Spain confirmed their status as pre-tournament favorites by becoming the first side to secure qualifying for the Women’s World Cup knockout rounds with a 5-0 victory against Zambia.
Spain’s second victory, which also guaranteed Japan of last-16 qualifying after they defeated Costa Rica 2-0 earlier on Wednesday, came after Teresa Abelleira scored the game’s first goal and goals from Jennifer Hermoso and Alba Redondo.
With six points apiece, Spain and Japan will face each other on Monday for first place in the group, while Costa Rica and Zambia—both eliminated—will compete for third.
The inclusion of midfielder Alexia Putellas in the starting lineup by coach Jorge Vilda gave Spain a lift before the game, and the twice-Ballon d’Or winner, who has fully recovered from injury, was heavily involved in build-up play from the outset.
Abelleira calmed any initial jitters with the quickest goal of the competition. In the ninth minute, she scooped up the ball following a deft passing play, then unleashed a long-range drive that soared into the top corner.
After Zambia failed to stop Putellas’ cross, Hermoso celebrated her 100th appearance for Spain four minutes later with a simple header at the far post.
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At halftime, Vilda replaced Salma Paralluelo, Ona Batlle, and Putellas, but Spain maintained its lead.
Goalkeeper Eunice Sakala of Zambia, who replaced Catherine Musonda following the team’s first-round group match red card, made a number of saves, but she was left alone when Redondo was let through on goal and around the 21-year-old to score it 3-0.
“Spain are very experienced…we are just developing, we still need more experience,” Zambia captain Barbra Banda said post-match. “When you create chances, definitely you have to score. Unfortunately we didn’t find any goal.”
“Today’s game, we actually played much better than we did the first game,” Zambia coach Bruce Mwape commented.
“Spain has got a lot of experience and they’ve played well starting from the first whistle up to the final. I’m sure we have learned one or two things from this team. We will try and do our best in the last game [against Costa Rica].”