Match in Focus: Spain produce a comeback to break Colombia hearts

For so long, it looked as though the world champions were heading out of the Olympic Games, but a new Spain with a new mentality fought back to keep their medal hopes alive...

Wow.

Perhaps we should have seen it coming, because as Aitana Bonmatí put it post-match, ““Our mentality on the pitch now is one of the best things we have.”

Colombia played their game to almost pin-point perfection. They sat, they frustrated, and they sprung the trap - twice - at their brilliant best to put the world champions on the brink of a shock exit.

Mayra Ramírez was brilliant, but it still wasn’t quite enough to dust off a team who now seem almost invincible, a world away from the team who two years ago crumbled against England at Euro 2022.

It was undoubtedly cruel on Colombia, but the equaliser from Irene Paredes felt like it was always coming, even if it came from an unlikely source in the end via the Barcelona centre-back.

From then, it felt predictable, and to their credit a broken Colombia side dug in and took it all the way to penalty. Three players were stretchered off, one of whom hobbled back on so her team didn’t go down to 10, and players were dropping with cramp left, right and centre.

In the end, after captain Catalina Usme saw her opening penalty saved, it was left to Ballon d’Or winner Bonmatí to book Spain’s place in the semi-finals.

Here’s five key takeaways from the match in WFC’s view…

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Spain stuck at it...again

As already mentioned, there seems to be no stopping this Spain team right now, whatever you throw at them.

Colombia head coach Ángelo Marsiglia looked almost resigned to it when Paredes equalised, a shrug of ‘that was coming’ as he held his hands up to his head, but in not in rage or anger, almost in expectation.

They haven’t been at their best you could argue, and they had a lucky escape on this occasion, greatful to Cata Coll for a huge save when Ramírez threatened to burst through and make it 3-0, which would almost certainly have been game done and dusted.

“I think we have become a strong team,” said Bonmatí. “Our mentality on the pitch now is one of the best things we have, we always believe until the final whistle and we have come back in bad moments, like today.

“In the last years we didn’t have the mentality to come back in this kind of game. Today, we are proud of our work. We played good football but we also had the mentality to never give up.”

Laia Aleixandri added, “I don’t even know how to explain this game. It was a good game, they were good in a low block, trying to stop the game and stop us play, but we overcame that and fought until the end.

“I think we trust in our way to play, that’s the key, and we have a winning mentality. We know we are strong if we keep that way and if we can’t do it we have different ways to get over the line. We trust each other to win every game, it’s difficult because every team is good but we’re in the semi-finals and we’re looking forward to that.”

Ramírez returned with a bang

A performance that deserved more than it got.

The last time I watched Mayra Ramirez live in a stadium was just three months ago when she almost single-handedly tore Manchester United to pieces as Chelsea won a fifth straight Barclays Women's Super League.

Her return from suspension against Spain wasn't far off it. She left captain Paredes in her wake to score the opener, and as ever was a constant menace on the break, and had she finished off a stunning individual run to make it 3-0 it would have been one of the finest goals the Olympic Games has seen.