Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Sweden and Spain have advanced to the semifinals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Sweden secured a 2-1 victory over Japan in the second quarterfinal, while Spain overcame the Netherlands with the same scoreline to reach the semifinals for the first time.
Amanda Ilestedt gave Sweden the lead in the first half with her fourth goal of the tournament. Filippa Angeldal’s second-half penalty doubled Sweden’s advantage. Japan had the opportunity to claw back in the game, but Riko Ueki’s penalty struck the bar. But the Asian team managed to reduce the deficit in the 87th minute through Honoka Hayashi’s close-range strike. Sweden maintained its resolute defense to prevent Japan from staging a comeback to book their place in the semifinals.
In the first semifinal, Salma Paralluelo scored in extra time to send Spain to the semifinals for the first time. Although Spain dominated the match, it wasn’t until the 81st minute that they managed to find the back of the Dutch net. Mariona Caldentey gave Spain the lead from the penalty spot after van der Gragt handled the ball inside the box. However, van der Gragt made amends just 10 minutes later, leveling the score with a powerful shot in the stoppage time.
The later equalizer seems to have revitalized the Netherlands as the Dutch dominated the extra time. However, Paralluelo managed to score on a counterattack to send the Netherlands out of the World Cup.
Australia will meet France in the third quarterfinal on Saturday, followed by the fourth quarterfinal between England and Colombia.
