From track and field athlete to 'ace' of the Spanish women's team

The 19-year-old winger was brought on from the bench by coach Jorge Vilda in the 71st minute when the team needed speed to penetrate the flanks of the 2019 Women's World Cup runners-up - the Netherlands. There were only 9 minutes left of extra time in the quarter-final match. Suddenly, Paralluelo received a pass in the Netherlands half, beat the opponent's defenders with speed and then unleashed a thunderous left-footed shot, sealing a 2-1 victory, helping the home team to the last 4 for the first time in history at the 2023 Women's World Cup.

“We did it. We fought until the end. We believed in ourselves. It was a unique moment. It was an amazing thrill to live through it,” Paralluelo gushed after the match.

Paralluelo enters the field

Paralluelo scores the winning goal against the Netherlands women's team

Young striker celebrates emotionally

In the semi-final match against Sweden, Paralluelo was expected but once again she had to sit on the bench. When "La Roja" were deadlocked in finding a way to the goal of Zecira Musovic, Paralluelo was put on the field in the 57th minute. Paralluelo's mobility completely changed the game. In the 80th minute, the young player continued to make the whole Eden Park stadium explode when he quickly seized the opportunity, fired a decisive shot, putting the home team ahead.

Paralluelo burst into joy, this was her second consecutive goal coming off the bench. At only 19 years old, no one dared to think Paralluelo could be so confident. What surprised the coaching staff even more was that just a few years ago, no one thought Paralluelo would be a player who could play in the World Cup.

Salma Paralluelo replaces Alexia Putellas (11)

Paralluelo (red shirt) continues to score important goals

Paralluelo was born in Zaragoza, northeastern Spain. Her father is Spanish and her mother is from Equatorial Guinea. In addition to football, Paralluelo is also known as an excellent Spanish athlete in the 400m hurdles.

“I started both sports when I was 7,” Paralluelo recalls. “Athletics allowed me to be alone, to be in contact, to train myself and to know everything I was doing. I was only called up to the Spanish team for the U.20 World Cup in Costa Rica. I scored two goals in the final and helped the team win. It couldn’t have been more amazing.”

Paralluelo wins U.20 World Cup

Paralluelo’s track coach Felix Laguna told The Athletic that if she had chosen track and field and hadn’t been plagued by injuries, she would now be an Olympic-caliber athlete. But after much thought and a series of injuries, Paralluelo decided to leave the track and take up soccer.

“I was very frustrated because my injury did not heal well and I could not compete again as an athlete. However, if I continued, I would lose more than I gained. Athletics involves more sacrifice. With football, I got a boost from it. I enjoyed sharing something with the whole team, with my relatives,” Paralluelo added.

Paralluelo (left cover) in an athletics competition

In 2019, Paralluelo decided to leave her hometown club to join Villarreal. Here, the young striker spent 3 years, scoring 23 goals in 37 appearances. The bad luck did not end when Paralluelo continued to injure her left knee in April 2021, forcing her to miss 9 months of playing.

In July 2022, Paralluelo decided to join the Barcelona women's team. And then, she was even more proud when she was one of the 9 players of this team to participate in the 2023 Women's World Cup with the Spanish team.

Having witnessed what Paralluelo has done at the 2023 Women's World Cup, teammate Bonmati said: "She is unique. It is difficult to find players like her, who have an athletics background and are left-footed and have a really good shot. She is a perfect striker that Spain has."

Paralluelo constantly brings joy to his teammates

Since being called up to the Spanish women's team, Paralluelo has also received much praise from coach Vilda, who considers her speed, strength and technique to be rare qualities that this player possesses.

Coach Vilda assessed: “She is a striker with great potential and a lot of time to prove it. She is very young and has only focused on football training for a year. Now she is shining but I am sure that in the future, she will do much more.”

Spain women's team coaching staff celebrate after Paralluelo's goal

In addition to the two important goals, Paralluelo also had a starting match when she appeared in Spain's 5-1 victory over Switzerland in the round of 16. In that match, the striker who plays for the Barcelona women's team shined with 2 crosses leading to Aitana Bonmati's goal. Now, the Spanish women's team has reached the final match. The "teen" striker is expected to continue to shine, bringing the championship to the land of bulls.

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