Spain edge out Sweden to set up a history-making World Cup final

Spain prevailed over Sweden in a heart-stopping 2-1 semifinal that came right down to the final minutes. This is a historic moment for Jorge Vilda's women, giving them their first-ever appearance in a World Cup final.

With goals from Salma Paralluelo and Olga Carmona (the Swedish Rebecka Blomqvist scored the only goal for Sweden in the 88th minute and, a minute later, came the final goal for Spain) the Spanish players will be in the final this Sunday, August 20.

Who they will see in the final is yet to be determined, however. It will be either Australia or England, who face off in the second semifinal at 11am GMT tomorrow.

The Swedish players did not make it easy for Spain to get to this point, though. Good attacking play, ball control, and know-how on the pitch made Sweden a rival worthy of a heart-stopping semifinal.

However, Spain was unrelenting for the full 90, and broke down the Swedish defense in the nick of time. Spain's first goal came in the 81st minute when the fans began to think that the game might go to extra time.

Salma Paralluelo brought the Spanish fans to their feet with a great low shot to the bottom right corner.

However, Sweden responded promptly and in 88th put everything level again. A corner set Rebeckah Blomqvist up for a glorious shot that Spain's goalkeeper Cata Coll had no chance of saving.

Football can be cruel though, and Sweden's joy was shortlived as a lethal Olga Carmona shot a minute later – in the minute 89th minute – put Spain on the winning path once again.

"It was a very tough game. It could have been difficult to recover from their goal, but we've shown that this team can deal with anything," the 19-year-old Paralluelo told reporters at the Auckland ground, as reported by Reuters. "All of us are extremely proud of everything we have done.

"We're just one step away from glory ... We took this little step, and now we need that final push."

This is a historic moment for the women's game in Spain. Prior to this tournament, Spain had never won a World Cup knockout game. They exited in the group stage in their debut campaign in 2015 and were eliminated in the round of 16 four years ago in France. They now travel to Sydney the final in for what is promising to be the biggest moment in the history of the Women's World Cup.

The edition of the Women's World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, has already broken records. With 1.8 million tickets already sold throughout the tournament, surpassing the previous record of 1.53m in Canada in 2015, and a final game with expected to see an attendance of around 80,000, it's clear the women's game is more popular than ever.