The Spanish extreme Salma Paralluelo is close to completing a dream year and unprecedented in the world of football if she wins the title in the Women’s World Cup this Sunday with the Spanish team, a success that would unite the Sub-World Cup champions. 20 and Under-18 or the Champions League with FC Barcelona and when he has not yet turned 20.
The Aragonese has been living in a cloud for more than twelve months, a time that she has lived at the same speed with which she ran on the slopes when she was an athlete, and has become one of those athletes who have the gift of appearing in important moments in history, surely confirming to be one of the leaders of that team that made history in 2018 by winning the U-17 World Cup. In that team, where Claudia Pina stood out, the goalkeeper Cata Coll and the forward Eva Navarro were also with her.
At the time, she was barely 15 years old and she was also a promising athlete, a career she had to leave last summer when she had to make the difficult decision to leave the club that had trained her and with which she had made her debut in the First Division, Villarreal, to join FC Barcelona, the best women’s team on the European football scene.
Salma Paralluelo signed that contract with the Barça team when she still had the bitterness of having missed the Euro Cup with the ‘Red’ due to a muscle injury, in what was surely going to be her presentation with the Absolute. He was months later in Costa Rica with the players his age in the U-20 World Cup and there he was key to making history again. Spain had never been world champion in this category and the woman from Zaragoza helped with a double in the final against Japan (3-1), becoming the first player in the history of the World Cups in this category to manage to score twice in a match. final and being ‘MVP’ of both the final and the semifinals against the Netherlands.
“Hopefully, I always like to dream and every player wants to be there, so I’ll fight for it. I just have to work, it doesn’t depend on me, but work and dedication do depend on me and that will not be missing”, he pointed out the lead then after the reception in the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas (Madrid) to the U-20 team for this success on their options to be in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
It was the start of an unforgettable 2022-2023 season for her. At the club level, the Spanish striker managed to lift her first F League at the hands of FC Barcelona, a team with which she was also proclaimed champion of the Champions League, starting in the final against the German Wolfsburg. She doubled to which she added that of the Spanish Super Cup, scoring in the semifinal against Real Madrid one of her 16 goals that she has scored this year, and which premiered her club record in a big way.
In between, Jorge Vilda maintained blind trust in her from the outset and had a fixed place on the World Cup list, gaining experience and leadership during the preparation for a World Cup where he is living his best moment. Only she passed the cut of the U-20 world champions who entered the shortlist because the forward Inma Gabarro and the midfielder Fiamma Benítez stayed on the road.
FROM HOLDER TO REVULSIVE
The Spaniard, who started the World Cup leaving some doubts about her performance, has gone from less to more in the tournament, being decisive in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Despite not starting in the eleven, after starting in the group stage, the Aragonese was the author of the winning goal in extra time against the Netherlands, where she demonstrated her conditions with spaces, and was the author of the 1-0 against Sweden in the semifinals. Two goals that show that, despite her age, she is differential and does not burn the ball in ‘hot’ moments, being the second Spanish attacker with the most actions with the ball per minute of play (0.76), only behind by Jenni Hermoso (0.86).
The 19-year-old is a born agitator, and for this reason she is now Jorge Vilda’s main weapon from the bench, either as a winger or as ‘9’. The woman from Zaragoza has the ability to generate an impact in the game in Spain and in the rival from the moment she steps on the pitch. Her speed and imbalance, she is the player in the tournament who has completed the most dribbles (21), bring verticality to Spain’s game when the rival defenses are already tired. In addition, she is also one of the players who finishes the most on goal in the tournament with 17 attempts.
Dribbling and finishing to which the Spanish player adds the ability to generate chances. Paralluelo is the third attacker of the entire tournament who has created the most chances with 10, only behind Jenni Hermoso and the Japanese Aoba Fujino. To this must be added the 18 crosses into the box that she has served to her teammates, data that reflects how complete she is, a player capable of scoring with her ‘bad’ leg, her right foot.
This Sunday, in the final against England, Salma Paralluelo has the possibility of being eternal. The Spaniard can crown an unforgettable season by becoming the first player, either male or female, to win the World Cup in the absolute category, Under-20 and Under-17. A fact that will serve as additional motivation for a player who already knows what it is to score in a World Cup final and who, moreover, is blessed with the gift of appearing at the most important moments.