Spain superstar reveals what she told her teammates before scoring winner against Super Falcons

Spain became the first team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the 2024 Olympic Games after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Nigeria at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes on Sunday evening. 

Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas has revealed what she told her Spain teammates just before scoring the winning goal against the Super Falcons. 

Salma Paralluelo thought she had broken the deadlock but a lengthy VAR check revealed that Alexia made contact with the cross, which placed the forward in an offside position.

The Super Falcons put up a strong defensive showing for the ages and relied on counter-attacks, until the 85th minute when Putellas gave the Spaniards the lead with a cross-shot goal from a free-kick.

Nigeria's best chance of the second half fell to Rasheedat Ajibade but the Super Falcons captain blazed her effort over the bar. 

Commenting on her winning goal, Alexia Putellas said to reporters in the mixed zone post-match: "I thought and told my teammates that I was going to make her tense.

"These balls, when they are closed, if someone touches them they usually end up in. I hit it with tension, in the end it went down and went in.

"When the ball went in, I thought: finally. I don't know what minute it was (85), because we had been practically in their area for a while with Salma's header, the goal disallowed,

"I had a shot that was taken off the line, in the first half we also had several chances. It was hard, but we managed it."

Next up for the Super Falcons is a must-win game against Japan on Wednesday afternoon at Stade de la Beaujoire - Louis Fonteneau (Nantes).

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: superfalconsshow.com

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