Spain beat Italy 3-1 as both qualify for quarters
Italy worked the ball in from the left flank and Martina Piemonte found enough space to squeeze off a shot that Spain's Mariona Caldente tried to control, but she only succeeded in teeing up Oliviero to slam home the ball.
That jolted Spain into life and they levelled four minutes later as the reigning world and Nations League champions began to dominate possession, Athenea del Castillo working the ball in from the right before playing a brilliant one-two in a tight space with Alexia Putellas and firing into the net. Patri Guijarro put Spain 2-1 up in the fourth minute of the second half and the Italians struggled to get out of their half for much of the rest of the game, with Esther Gonzalez sealing the deal for Spain with a stoppage-time goal to make it 3-1. Guijarro declared herself pleased with the business-like way Spain had secured the group win, even if there were things that could be improved.
"I'm happy for the three victories. The match was difficult (but) we are first in the group and now let's go for the quarter-finals," she said.
"They played very well. Those balls that we lost, there was a lot of space, so we have to run back as quickly as possible, we have to be more on top of the pressure after losing (the ball)."
Spain will take on Switzerland in Bern next Friday, while Italy meet Norway in Geneva on Wednesday. — Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
4 hours ago
- Observer
England win dramatic Lord's test by 22 runs
England beat India by 22 runs on a final day of simmering tension and high drama in the third test at Lord's on Monday to move 2-1 up in the series. Shoaib Bashir bowled Mohammed Siraj for four to seal victory, India's number 11 playing a defensive stroke before the ball trickled down the face of his bat and rolled on to the stumps as he watched on in disbelief. As the England players celebrated wildly, Ravindra Jadeja trudged off the field after making a valiant unbeaten 61 to take India to the brink of an extraordinary win. The hosts had looked on course for a far more comfortable victory when they reduced India to 112-8 at lunch, but Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah battled for nearly two hours to inch their team towards a target of 193. Jadeja was given out lbw to Chris Woakes by the umpire but the decision was overturned on review and the left-hander heaved the next delivery over mid-wicket for six, prompting loud cheers from the Indian fans. England finally made the breakthrough when Bumrah, on five, skied an attempted pull off Ben Stokes and was caught by substitute fielder Sam Cook. The majority of the crowd erupted with a mixture of joy and relief but Jadeja continued to frustrate England, reaching his 50, off 150 balls, by edging Stokes over the slips for four. Siraj survived 30 deliveries for his four runs as Jadeja farmed the bowling and took a succession of singles off the fourth ball of the over to dominate the strike. Siraj suffered a painful blow to his shoulder after being struck by a Jofra Archer delivery and shortly afterwards his resistance was finally broken. ENGLAND'S MORNING England had claimed four wickets in the morning to take charge of the match after India resumed on 58-4. Rishabh Pant played an extraordinary one-handed straight drive for four off Archer to move to nine, but the fast bowler responded two balls later with an excellent delivery which uprooted his off stump. Stokes snared KL Rahul lbw for 39, the England captain dropping to his knees and imploring the umpire to give him out. He refused to do so but England called for a review and the decision was overturned to huge cheers from the crowd. Washington Sundar was next to fall for a duck, Archer leaping to his right to take a superb one-handed catch off his own bowling. Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy frustrated England with solid defence in a partnership of 30 until Woakes found the edge of Reddy's bat just before lunch to give the hosts a huge lift as they left the field to warm applause from a packed crowd. The series is level at 1-1. — Reuters
Observer
2 days ago
- Observer
Spain beat Italy 3-1 as both qualify for quarters
BERN, Switzerland: Spain cruised to a 3-1 win over Italy on Friday that sees both sides through to the knockout stages at the Women's Euros, with the Spaniards topping Group B to set up a showdown with hosts Switzerland, while the second-placed Italians will meet Group A winners Norway. Spain finished top of the group with a perfect nine points from their three games, with the Italians second on four points, one ahead of already-eliminated Belgium, who beat Portugal 2-1 to snuff out their chances of advancing. The swashbuckling football of the Spaniards has singled them out as the team to beat in Switzerland but once more they got off to a sluggish start before saving the day with some outstanding attacking play. The Italians almost took the lead in the 10th minute when captain Elena Linari smacked a powerful header off the crossbar and seconds later they did score through Elisabetta Oliviero. Italy worked the ball in from the left flank and Martina Piemonte found enough space to squeeze off a shot that Spain's Mariona Caldente tried to control, but she only succeeded in teeing up Oliviero to slam home the ball. That jolted Spain into life and they levelled four minutes later as the reigning world and Nations League champions began to dominate possession, Athenea del Castillo working the ball in from the right before playing a brilliant one-two in a tight space with Alexia Putellas and firing into the net. Patri Guijarro put Spain 2-1 up in the fourth minute of the second half and the Italians struggled to get out of their half for much of the rest of the game, with Esther Gonzalez sealing the deal for Spain with a stoppage-time goal to make it 3-1. Guijarro declared herself pleased with the business-like way Spain had secured the group win, even if there were things that could be improved. "I'm happy for the three victories. The match was difficult (but) we are first in the group and now let's go for the quarter-finals," she said. "They played very well. Those balls that we lost, there was a lot of space, so we have to run back as quickly as possible, we have to be more on top of the pressure after losing (the ball)." Spain will take on Switzerland in Bern next Friday, while Italy meet Norway in Geneva on Wednesday. — Reuters
Observer
2 days ago
- Observer
Swiatek destroys Anisimova to win first Wimbledon title
LONDON: Iga Swiatek demolished Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the most one-sided women's Wimbledon final for 114 years to win her sixth Grand Slam title on Saturday. The Polish eighth seed, who has now won all six major finals in which she has competed, was in charge from the first point and wrapped up victory in just 57 minutes. It is the first time a woman has won a final at Wimbledon without dropping a game since 1911. And Swiatek, 24, is just the second player in the Open era to win a major title without losing a game in the final after Steffi Graf beat Natalia Zvereva at the 1988 French Open. "It seems super surreal," said Swiatek, who is the first Wimbledon singles champion from Poland in the Open era. "I didn't even dream, for me it was way too far. I feel like I am already an experienced player after winning the Slams before but I never expected this one. "This year I really, really enjoyed it and feel I improved my form here. "I am always going to remember the opening of champagne bottles between serves. It is a sound that will keep me awake at night." Swiatek, who reached the final of the grass-court tournament at Bad Homburg two weeks ago, has looked increasingly strong while the top seeds tumbled at the All England Club. She lost just one set in her run to the final. Winner Poland's Iga Swiatek poses with the trophy alongside runner-up Amanda Anisimova of the US after the women's singles final. — Reuters US 13th seed Anisimova was expected to prove a stern test after ousting world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, but Swiatek performed a brutal demolition job. Anisimova made a nervous start in hot conditions on Centre Court, with Catherine, Princess of Wales, watching from the Royal Box. She was broken in the first game, soon slipping 2-0 behind and the signs looked ominous. The American appeared to have found her feet in her next service game but the merciless Swiatek refused to give ground and recovered to move 3-0 ahead when Anisimova double-faulted. At 4-0 down Anisimova was facing a first-set wipe-out but she was powerless to halt the rampant Swiatek, who sealed the first set 6-0 in just 25 minutes. The American won just six points on her serve in the first set and committed 14 unforced errors. An increasingly desperate Anisimova could not stem the tide in the second set, double-faulting again in the third game to give her opponent game point and then netting a backhand. The crowd got behind her but to no avail as Swiatek kept up her level, serving out to win and celebrating before consoling her devastated opponent. Swiatek is Wimbledon's eighth consecutive first-time women's champion since Serena Williams won her seventh and final title at the All England Club in 2016. The distraught Anisimova left court briefly before returning for the trophy presentation. She broke down in tears again during her speech on court. "You're such an incredible player and it obviously showed today," she said, addressing Swiatek. "You've been such an inspiration to me. You've had such an incredible two weeks here. Getting to your first Wimbledon final here and winning is so special." — AFP
