Here’s Jonathan Liew’s match report from Wellington:
So the Dutch may feel a bit aggrieved after that one, given the decision to cancel what seemed to be a well-deserved penalty kick. But that was just one pivotal play of many, and Spain got the better of the majority of those.
Spain will next face either Sweden or Japan. If it’s the latter, that’s a must-see matchup, no matter the hour.
That’s all for me today and probably all you’ll hear from me during this Cup, at least live. Thanks for following along for this game and every game. It’s always a treat, especially with a game this good and with readers blowing up my inbox with their insights. Enjoy the rest of the action.
A reminder, especially to our US readers, that you can follow all of these players – even players in games like this who are almost all in European leagues – with our women’s soccer newsletter, Moving the Goalposts. Sign up now.
Give credit also to Cata Coll, the goalkeeper who has played five professional games (with no goals allowed) and now two international games. She didn’t have to make any big saves, but her confident decisions coming out to clear dangerous through balls were vital.
I’m not really sold on the forwards. But if they can get Putellas all the way back to her Ballon d’Or form or even to 90% of it, they’ll be a force.
Final: Spain 2-1 Netherlands
What a dramatic World Cup quarterfinal that was.
One could be disappointed that the Netherlands played a direct counterattacking game, but it was working. If the finishing was just a little bit better, we could be going to penalties right now.
The finishing for Spain was pretty far off the mark for most of the game, but they converted their penalty. And then it was the teenager, Salma Paralluelo, with the shot that decided the game.
Spain are deserving semifinalists and absolutely potential champions.
120 mins +1: Good work from Martens to earn a corner kick. Everyone is up, including the keeper. But it’s partially cleared. The ball goes to Groenen, who shanks a pass out of play. That’s heartbreaking for the cornerstone of the Dutch midfield.
120 mins: Beerensteyn literally gets cornered, finding herself with the ball near the sideline deep in the Spanish half with two defenders on her. Spain easily reclaim possession.
We’ll play two more minutes.
119 mins: Spain are playing like they want another goal. Hermoso has certainly earned a shot at it. But that does mean the Dutch will get the ball back.
118 mins: The Dutch look beaten now. They just don’t seem to have anything left.
116 mins: The corner kick is quite dangerous, but the Dutch finally cope with the danger. But Beerensteyn commits a needless foul at midfield, and back it goes.
114 mins: Spain have possession, and the Dutch need to get it back somehow. This is superb. That must be 20 consecutive passes, and they finally win a corner.
GOAL! Spain 2-1 Netherlands (Paralluelo 111)
What a glorious way for a teenager to make her international breakthrough. Salma Paralluelo, the 19-year-old from Barcelona, races down the left inside channel on a counter. She doesn’t have a great angle. It doesn’t matter. She confidently fires it to the far post, and it caroms into the net.
Updated
109 mins: Both teams are going for it. You could say both teams are playing direct in a sense, but I think the forwards are just too tired to come back for the ball. Even the subs.
How in the world is Beerensteyn outrunning the Spanish defense after the work she has put in for more than 100 minutes? This is one of the most remarkable performances I’ve ever seen.
And she gets another CHANCE on a ball bouncing awkwardly near the goal, but her half-volley is over the bar.
107 mins: CHANCE as Beerensteyn goes 1v5 and somehow finds a seam. She gets through. Everyone on the Netherlands bench jumps up to celebrate, but Beerensteyn’s shot goes just wide.
Obviously, you need a center back on the verge of retirement to take those shots.
End first half of stoppage time: Spain 1-1 Netherlands
Simon McRae writes: “Netball is awesome - give it a whirl sometime.”
I wouldn’t know where to find a place to play. It has a lower profile in the US than handball. Wouldn’t a US handball league be awesome? When I covered the Iceland men’s handball team in 2008, some of them said they’d enjoy playing in the US.
Sub: van der Gragt, who conceded a needless penalty at one end and scored a wonderful goal at the other, is out. If the Netherlands can’t pull this out, that’s the end of her outstanding career. Kerstin Casparij of Manchester City is in.
105 mins (+2): Navarro, who has been a lively sub, gets fouled deep in the Dutch half by … Beerensteyns? How much energy does she have?
Nothing comes of it, and we’ve finished the first half of stoppage time. Putellas is talking with the ref for some reason.
105 mins: We’ll have two minutes of stoppage time for some reason. We did have one injury, but that seems double what we need.
Spain win a corner kick and maintain possession for a bit, but Putellas is easily dispossessed with simple shoulder charge.
104 mins: Putellas tries to rip a shot from 25 yards out, but it’s blocked at close range. That might hurt.
Dutch counter – as always, up to Beerensteyn – and Coll plays it a solid 35 yards from her own goal. Is this a youngster making her second appearance for the national team, or is it Manuel Neuer?
102 mins: The Netherlands try a long ball, but it’s easily cut out. Spain works back up the field, and in the end it’s a SAVE on a header by the excellent Hermoso.
Peter Oh writes: “The Dutch haven’t been convincing overall, but you have to give them credit for slotting a defender in up top and snatching a crucial goal. That took some creativity and guts. I don’t think Big Sam Allardyce (Hi Mary Waltz!) would send Harry Maguire up front and expect him to latch onto a throughball and finish.”
99 mins: Caldentey and Gonzalez are out, with Putellas and Navarro in. Navarro is one of the few Spanish players who play for neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid. She’s with Atlético Madrid.
98 mins: Spain prepare a sub. Would they really let this game play out and possibly depart the World Cup without playing a two-time Ballon d’Or winner?
The answer is no. Alexia Putellas is coming in.
95 mins: The roles have reversed. The Dutch are possessing. Spain are trying to counter. And the Netherlands keep pushing defenders up the field – in this case, Janssen is all the up on the left to cross it, and it doesn’t miss by much – so they may be vulnerable.
Egurrola, who has had a lively match, is down hurt. Or possibly cramped. It’s not hot out there, to say the least, but they’ve been running a long time.
They decide to make the sub. Dijkstra goes in for her second appearance of the Cup.
92 mins: How many miles has Beerensteyn covered today? Another good run to meet up with a through ball, and she lays it back for a shot. Turns out she was offside, but we have to marvel at what the English call “work rate.”
Van der Gragt, incidentally, is retiring after this World Cup. The handball was nearly her last meaningful play in soccer. Looks like she may have penned a better ending.
91 mins: Spain make a defensive sub, with Olga Carmona replacing Hernandez. Carmona actually started the game against Japan as the captain but was pulled at halftime and didn’t play against Switzerland.
Updated
End of regulation time: Spain 1-1 Netherlands
Yes, Spain have had the better of play. But the Netherlands’ direct play posed some serious challenges throughout, and we saw a penalty kick awarded and then inexplicably overturned. This is a just scoreline after 90.
Hey, does anyone know that Spain have the two-time defending Ballon d’Or winner on their bench? Maybe they were thinking of resting Alexia Putellas once they took the lead, but now that the situation has changed, will we see her in the game? They could use a finisher.
Updated
90 mins +11: Nope, nope, silly me – Coll conceded one goal against Switzerland. But that’s the first one scored by an opponent. Check her stats.
I don’t think she had a chance on that goal, though.
The Netherlands get some possession in the attacking half, but … that’s it.
90 mins +10: Direct ball to Beerensteyn, who manages to back into Andres and keep backing up, keep backing up, until Andres is finally called for a foul.
I’ll go back and check, but I think that Dutch goal is the first that Coll has conceded as an international or as a professional.
90 mins +8: Spain resume the possession play we were lauding. They’re making the Dutch midfielders chase, which must be brutal this late in the game.
90 mins +6: Before all that, a couple of people wrote in to complain about the complaints about the game. To be sure, Spain is playing possession soccer very well. But their finishing has been poor.
Since the goal, the Netherlands look the more likely side to score.
GOAL! Spain 1-1 Netherlands (van der Gragt 90+1)
How? Van der Graft slides into the No 9 slot, and Pelova plays a pitch-perfect through ball while the Spanish defense appears to have a brain freeze. You’d never guess van der Gragt plays at the back from the way she finished that to the far post. Perfect.
And redemption for conceding the penalty.
There is, of course, a check for offside. It’s not close. A defender elsewhere on the line kept the tall defender in a nice and legal position.
Game on!
Updated
90 mins: Beerensteyn goes 1v2, and she wins that battle. Then her shot is a mile wide.
Sam Tidey has an explanation for the crowd: “As someone in the crowd who is surrounded by glum Americans who assumed they’d have a team to cheer for I think that accounts for how subdued we are.”
They’ve been livelier in the last few minutes.
TWELVE MINUTES of stoppage time coming.
88 mins: Wilms fights and fights for the ball. She forces the Spanish defense into some awkward moments.
Nouwen replaces … Brugts? Really?
87 mins: Another sub, with Guerrero replacing Bonmati for Spain.
I really want Putellas to come in, if for no other reason than to make Fox acknowledge her existence.
Speculative shot from the Netherlands, giving Coll a chance to give the ball a rest.
86 mins: CHANCE for the Netherlands, as Beerensteyn just figures she’ll do it on her own, picking up the ball near midfield and racing the retreating Spanish defense. She shoots meekly in the end. She had teammates open. She’s disappointed.
83 mins: The world feed cuts back to the action just in time to show a ball floating toward the Dutch goal. Turns out to have been a quickly taken Spanish free kick, cheekily aimed at chipping van Domselaar.
Sub: Out goes Spitse. In comes Everton forward Katja Snoeijs.
82 mins: So can the Netherlands open it up?
They once again play ahead looking for … say it together now … Beerensteyn. It’s too far in front, and Coll collects.
GOAL! Spain 1-0 Netherlands (Caldentey 81 pen)
Caldentey takes one step. Then another. Then time passes. Species go extinct. Then she shuffles her feet, finally sends the keeper the wrong way, and clanks her shot off the inside of the post. She’s surely relieved to see the bounce go in her favor.
Penalty to Spain!
Shocking from van der Gragt. Maybe that’s just where her arm went, but it was clearly away from her torso. No doubt about this one.
78 mins: Whoa … Spain cross from the right, and van der Gragt blatantly reaches out a hand and swats it away. No whistle, but VAR is going to check to see if she was in the area.
And the answer is …
76 mins: Oh no. Codina plays the ball forward with no one around her, lands awkwardly and falls down on her backside. She’s down for treatment. Then out. Ivana Andres comes in.
73 mins: More promising work from Spain, more disappointment. The ball gets to Caldentey at the top of the area, but she turns with all the speed and grace of a middle-aged journalist doing live commentary. She lays it off to the onrushing Abelleira, who puts a lot of power on her shot but places it … say it with me … straight to the keeper.
Attendance is just over 32,000, but we’ve heard again from Andrew Miller that there are far too many quiet Dutch fans in orange.
71 mins: 19-year-old Salma Paralluelo enters for Spain, replacing Redondo.
Beerensteyn again comes close to forcing a turnover at the back. How much longer can she keep this up?
69 mins: Just her second game for her national team, and Spanish goalkeeper Cata Coll is playing with something between poise and insanity. First, she comes out 45 yards or so to play the ball. Then she calmly plays with her feet just outside her own area, nearly turning it over.
Then a cross nearly finds Beerensteyn. Cleared, and then they try an aerial cross to Beerensteyn, but she’s a couple of yards offside and realizes it.
68 mins: Corner kick to Spain. Then another.
Robert Speed writes: “Maybe the crowd atmosphere is poor because the game is rubbish? Maybe if both of the teams actually tried winning the game by....scoring more goals than their opponent? Radical I know. But this kind of Mexican standoff is far too accepted in soccer, particularly knockout matches.”
I think this email came in before the non-penalty, to be fair. And Spain just had a nice ball into the area.
67 mins: Free kick to Spain – should I get a caffeinated soda now? Is this going to penalties?
65 mins: Back to that sub – Wilms has fewer minutes played in this Cup (2) than Roord has goals (4). But Roord has been invisible.
Penalty to the Netherlands ... or not!
What on Earth was Paredes thinking? She’s beaten by a through ball to Beerensteyn, but her keeper was safely clearing the ball, and the Spanish defender simply bundled down the Dutch attacker.
That was an easy, obvious call.
So, naturally, it’s overturned by VAR.
I’ve figured out the problem with officiating in this World Cup. The TVs in the VAR booth are tuned to the wrong game.
61 mins: Substitution for the Netherlands, and it’s Wilms shockingly in for Roord, but we have other news …
60 mins: Stoppage is over. No sub entered the game. Insert comment about Vlatko Andonovski here.
The crowd is awakening. Not sure what in the game is inspiring them at this point, but it’s lovely to hear.
Yellow card to Egurrola for sliding through Abelleria’s legs.
58 mins: The Netherlands play a through ball to … no one.
We have a sub coming. Egurrola is down after possibly taking a knee to the face, and Spitse goes for the old-school approach of playing the ball out to tend to an injured player.
56 mins: Spain try a through ball, but van Domselaar throws herself on it.
Jovana Josivljevic writes: “The glariness of a midday game is making me reconsider setting up my alarm for 2:55am Amsterdam time. It looks like I’m not the only one who was pulled out of bed to join the match — Roord and Martens look surprised to be on the pitch.”
The direct approach also leaves them out of it. It’d be nice to see them change that.
Mary Waltz: “I have this premonition that Spain will continue to dominate, but at the death Netherlands will intercept, go long, the Spanish defender will have a Stevie G style tumble and the Dutch will score.1-0.”
54 mins: Spain get a lot of touches in the penalty area, but none of them involve sending a spherical object toward a couple of posts and a bar, behind which a net sits.
51 mins: Hey, the Netherlands tried passing it to someone other than Beerensteyn! But it’s too far ahead of Brugts.
We have a couple of comments on the crowd:
Barnaby Nicholls: “NZ crowds just aren’t very demonstrative, it’s a full house in Wellington so not really a question of people not taking time off work - polite applause just tends to be as far as we go. We’d probably consider more vocal passion to be obnoxious.”
Andrew Miller: “It may not come across on TV but the stadium is not that far off full. Wellington region has only 400k people and has consistently pulled larger crowds than either Adelaide or Perth which have 1-2m people. The lack of atmosphere is because most supporters are Dutch and they’ve had little to cheer about. There’s been excllent atmosphere for other matches.”
And a defense of netball from Penelope Collier: “Enough of the snide comments about netball, which is a popular sport played by so many women and girls. Australia just won the World Cup in that. New Zealand came fourth…”
I am confident that both teams could beat the US.
50 mins: Hermoso holds it … holds it …. HOLDS IT! Then back. Gonzalez winds up laying it off for Mariona, who gets a lot of power on her 20-yard shot but puts it too close to the keeper.
49 mins: Too many passes in that Spanish attack. But they win it back and earn their second corner.
47 mins: Beerensteyn is down, and action stops for a bit. But she remains in the game. She is quite literally the only Dutch player attacking, even with Lieke Martens and Jill Roord on the field.
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46 mins: Ohhhhh, that’s close from Gonzalez. Maybe 20 yards out, diagonal shot, and it misses the post by a couple of inches.
Kickoff: No subs. Have we mentioned that Spain have the back-to-back Ballon d’Or winner on the bench?
Stats, or why the US women’s performance was alarming …
Remember when the Netherlands were able to play keepaway against the US through the first 60 minutes or so?
Today …
Shots: Spain 11, Netherlands 0
Passes completed: Spain 259, Netherlands 182
Mailbag
There’s an objection to the depiction of New Zealand’s prime minister. I vaguely recall that their Covid response was better than most, but I’m in the US, so I envy everyone.
Joe Pearson is listening to a Dutch radio feed. He doesn’t speak the language.
Murray Henman, writing from Brisbane (where he IS taking time off from work): “Re your comment at the 14th minute I’m watching on tv and I can hear the crowd. Not exactly deafening though.”
Kate Blackhurt, writing from Australia: “Having lived in New Zealand for 15 years, my experience is that Kiwis are more than happy to take time off work for something they care about - rugby; skiing; netball; sailing etc. Football doesn’t really cut it there, sadly.”
Netball? NETBALL? I mean, it’s mentioned in a Flight of the Conchords song, but still …
Michael Connolly from a location we won’t divulge: “Not skipping work exactly, merely cyber-slacking in my office, pretending to be working on a report.”
Jacob Murray-White says he checked some of the top Spanish news sites and found no prominent mentions of the game. Maybe they’ll notice if they can win this one?
My favorite of Peter Oh’s notes so far: “I admire the Dutch gaffer’s apparent serenity. He looks like he’s contemplating a Vermeer, not presiding over a do-or-die World Cup knockout match.”
So who’s the most likely scorer? I might go with Lineth Beerensteyn of the Netherlands. She has come awfully close to breaking into space.
Halftime: Spain 0-0 Netherlands
Disappointing on many fronts. The stadium does indeed have some fans present, but they just don’t seem into it, only perking up a bit on the occasions that Spain hit the post or put it in the net. The Dutch aren’t making any serious effort to possess the ball, and the Spanish left their shooting boots behind after the Switzerland game.
45 mins +3: Beautiful overlapping on the left for Spain, and it ends up with Gonzalez, who tries to bull her way through a thicket of Dutch defenders.
45 mins +1: Beerensteyn gets it on the right and works down toward the end line. Her cutback attempt is blocked, but she gets it and crosses … never mind, the flag is up.
On the replay, that call looks questionable. But I’m sure the international feed will show us some animated graphic showing a point on her armpit was a millimeter ahead of the defender’s waist or something.
45 mins: We’ll have four minutes of stoppage time.
44 mins: Gonzalez with a nice turn at the top of the box, but she can’t get a clean shot away.
The Dutch try to find Beerensteyn again, but she winds up on the ground, looking for a foul. No whistle.
43 mins: Another good passing sequence from Spain, but the result is a shot blasted into a wall of defenders in that purplish-blue kit the Dutch are wearing today.
42 mins: Cross for Beerensteyn, but it’s a bit behind her.
Reaction to the reversal on the goal …
Pfieuw… 😬
— OranjeLeeuwinnen (@oranjevrouwen) August 11, 2023
39 min: Can Coll the Callow handle a high cross? She did well with that one, bossing the penalty area like a veteran.
GOAL! ... just kidding
It’s no less than Spain deserve.
Except that it’s going to be called back. Great cross from the left, and Redondo again shows off some truly abysmal finishing skills, heading it across the face of goal. It hits Gonzalez, though, and the forward rips it into the net from very close range. Too close, though. Offside, we think we hear as our referee explains the VAR decision.
36 mins: Spain works on the left flank this time, and …
34 mins: Hernandez works her way up from right back and unleashes a waist-high cross into a dangerous spot.
Then she gets a yellow card for stepping on Groenen’s foot, and she’ll miss the semifinals.
More on the scheduling:
@duresport reading your guardian commentary on Spain v Netherlands.
— onekickduck (@onekickduck) August 11, 2023
You're right, we seldom skip work. We need to keep working because our economy is in the toilet.
Except perhaps for PM Mr Hipkins in your photo, who has regularly been "absent " over the past six years ;-)
32 mins: A bad cross-field pass from Janssen appears to end a Dutch possession, but Brugts simply outwrestles a defender to win it back.
Is Jill Roord hiding somewhere?
30 mins: Van Domselaar seems shakier today than in previous games. Under a bit of pressure, the Dutch keeper blasts a clearance out of play.
Many people are asking why this game is at such an inconvenient hour for New Zealand fans. The fact that it’s a very convenient hour for US fans is surely not a coincidence. We could’ve seen the US in this game, and the ratings would’ve surely been over 10m.
28 mins: And yet … if one of these direct balls from the Dutch can get there at the right time, this could be 1-0 the other way. Coll has to come out of her box to clear one. Then they find Beerensteyn deep in Spanish territory, and she cuts back for a cross that just sails over Martens’ head. Nice statement of intent.
Mary Waltz has seen this before: “Ol’ Big Sam Allardyce is loving that Route One tactics of the Dutch.” Ouch.
25 mins: These are mesmerizing passing sequences for Spain. This one ends with Caldentey shooting wide from 18 yards. It wasn’t as clear-cut a chance as some of the others, but Spain look like their possessions will end when they say they’ll end.
22 mins: At this point, the stats would say it’s one-way traffic, with Spain holding a solid edge in possession and shots (5-0), two of which hit the post. But the Dutch press looks dangerous.
As I type, two defenders lose Gonzalez, but her shot from the top of the area is straight at Daphne van Domselaar.
If you’re a US fan fretting over the team’s inability to finish, maybe you’ll take some cheer upon seeing another tournament favorite misfiring this badly.
20 mins: We have a delay after a head-to-head collision between Beerensteyn and Spanish defender Codina.
Amanda Collins writes: “Kia ora Beau. Writing from Hamilton, Waikato. You ask if NZs ever skip work? There aren’t enough of us! If we skip work the country will stop!!”
17 mins: OFF THE POST – TWICE! The Dutch can’t clear, and a cross to the middle of the box finds Redondo, whose header forces the Dutch keeper into action. She can only knock it into the post, and Redondo gets to her own rebound and somehow kicks it straight back into the post.
16 mins: The Netherlands wanted a foul called on their corner kick, but we will not see a closer look for a penalty.
Bonmati makes a strong run, balancing on the sideline like Simone Biles on the beam to win a corner.
14 mins: A bit better from the Dutch defensively, keeping the ball in the Spanish half for a while and then intercepting.
Then a mishap at the back for Spain, with a backpass to Coll going pretty far wide. The young keeper tries to rescue it before it goes over the line but can’t get there. That might be a good thing, because she wound up leaving a net as empty as this stadium sounds.
11 mins: The crowd is so, so quiet. Do New Zealanders never skip work?
9 mins: The Dutch strategy appears to be “direct.” Another way of putting it: “Blast it upfield for Beerensteyn.” Maybe they’ll catch Spain’s inexperienced goalkeeper unaware.
8 mins: More combinations from the Spanish, with the Dutch unable to clear and Daphne van Domselaar looking a little unsure of herself as a cross floats overhead. Hmmmm.
Joe Pearson is also irritated with Fox: “I absolutely roll with Mary Waltz on this one. The Fox coverage is horrible! And we are stuck with them for YEARS for international tournaments. Ugh! The MUTE button works, I might suggest.”
We have a global audience here, so let’s ask – what country’s broadcaster does it best?
(To be fair – Fox has a lot of great people. The coverage decisions have been drawing a few questions. But it’s not too surprising to see a US network being US-centric.)
5 mins: And as I type, there’s a CHANCE for Spain, with Esther Gonzalez winding up with the ball after some nice combination play on the left flank. Her shot is well wide. Unless it was a pass, in which case, her cross is well wide.
4 mins: Let’s specify, though – the Spanish are possessing, but in their own half. The Dutch press is potent.
2 mins: Maybe I’m spoiled because the last game I saw involved host Australia, but the atmosphere for this game at the start is nonexistent. You can hear every word on the field. Pity. This game deserves better.
Spain are possessing. Surprised?
Updated
Kickoff: French referee Stéphanie Frappart gets us started.
Fox runs through the lineups again, and again, they mention the absence of Van de Donk but NOT Putellas.
Mary Waltz on Fox coverage: “Beau, I loved the US squad, was crushed when they lost, but even I got sick of the non stop, all USWNT , all the time, Fox coverage. One of the best things about the World Cup is the ability to learn about teams and player’s from across the world. We need no more talk about the US team, tell me about the teams still playing. There are multiple stories to tell, Fox just tells one. Ignorant.”
Pregame mailbag
Daniel Gurfinkiel writes: “Greetings from Costa Rica! I’ve been watching a few matches for this World Cup whenever I could, and it was pretty entertaining so far, but most of the matches have been at 1:30, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning Costa Rica time, so I paid a dear price for watching those matches a few hours later by enduring sleep-deprived days at work. It’s nice to know that I’ll be watching this (hopefully) awesome match between Spain and the Oranjes at 7:00 pm for a change. :D”
I’m debating whether to wake up in the middle of the night to watch Japan and Sweden.
And Mary Waltz checks in: “Possession v counter attack. It should be fascinating, I really can’t decide who should be the favorite, it’s a toss up.”
On Fox, Ari Hingst is pointing out that counter-attacking really isn’t what the Dutch typically do. Can they do it here? Worked for Japan.
So, about those comments …
If you’re a US fan currently watching the lengthy tribute to the older players on the US team, which is now running on Fox instead of analysis of a World Cup quarterfinal they’ll be showing in 15 minutes, you may be looking for a team for which to cheer in this game.
Neither team has obvious links to the US. No NWSL players will be on the field for this one.
But Lineth Beerensteyn might give neutral fans a bit of a nudge – in the other direction. The Dutch forward took a little poke at the four-time World Cup champions: “The first moment when I heard that they were out, I was just thinking ‘yes’, because from the start of this tournament they have already a really big mouth, they were talking already about the final and stuff.”
She didn’t play against in the Netherlands’ 1-1 draw against the US, in case you were wondering.
Spain lineup
The big news for Spain: Back-to-back Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas is NOT in the lineup. She hasn’t been in top form after an ACL injury last year.
The lineup is basically anyone who plays for Barcelona or Real Madrid -- each club has nine players on this roster. Two hail from Atlético Madrid, one from Levante, the third-string keeper is from Valencia, and Jennifer Hermoso has taken the non-traditional route by following up a distinguished European club career with a move to Mexico.
Spain had a rather easy time with Costa Rica in the opener, outshooting the Central Americans 46-1 in a 3-0 win. The finishing was better against Zambia, with Hermosa and Redondo each scoring twice in a 5-0 win. The momentum stopped abruptly with a 4-0 loss to Japan that led coach Jorge Vilda to make a few changes, including a senior-level debut for 22-year-old goalkeeper Cata Coll, who has only played five games for Barcelona! (She has not yet allowed a goal.)
As with the Netherlands lineup, an “x” means the player did not play in that game. An asterisk by a rating means that player came on as a sub.
Goalkeeper
23-Cata Coll (Barcelona): x-x-x-6. Her second cap is against the Netherlands in a World Cup quarterfinal.
Defense
2-Ona Batlle (Barcelona): 7-7-6-8. Usually plays on the right but shifted to left back during the debacle against Japan and stayed there against Switzerland. Spent the last few years with Manchester United.
4-Irene Paredes (Barcelona): 7-7-5-7. Center back has played every minute so far.
12-Oihane Hernández (Real Madrid): 6*-7*-5*-7. Right back started against Switzerland after coming off the bench three times in group play.
14-Laia Codina (Barcelona): x-x-x-6. Center back played her first game of the Cup against Switzerland and scored an equalizing own goal in the 11th minute. Bounced back to score Spain’s fourth.
Midfield
3-Teresa Abelleira (Real Madrid): 8-8-6-7. Center mid scored against Zambia.
6-Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona): 8-7-6-9. Played centrally alongside Albelleira when Putellas was out against Costa Rica but has been on the right since. Scored against Costa Rica, but the big story with her is her two-goal, two-assist showing against Switzerland. And that’s the only game in which she hasn’t played the full 90.
10-Jennifer Hermoso (Pachuca): 7-9-6-8. Has played as a No 10, a No 9 and whatever number a left midfielder is. Scored twice against Zambia and netted the final goal against Switzerland.
Forward
8-Mariona Caldentey (Barcelona): 6*-7-6-x. Left wing returns to the lineup.
9-Esther González (Real Madrid): 7-x-6*-7. Wears and plays No 9. Scored against Costa Rica.
17-Alba Redondo (Levante): 6*-8*-6*-8. Scored twice as a sub against Zambia. Started and scored against Switzerland.
Netherlands lineup
Who’s playing for the Netherlands today? Here’s the lineup, with rating info from our guide to all 736 players. An “x” means they didn’t play in the game in question.
Those games were a 1-0 win over Portugal, a 1-1 draw with the USA, a 7-0 romp over Vietnam, and a 2-0 knockout-round win over South Africa.
Goalkeeper
1-Daphne van Domselaar (Aston Villa): 7-6-7-7. Those ratings seem low. She’s a monster.
Defense
20-Dominique Janssen (Wolfsburg): 7-5-7-?. Not sure why she got no rating for the round of 16 -- she’s the only field player who has played all 360 minutes.
3-Stefanie van der Gragt (free agent): 8-6-7-5. The center back is retiring after this Cup, though she’s only 30.
8-Sherida Spitse (Ajax): 7-6-8-7. The 33-year-old captain has been with the national team for more than half her life.
Midfield
11-Jackie Groenen (PSG): 8-5-6-6. Box-to-box midfielder has a lot of responsibility holding things down behind all the attackers.
22-Esmee Brugts (free agent): 7-6-8-7. Very impressive on the left.
21-Damaris Egurrola (Lyon): 6-6-6-x. Subbed in all the group matches, sat out the round of 16, and is making her first start of the Cup here in place of the suspended Daniëlle van de Donk.
6-Jill Roord (Manchester City): 7-8-8-8. In the running for the Golden Boot.
17-Victoria Pelova (Arsenal): 7-7-6-6. Right wing.
Forward
7-Lineth Beerensteyn (Juventus): 7-x-x-8. Had some interesting comments that we’ll get to.
11-Lieke Martens (PSG): 7-7-7-7. An all-time great for this team.
Preamble
Hello all. It’s been a while. I think I was last live when the US women also were alive in this Cup.
What an intriguing matchup we have here! Two European nations steeped in men’s soccer tradition that finally caught on to women’s soccer in the past decade and made immense strides, so much so that neither team’s presence here is a surprise, neither team’s presence in the semifinals would be a surprise, and neither team’s presence on the winners’ stand would be a surprise.
On paper, Spain look a bit better to me. But the Netherlands have some top-flight attacking talent and a goalkeeper capable of slamming the door.
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Jonathan Liew on an intriguing match-up:
The time begins to weigh at this point. Spain have been in New Zealand for a month, braving near-zero temperatures, the strong winds that numb the fingers and carry perfectly adequate long passes out of play, the ennui so acute the whole squad and their families decided to move from their sleepy Palmerston North training base to the centre of Wellington in the middle of the tournament.
The Netherlands, for their part, have been constantly on the move from their Tauranga base in the north of the country: south to Wellington and Dunedin, west to Sydney for their last-16 game, and back again. “So many airports,” their coach, Andries Jonker, said on Thursday. “So many hotels. So many pitches. So many flights. We are the world champions of flying.”
New Zealand is a place that makes you feel its remoteness: not just in the lush rolling landscapes that seem to go on for ever, but in the dislocation of time zones and distance, the unfamiliar weather, the messages back home you know will go unread for another eight hours. And this ride is rewarding and memorable too. But when you have been riding it long enough, it needs to be the right kind of rewards and the right sort of memories.
And so to a quarter-final between two European giants scheduled for the dead of the European night: 3am in Madrid and Amsterdam. It’s not just the players putting in a shift here. Jonker recommended setting an early alarm. Spain’s coach, Jorge Vilda, reckons it’ll probably be easier to just stay up late. That’s northern and southern Europe for you in a nutshell. For all the familiarities between these two coaches and their sides, there are also dividing lines that promise to generate one of the tournament’s most fascinating encounters.
You can read the full story below:
