Who will Spain face in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals?

It’s an historic day for Spanish football. The women’s team are through to the semi-finals of the World Cup - a feat only achieved once before today, when the men’s team made it to the Last 4 at South Africa 2010.

Jorge Vilda’s side saw off the Netherlands at Wellington Regional Stadium, with goals from Mariona - a penalty on 81 minutes, and Salma Paralluelo in extra-time. It means that whatever happens in the semi-finals, Spain will be guaranteed to be among the teams fighting for a medal, either in the final or the match for third place.

Spain now know who they will face in next week’s semi-final. La Roja will meet Sweden, who beat Japan 1-2 in today’s other semi-final. In some ways, that might come as a relief to Vilda, whose side were thrashed 4-0 by the Nadeshiko during the group stage although at this stage, every game is going to be tough. Sweden will be anything but pushovers - they are currently third in the FIFA Women’s World Ranking, behind the United States and Germany. Spain are sixth in the ranking, their highest position since the system was launched in 2003 and up two places from the last edition.

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Spain and Sweden have met several times since their first encounter in October 1991. La Roja have never beaten the Scandinavians, either in official or unofficial competition and suffered two heavy defeats to the Swedes, losing 0-8 in 1996 and 7-0 in June 2000 although a lot has changed since then. In 2003, Spain were ranked 22nd in the world but have not moved out of the Top 10 since September 2021 which is a clear indication of how much progress has been made. The last meeting between the two nations, a friendly in October 2022, ended in a 1-1 draw.

When is the Spain vs Sweden semi-final?

The 2023 Women’s World Cup semi-final between Spain and Sweden will be played at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand on Tuesday 15 August and will kick off at the local time of 8 p.m. (4 a.m. EDT / 1 a.m. PDT) or for viewers watching in Spain or Sweden, 10:00 hours.

Who is in the other semi-final?

The remaining two quarter finals will be played on Saturday. In the first, hosts Australia face France which will be followed by England’s game against Colombia. The winners of both of those games will head into the second semi-final, which will be played on Wednesday 16 August at Stadium Australia in Sydney.