Spain's U-19 Women's Team Reaches Semifinals of the European Championship
It's official. The U-19 women's team has reached the semifinals of the European Championship in Israel and will play the U-20 World Cup next year in Papua Islands (Oceania). This will be Spain's second U-20 World Cup. The first one was in 2004 after becoming the champions of the 2004 European Championship. It will be the fifth World Cup for the Spanish women's teams, following the two played by the U-17 team (2010 and 2014), the Senior National team in 2015, and the U-19 team in 2004. Spain will play against France, the leader of Group A, on Friday for a spot in the final. Spain won 1-0 against Sweden, the other qualified team.
They didn't qualify as they would have liked. They did it with a defeat as unfair as it was unfortunate, after an own goal by Rocío Gálvez in the 39th minute. A goal that gave life and qualification to the semifinals to Germany and left them as the group leaders. Spain arrived at the last group stage match, in the lead with 6 points and with the task almost done after winning against Norway and England. They could have even lost by 6-0, but Spain fought to overcome the German giant, a country with almost one million female licenses compared to our country's 30,000.
Spain faced an even tougher challenge. They closed the group stage against the always powerful Germany, who arrived at this last match in desperate need of a victory to secure their spot in the semifinals and eager to show why they are one of the great powers of women's football in Europe. On the other hand, the U-19 team wanted to seal a meritorious pass to the semifinals with a flawless record. Bad luck and an own goal prevented Jorge Vilda's players from achieving it.
The match started with a lot of respect from both teams. And the first chance came from Germany's star forward, Ehegötz. Both teams had opportunities, but it was Nahikari García who had the clearest ones in the first half before bad luck put Germany ahead with an unfortunate clearance by Rocío Gálvez in the 39th minute. Spain tried to correct the mistake before halftime and came close to doing so, with Alba Redondo among others.
In the second half, Spain had the first chances, with Leire Baños and Nahikari García's shots stopped by Pauels. After a few intense minutes, the first substitutions were made by both teams. Laura Ortega replaced Nuria Garrote and Pilar Garrote came on for Baños. And in the final minutes, Laura Domínguez took over from Nahikari, who continued to create danger. The second half was dominated by Spain and they fought to avoid an unjust defeat. Laura Ortega had the equalizer in the final minutes. Sandra Hernández also had attempts.
Spain said goodbye to the group stage with a defeat that doesn't reflect the good performances they displayed on the field. Now it's time to prepare to face another strong team, France. It will be on Friday, with the television (Eurosport) as a witness, at a time still to be confirmed by UEFA. The final is at stake.