On the eve of the FIFA U-17 WomenтАЩs World Cup final, Spain captain Marina Artero spoke of them being ready to fight till the end and not panicking even if the goals donтАЩt come early.
On Sunday, the defending champions stuck to that belief to beat Colombia 1-0 at the DY Patil Stadium and retain the title.
The winner came in the 82nd minute when the ball deflected off Colombian right-back Ana Guzman and went into goal. It was the result of sustained pressure put by Spain as the game headed towards full time. Two 79th-minute substitutesтАФPaula Partido and Laia MartretтАФwere involved in the buildup to the goal. Partido found space on the right flank and put in a cross for Martet, whose shot deflected off goalkeeper Luisa Agudelo onto Guzman.
Throughout the tournament, most of SpainтАЩs goals came late in games. They needed an 85th-minute winner by Jone Amezaga to beat Colombia 1-0 in their group opener. In their last group match, a 61st-minte strike by skipper Artero eased them to a 1-0 win over China. In the quarter-finals, Vicky Lopez netted in the 87th and 93rd minute as they bounced back from 1-0 down to race to a 2-1 victory over Japan. In the semi-final, Kenio GonzaloтАЩs side scraped to a 1-0 win over their European rivals Germany when Lucia Corrales netted in the 90th minute.
In the final, Spain once again showed their prowess by dominating possession while Colombia were happy to sit back and hit on the counter. The strategy made sense as Colombia knew that going toe-to-toe with Spain will only leave them vulnerable at the back.
ThatтАЩs what happened late in the match when Colombia pushed forward in search of an equaliser that gave Spain space to open them up. Martret could have wrapped up the tie in the last minute of regulation time but her well-taken strike hit the post.
Colombia started on the offensive and Gabriela RodriguezтАЩs sixth-minute free-kick was saved by Spanish keeper Sofia Fuente. But Spain seized control as the game progressed.
The main players of the two teams тАФ SpainтАЩs Lopez and ColombiaтАЩs Linda Caicedo тАФ were kept in check throughout the game. Whenever they found space, the opponents made sure they didnтАЩt have a free run. Spain also hit the back of the net in the 48th-minute, but Cristina LibranтАЩs strike was ruled out for a handball.
Earlier, in the third-place match, Nigeria beat Germany 3-2 in a shootout after the score was 3-3 at the end of regulation time. It was NigeriaтАЩs third straight shootout. They had beaten USA 4-3 in the quarters before losing to Colombia 6-5 in the semis.
They were 3-0 up by the 63rd minute thanks to goals from Opeyemi Ajakaye (20), Amina Bello (48) and Edidiong Etim (63). But Germany bounced back by scoring thrice in the last 17 minutes through Jella Veit (73), Paulina Bartz (83) and Loreen Bender (90).
