the pitch.
Her shot that night wasn’t picked up by Sweden’s goalkeeper Zećira Mušović. It went in off the crossbar and there was delirium. In the aftermath, Mušović made it clear she was unsighted.
It’s fair to say few would have seen Carmona’s starring role in Spain’s semifinal and final wins coming. Not because she’s not a good player, but because she hadn’t been involved at all in their round of 16 and quarterfinal wins beforehand.
The left back played every one the first 225 minutes of Spain’s campaign, as they brushed past Costa Rica and Zambia in group C, then fell behind against Japan on their way to a 4-0 defeat.
A yellow card in first-half stoppage time against the Japanese in Wellington likely contributed to her being substituted at the break, in a match where she had taken over the captain’s armband from injured centre back Ivana Andrés. Oihane Hernández replaced her and picked up a yellow card before the final whistle.
Hernández then started – at right back, with Ona Batlle on the left – in the 5-1 round of 16 win over Switzerland in Auckland, as controversial coach Jorge Vild made a raft of changes.
She retained her place for the 2-1 quarterfinal win over the Netherlands in Wellington, but a second yellow card in that match left her suspended for the semifinal and opened the door for Carmona to return.
At Eden Park, restored as captain, Carmona looked to assert herself early, going close with a shot from a similar spot to the one from which she eventually scored.
When she did find the back of the net, it looked like that would be the 23-year-old’s World Cup moment. Little did anyone know she had a bigger one still to come.
Another overlapping run in the second half created chaos which led to a Spanish penalty. It wasn’t converted, but in the end it didn’t matter.
Spain had been equalised against in their three previous knockout matches, before ultimately prevailing. This time they didn’t need to dig that deep.
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