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Few had reckoned with them at the time and even the Australian public started the game with them largely because they saw them as more favorable rivals than England for the semi-finals. Colombia lost (2-1) as expected by most predictions, but they did so boldly and unleashed in a game where they went from less to more in the game but not on the scoreboard. The European champions contest the semifinals against the only host to continue in a World Cup that is saying goodbye to its last Latin survivor.
2
Mary Earps, Alex Greenwood, Millie Bright, Jess Carter, Lucy Bronze, Rachel Daly, Georgia Stanway, Keira Walsh, Alessia Russo, Ella Toone and Lauren Hemp
1
Catalina Pérez, Daniela Árias, Jorelyn Carabalí, Manuela Vanegas, Carolina Arias, Linda Caicedo, Diana Ospina, Leicy Santos, Catalina Usme, Lorena Bedoya and Mayra Ramírez
Goals 0-1min 44: Leicy Santos. 1-1 min 51: Lauren Hemp. 2-1 min 62: Alessia Russo.
referee Katya Koroleva
The game had leaden passages before culminating in an intense ending. England seemed superior at the start, largely because of their physical superiority. However, he lacked clarity in handling the ball against an orderly and hard-working rival. Perhaps the English punished them for feeling better and they acted as if victory were a ripe fruit coming through gravity would emerge. What happened to them was that they pushed each other hard to keep it. They started strong, powerful in the airplay and in the clashes, insatiable in the balls into the box like the one that Alessia Russo won just after the start to start a fire in the Colombian box. It had all happened from an offside position but in a desperate attempt to salvage a goal that would have been annulled on review, Colombian defender Carolina Arias left the game injured and crying. Coming up was Guzmán, a 2005 footballer who finished last year’s U-17 World Cup runners-up in a final against Spain, which included the own goal that gave La Roja the win. This time he took no prisoners. Somehow his courage propelled his team from lukewarm to on fire.
Colombia withstood a fence that the English lacked in clout and depth. Daly barely bothered goalkeeper Catalina Pérez first with a reckless headbutt and soon after with a long-range shot that had worse intentions for the Colombian goal. But the game was already balanced. The team built by veteran Nelson Abadía continued to develop and once he was able to connect with his attacking players he had talent to draw from. They scored in the 44th minute, which is no longer the last of the first part in the new schedule to be introduced in football. At the very least, it was a memorable minute for Colombian football, as Leicy Santos’s goal, the talented Atlético de Madrid player, shrilled to surprise Mary Earps with what appeared to be a cross as it came out of her boots and turned into poisonous petroleum jelly as he made his way to the web.
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The forced goal encouraged England, who shook off their daze and fired into the opposition goal in the six minutes of extra time ordered by the referee team before half-time. It ended in an all-time draw and Sarina Wiegman’s girls headed to the dressing room with relief on their faces. Also the award selector. It happened that Catalina Pérez wanted to pick up a ball that had been left on the ground without an owner, and during the jab she carried, it slipped through her hands as if it were a sea bass instead of a ball. Russo, who goes into every tackle, started for him and in the ensuing scuffle Lauren Hemp was the smartest, putting the ball into the net and equalizing just before the third whistle.
The break was good for Colombia, who returned to the field as if they had made the break to carry out a process of collective self-conviction. They weren’t as far from the semifinals as one might expect. The game calmed down and spaces opened up. In this regard, England shone with a single flash that ultimately gave them the win, a clean ball clearance that Georgia Stamway improved with good control and a daring deep pass that landed at Russo’s feet, who arranged a two-by-seconds to to outline and finish the net.
England were already ahead, but it wasn’t over yet. Abadía called on the Valencian player Chacón and Colombia got fresh breath for the attack. The European champion turned pale. Lorena Bedoya, a talented midfielder who ingloriously spent a few seasons with Deportivo, almost equalized with a long-range effort from Earps when the ball slipped through the top corner. Colombia attacked to the end, mixing the finesse of Linda Caicedo with the assertiveness of Mayra Ramírez. Levante’s lead turned the trio of England centre-backs upside down. The tie could have come with a shot from him and almost on the hour, while the slow clock football uses today counted down the seconds until the final that devastated the brave Colombian side and the English with a historic brace from the Regency inspired Europe to do it in the world. Before they have to leave Australia next Wednesday in Sydney.
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