Spain overcame Japan in their opening match of the 2024 Olympic Games despite having to come from behind to secure all three points courtesy of goals either side of half-time from Aitana Bonmatí and one of the high-profile players in sign-on the Barclays Women’s Super League’s dotted line this summer, Mariona Caldentey. 

Somewhat surprisingly, Head Coach Montserrat Tomé did not veer away from making three changes, as Oihane Hernández, Teresa Abelleira and Lucía García were restored to La Roja’s XI. 

Meanwhile, a narrow 1-0 defeat to Brazil left Nigeria facing an uphill mountain – equivalent to the height of the Eiffel Tower – if they wanted to qualify for the quarter-finals, considering they were coming up against the defending FIFA Women’s World Cup winners. Facing this dilemma, Nigeria boss Randy Waldrum made two alternations of his own as Esther Okoronkwo and 

SPA: Coll; Batlle, Paredes, Aleixandri, Hernández; Abelleira; Bonmatí, Putellas; Paralluelo, Caldentey, García 

NIG: Nnadozie; Alozie, Demehin, Ohale, Okeke; Abiodun, Ucheibe; Payne, Oshoala, Ajibade; Okoronkwo 

The Action

Having already put their boots forwards towards a place in the quarter-final, Spain bombarded Nigeria keeper Chiamaka Nnadozie’s goal throughout the opening attacking sequences, as Salma Paralluelo and Abelleira went close. 

Nonetheless, it was Nigeria who constructed the best chance of breaking the deadlock throughout the first half, however, Rasheedat Ajibade inexplicably got the ball caught underneath her feet at the worst time, with Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll in unwanted goalkeeping territory. 

There was still time in the opening 45” for Nnadozie to produce one of the saves of the tournament so far, as the Paris FC shot-stopper somehow kept out Alexia Putellas’ close-range effort with an outstanding outstretched one-handed save. 

Despite amassing over two-thirds of the possession and creating nine attempts on goal compared to a solitary effort from the Nigerians, Tomé’s side frustratingly were forced to return to the dressing room without anything to show for their first-half endeavours in front of goal. 

The restart began with a carbon copy of the commencement of the match in Nantes as Nnadozie again denied Putellas. However, it appeared that La Roja had finally beaten Nnadozie after eight minutes of the second half, as Paralluelo’s expertly-taken close-range finish hit the back of the net.

Exasperatedly for Spain, VAR came to Nigeria’s rescue, with the footballing gods high up in the sky advising referee Tori Penso that Paralluelo’s Barcelona teammate, Putellas, had strayed marginally beyond the shoulder of the last Nigerian defender in the build-up. 

With no signs of La Roja’s unrelenting pursuit of the game’s opening goal, as Paralluelo inexplicably planted an unmarked header into the stands instead of the back of the net and Osinachi Ohale cleared Putellas’ goal-bound effort off the line, the latter had the last laugh in the 85th minute. 

Determined to get her name onto the scoresheet for the first time since October, the two-time Ballon d’Or winner showcased her stunning set-piece skills by exquisitely curling a fierce free-kick from the left-hand side of the area past the finally-beatable Nnadozie. 

Spain did have to rely on Coll to instinctively race off her goal line to prevent the Super Falcons’ substitute Chinwendu Ihezuo’s one-on-one effort from getting any further than it did on the stroke of the 90th minute, as time elapsed in the game to confirm the defending FIFA Women’s World Cup winners’ place in the quarter-finals. On the other hand, Nigeria must now emerge victorious against Japan – who salvaged their own 2024 Olympic Games’ dream by beating Brazil courtesy of a 96th-minute winner – to stand any chance of joining La Roja in the last eight.