Colombia falls on their feet against England, who will face Australia in the semifinals | Women’s Soccer World Cup 2023

Few expected them at this point, even the Australian public began the match with them more than anything because they perceived them as a more affordable rival than England for the semi-finals. Colombia fell (2-1), as expected in most forecasts, but they did so bravely and unleashed in a game in which they went from less to more in the game, but not on the scoreboard. The European champion will play the semifinals against the only host that continues in a World Cup that says goodbye to its last Latin American survivor.

The game had leaden passages before leading to an intense finish. England seemed superior at the start, more than anything because of their physical superiority. But he lacked lucidity with the ball against an orderly and hard-working rival. Perhaps the English penalized them for feeling better and they handled themselves as if the victory were a mature fruit that was going to come off by the force of gravity. What happened to them is that they gave each other a good squeeze to keep it. They started strong, powerful in the aerial game and the disputes, voracious in the balls to the area like the one that Alessia Russo won shortly after starting to start a fire in the Colombian area. Everything had happened from an offside position, but in a desperate attempt to save a goal that would have been canceled in the review, the Colombian defender Carolina Arias left injured in tears. Guzmán entered, a 2005 soccer player who last year was runner-up in the U-17 world in a final against Spain in which she scored the own goal that gave La Roja victory. This time she took no prisoners. Somehow her courage pushed her team from warmth to heat.

Colombia resisted a fence that lacked punch and depth from the English. Daly hardly disturbed the goalkeeper Catalina Pérez first with a headbutt without greed and shortly after with a long shot that had worse intentions for the Colombian goal. But the game had already leveled. The team built by the veteran Nelson Abadía stretched and as soon as he managed to connect with his attacking players he was able to call up talent. They scored in the 44th minute, which is no longer the last of the first part in the new timing that wants to be installed in football. At least it was an unforgettable minute for Colombian soccer, which screamed the goal of Leicy Santos, the talented Atlético de Madrid player, sharpened to surprise Mary Earps with what looked like a cross when it came out of her boots and turned into a poisonous Vaseline as he made his way to the net.

The goal by force encouraged England, who shook off their stupor to launch into the rival goal in the six minutes of extension decreed by the refereeing team before the break. It came to a tie around the hour and Sarina Wiegman’s girls went to the booth with relief on their faces. Also the laureate selector. It happened that Catalina Pérez went to pick up a ball that had been left without an owner on the floor and with the push she was carrying it slipped through her hands as if it were a sea bass instead of a ball. Russo, who goes to all the battles, launched for him and in the resulting melee the smartest was Lauren Hemp, who pushed the ball into the net to sign the equalizer just before the three whistles.

The break was good for Colombia, which returned to the field as if it had managed the break to carry out a process of collective self-convincing. They weren’t as far from the semi-final as one might expect. The match leveled off and spaces opened up. It was in this context that England shone with a single flash that ultimately gave them the victory, a clean release of the ball that Georgia Stamway improved with good control and a daring deep pass that ended up at the feet of Russo, who arranged a couple of seconds to outline and finish off the net.

England was already ahead, but nothing was over. Abadía called the Valencian player Chacón and Colombia found a new breath to attack. The European champions turned pale. Lorena Bedoya, a neat midfielder who spent a few seasons ingloriously at Deportivo, came close to equalizing with a long shot from Earps as the ball slipped through the top corner. Colombia attacked until the end, mixing the finesse of Linda Caicedo with the forcefulness of Mayra Ramírez. Levante’s lead brought the trio of English central defenders upside down. The tie could have come with a shot from him and almost on the hour, while the lazy clock that football now uses counted down the seconds towards a final that devastated the brave Colombian team and excited the English with a historic double, going from reigning in Europe to do it in the world. Before they will have to leave Australia behind next Wednesday in Sydney.

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