Spain vs. Sweden live updates: Women’s World Cup 2023 top plays

After hard-fought wins in the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Spain and Sweden battle Tuesday (coverage starts at 3 a.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) for the right to play for each country’s first World Cup title at Eden Park in New Zealand.

Both squads have come out unscathed until now with each team unbeaten in World Cup play this year.

For Sweden, a win would mean its first finals appearance at the World Cup since 2003 when it fell to Germany. For Spain, however, it would be the first finals appearance for its women’s soccer team. Tuesday’s tilt features four Golden Boot favorites — Sweden’s Amanda Ilestedt, along with Spain’s Jennifer Hermoso, Alba Redondo and Aitana Bonmati.

Follow our live coverage below, featuring live analysis from FOX Sports’ Michael Cohen!

Spain vs. Sweden

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Spain’s outlook

Manager Jorge Vilda made a huge decision by including midfielder Alexia Putellas in his starting XI for today’s game. Putellas, who has won the last two Ballon d’Or Féminin awards recognizing the best player in the world, is still working her way back to full fitness after suffering a torn ACL last year. She’s only started two games in the tournament thus far and played 155 total minutes.

Not only was including Putellas a big call based on her fitness, but there’s also the underlying on-field tension between her and fellow Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati, one of the breakout stars of the tournament with three goals and two assists. To be clear, there’s no bad blood between Putellas and Bonmati. Rather, both players see and play the game in similar ways from similar positions, which can lead to spacing issues and moments of disjointedness on the pitch. Bonmati’s best performances of the tournament have come with Putellas out of the lineup.

Other key players for Spain:

Right back Ona Battle: Leads all players at the Women’s World Cup with nine crosses into the penalty area. She’s tied with Spain’s left back Olga Carmon for the most passes into the penalty area with 15.

Holding midfielder Teresa Abelleira: Leads all players at the Women’s World Cup with 57 passes into the final third. She’s also tied with teammate Irene Paredes for the most progressive passes at this year’s tournament with 51.

Forward Eva Navarro: Plays the role of super sub for Spain by coming off the bench in four of five matches thus far. She leads all players at the Women’s World Cup with 1.78 goal-creating actions per 90 minutes. —Michael Cohen

Setting the stage

The World Cup NOW crew gets everyone ready for the match.

Goals bring out smiles

Keeping calm in the clutch

Check out the full Women’s World Cup schedule and how to watch each match live here. Find the latest scores here.

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