Matchday 9 – 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: (1) Luisa Agudelo (COL)

Colombia emerged victorious from an edgy semi-final which never really got into its flow. Ultimately, it came down to a penalty shootout to separate the teams, with a decisive spot-kick save from goalkeeper Luisa Agudelo making the match-winning difference. 

The TSG selected the Colombia goalkeeper as Player of the Match for her match-defining performance, which was a showcase of exemplary concentration and composure. TSG goalkeeper expert Pascal Zuberbühler attended the match and shared his observations on Agudelo's performance: 

"During the game itself she did not have very many saves to make but in the second half, when she was needed, she was ready. Her positioning and footwork were very good and allowed her to make a very good reaction save with her feet from a close-range attempt at goal. She was calm and ready, and you cannot forget that she is only 15 years old."

"In the penalty shootout she made two incredible saves, both to her left side. She did not go the right way for the first penalties but kept her focus and concentration and then made the crucial saves. For the first save, it was incredible, it looks like she just got her fingertips to the ball to make it connect with the post and then the second one, wow! She was full-stretch in the air and made the second save that progressed her team to the final," Zuberbühler added.    

Player of the Match: (5) Sandra Villafañe (ESP) 

Spain progressed to the final with a hard-fought victory over a strong Germany team. The winning goal came in the 90^th minute, courtesy of a Lucia Corrales strike from a well-worked attacking throw-in. 

A huge crowd of 10,642 were in attendance for one of the best games of the tournament so far, between two impressively technical and tactical teams that drew huge performances from each other.   

Both teams were creative and explosive in attack which meant both defences had to be very strong. It was for her composed, resolute performance that Spain centre-back Sandra Villafañe was selected by our TSG as Player of the Match.

"Villafañe is a really dynamic and mobile centre-back who was instrumental in keeping a potent German attack scoreless. She constantly communicated with her team-mates, keeping an organised and disciplined focus throughout the whole game. She was also very controlled and tenacious when she went in to challenge for the ball and this was very impressive," explained Tom Sermanni.

Her data dashboard shows she made seven clearances and six tackles in this match. The Spain centre-back also ranked first for completed distributions with a total of 35, which was 20 more than the game average.

Mónica Vergara was also part of the team observing the semi-final. She added, "I really liked many aspects of Sandra Villafañe's game. She is strong in the air, is very competitive in 1v1 defensive duels and she is fast and strong. Her reading of the game is very good as well as her understanding of defensive timing." 

"She knows when to press, when to drop and she is also aware of the situation around her. On defensive transitions and in critical defending situations, she knew when and how to delay the attacks to allow defensive recoveries from her team-mates. She can press, cover and balance her defence depending on what the situation requires. This was so impressive for a young player. She was also strong in build-up play and had the willingness to step in with the ball and break lines in Germany's team structure," she added.