Spain makes history in the World Cup of surprises

The Spanish team managed to make history this Saturday in a rather atypical World Cup. Jorge Vilda's team reached the quarterfinals after beating Switzerland by a landslide (1-5). It may not seem like a great achievement, but it is the first time in this tournament that Spain has managed to pass a tie. In the two previous tournaments they had lost in the group stage, in Canada 2015, and in the round of 16 against the United States, in France 2019. So what happened last day is no small thing.

The coach had already predicted at a press conference that they were going to win this game, and he was not wrong. Few were the ones who trusted, and more when they saw the starting eleven for which Vilda bet. Five changes were made, with two rookies in the tournament. It was the case of Cata Coll and Laia Codina. The absence of Misa Rodríguez was a bit surprising, but after the win nobody noticed it.

The team went on the attack from the first minute, seeking to get ahead early on the scoreboard. It was there that the figure of Aitana Bonmatí emerged, who took the trophy for the best player of the match, and no wonder. He scored a double and gave two assists. Alba Redondo, Jenni Hermoso and Laia Codina also scored. The latter managed to make up for a mistake it had made minutes before, after scoring an own goal that equalized Switzerland. A predicament that lasted very little.

With this victory it has been possible to verify that Spain is prepared to compete and that the setback against Japan is now a thing of the past, but that it has helped them come back stronger. Now the national team is waiting to find out who will be their rival in the quarterfinals. He will find out this morning after the match between the Netherlands and South Africa (4:00 am).

surprising eliminations

The Spanish team has begun to be seen as one of the favorites to lift the title. There are other countries that were also on the list and have had a pretty amazing tournament, but not exactly for the better.. Brazil fell in the group stage, something that had not happened since 1995. His elimination was not the only surprise, Marta, one of the most well-known faces of the team announced that his retirement as an international.

But it wasn't the only big disappointment.. Germany also failed to qualify for the round of 16. To this elimination are added those of Argentina and Italy that also failed to pass the round.

The performance of the United States, current champion, was also surprising.. They qualified for the round of 16, which they will play this Sunday against Sweden, but more was expected from the American team. They only managed one victory and drew the other two games, which caused them to finish second in the group.

It is not being the World Cup of the great powers, and it is that another of the favourites, Norway, fell in the second round this Saturday against Japan. It was a duel between two world champions, in which the Japanese won 3-1. A classification to take into account because the crossing against Spain can occur again in a hypothetical semifinal.

Likewise, there are teams that have revolutionized the tournament such as South Africa, Jamaica and Morocco that for the first time have passed the group stage. And there are also some forecasts that have come true, England, Sweden and France have done their job and have passed as first. The English are the ones that a priori have more affordable qualifiers, since their most difficult match would be played in the semifinals, probably against France or Denmark, but as is already being seen in this World Cup, nothing can be taken for granted.