A teenager helped send Spain to its first semifinal of the Women's World Cup.
Salma Paralluelo, a 19-year-old forward who had substituted into the game, scored the go-ahead goal in extra time to give Spain a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Jenni Hermoso sent a through ball to Paralluelo, who beat her defender in a one-on-one situation and fired a shot that went off the post and into the back of the net in the 111th minute for her first goal of the tournament.
The post was much more kind to Spain late in the game than it had been in a dominant first half when two consecutive shots by Alba Redondo were denied by it.
But each of Spain's go-ahead goals in the game ended up deflected off the post and into the net.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Local
After a handball in the box by the Netherlands Stefanie van der Gragt, Mariona Caldentey converted the ensuing penalty kick off the post and in to give Spain a 1-0 lead. Redemption came quickly for van der Gragt, who broke free and fired past a diving keeper to score the equalizer in the first minute of stoppage time.
The two teams went to extra time, where the Netherlands Lineth Beerensteyn created multiple opportunities but couldn't find the back of the net.
That set the stage for Paralluelo, who extended the World Cup run for a country that entered this year's tournament having never advanced beyond the Round of 16.
Spain will now be one of the last four teams standing when play the winner of Japan and Sweden in the semifinals on Tuesday in Auckland.
