Matchday 8 – Player of the Match

Members of our Technical Study Group (TSG) are attending every game of the tournament and are tasked with awarding the Player of the Match accolades. When choosing the recipient of the accolade, our experts consider the player's tactical, physical and mental contribution to their team's performance.

Player of the Match: (10) Gabriela Rodriguez (COL) 

In the first of the matchday's quarter-finals, Colombia put in a blistering performance to overcome Tanzania by three goals to nil. The Colombia side had many excellent player performances but it was Gabriela Rodriguez who caught the TSG's eye the most.

Rodriguez made 80 offers to receive, more than any other player in the match and 55 more than the game's average. A staggering 60 of these offers were in between the lines of Tanzania, making her hugely disruptive for the Serengeti Girls' defence.

The TSG's Anna Signeul shares her observations on the eye-catching attacker: "She is a versatile player with great vision. She can play left, right or through the centre and her defending abilities are as good as her attacking skills. Her movement on and off the ball shows her understanding of how to create an overload and a goal-scoring chance, as well as helping her team-mates keep possession and change the point of attack."

"She has great technique when receiving the ball and passing it and can be really efficient with the number of touches she needs to do this accurately. She can also combine in very tight spaces and has the vision and execution to break lines. The ball she played through for her team's first goal was a brilliant example of this. She's explosive and can change pace so it's difficult for defenders to catch her once she accelerates," Signeul concludes.

Player of the Match: (9) Vicky Lopez (ESP) 

Spain advanced to the semi-finals after a breath-taking victory over an excellent Japan team, coming from 1-0 down in the 87^th minute to win the game 2-1. Vicky Lopez scored two late goals to swing the result in Spain's favour and was selected by our TSG as the Player of the Match. 

Lopez consistently supported her team-mates in possession and sought to break opposition lines both with and without the ball. Spain's attacking talisman tallied a total of 80 offers to receive – 49 more than the match average – which illustrates her willingness to provide passing options for her possession-orientated team.

"She displayed outstanding football intelligence and maturity. Her performance in this game really made her stand out, particularly how she combined her dribbling skills with her vision and creativity," explained TSG expert Tom Sermanni.

"These attributes enabled her to produce something special, especially in the final third, and it made her a constant threat in the final third. She has a rare ability to take her game to another level and produce explosive, match-winning moments under great pressure. Out of possession, she was always aware of opportunities to regain the ball and did this effectively. She was the key player in determining the outcome of this game and she scored two stunning goals," he concluded.