Aitana Bonmati netted two well-crafted goals as Spain thrashed Switzerland 5-1 at the Women’s World Cup on Saturday to clinch a quarter-final berth for the first time in their history.
Switzerland kept three clean sheets to top Group A, but it took a mere five minutes for midfielder Bonmati to breach their defence for the first goal for La Roja.
Additional goals from her, Alba Redondo, Laia Codina and Jenni Hermoso completed the rout to the delight of the crowd of 43,217 – a record for a soccer game in New Zealand, women or men.
Bonmati, Redondo and Hermoso all now have three goals in the tournament.
Codina’s 45th-minute effort was a moment of redemption for the defender, who had earlier scored a calamitous own goal with a pass back from 40 yards that sailed past shocked keeper Cata Coll.
The match saw 43,217 spectators inside the Eden Park Outer Oval in Auckland, in what was a record attendance for a women’s or men’s game in New Zealand
Spain finished second in Group C, beating Costa Rica and Zambia by a combined 8-0 before being run ragged in a surprise 4-0 loss to Japan on Monday.
Coach Jorge Vilda made five changes to his team from that loss for Saturday, including dropping goalkeeper Maria Rodriguez in favour of Coll.
The Spaniards will now play the winner of Sunday’s round of 16 game between the Netherlands and South Africa.
The 20th-ranked Swiss matched their best World Cup finish. They also bowed out in the round of 16 in their only other World Cup appearance in 2015.
What’s next?
Spain head through to the quarter-finals to face the winners of Netherlands vs South Africa in Wellington on Friday, kick-off at 2am.
Switzerland’s World Cup dreams are over after their first defeat of the tournament, despite topping their group to set up this last-16 meeting with Spain.
What is the schedule?
The round of 16 takes place from August 5 to August 8 with eight games being played across Australia and New Zealand.
The quarter-finals, which will be held in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, are scheduled for August 11 and 12.
The first semi-final will then be played on August 15 in Auckland, with the other semi-final taking place on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, which will then host the final on August 20.
A third-place play-off will be played the day before the final on August 19 in Brisbane.
