In a thrilling match that saw a last-minute goal from Alexia Putellas, Spain secured three points and qualified for the next round of games.
Spain started quickly, aiming to get ahead early, but were quickly met by Nigeria’s expert defense. Salma Paralluelo had the first shot, but Oluwatosin Demehin stopped it, resulting in a corner. Teresa Abelleira took the corner, but none of the Spanish heads could score. It was clear early on that Spain would dominate possession.
A foul by Christy Ucheibe on Aitana Bonmatí gave Spain a free kick in a promising area. Teresa Abelleira took the free kick, but Christy Ucheibe headed it to safety for Nigeria.
Nigeria limited Spain to long-range shots, effectively minimizing Spain’s attacking threat.
Another long-range shot was deflected, leading to another corner by Abelleira. Despite meeting Spanish captain Irene Paredes’ head, she headed it wide of the goal.
Nigeria’s first run on goal started from keeper Nnadozie. Payne ran up the field, and with a quick pass back from Asisat Oshoala, Payne got up to the box.
However, a missed pass by Lucía García allowed Nigeria to win the ball in a dangerous area, but Esther Okoronkwo couldn’t get the shot on target. Another long-range ball from Lucía García went straight to the keeper’s hands, ending the first half with one minute of extra time added.
Second half
At halftime, Spain made two substitutions:
- Lucía García off for Del Castillo
- Hernández off for Carmona
A brilliant interception by Salma Paralluelo allowed Spain to run the ball down to the box with Mariona Caldentey, but her shot was blocked by Christy Ucheibe. This led to Spain’s first corner of the second half, taken by Abelleira.
The short delivery was lifted too high by Del Castillo, going over the goalpost.
With the ball intercepted by Nigeria, Okeke fired the ball forward, but Paredes made a great block, giving Nigeria their first corner. Taken by Payne, the corner did not work for Nigeria and led to a Spain free kick due to a foul on Del Castillo by Abiodun.
Paralluelo’s shot from the free kick was blocked by Abiodun, resulting in another short corner by Spain. Spain got the ball to Paralluelo, who scored, but the goal was ruled offside due to Putellas heading the ball while offside, keeping the score at 0-0.
Spain intercepted another pass, with Del Castillo running with the ball and trying to cross it to Carmona, but she couldn’t capitalise, and the ball went over the net.
In the 74th minute, Nigeria made their first substitutions:
- Oshoala out for Ihezuo
- Aloziem out for Payne
- Ucheibe out for Kanu
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A foul on Del Castillo gave Spain a free kick in a dangerous area. Putellas took the free kick with pinpoint accuracy, ultimately scoring the goal Spain had desperately wanted in the 85th minute.
With four minutes added on, Spain continued to dominate, and saw off the game to secure automatic qualification.
Before the quarter finals, they have one group stage game left to play against Brazil, but with the pressure now off, Spain can look ahead to the next round of Paris 2024.
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