The fit-again Alexia Putellas was handed a start by Spain
coach Jorge Vilda and she played a part in early goals by Teresa Abelleira and
Hermoso at Eden Park.
Substitute Redondo then scored twice in the second half,
either side of another Hermoso, goal as Spain cruised to victory.
Reigning Ballon d’Or Putellas, who recently returned from
over nine months out with a serious knee injury, was taken off at half-time,
with Vilda looking to preserve his star player for the Group C decider against
Japan next Monday.
Japan had beaten Costa Rica 2-0 earlier and they and Spain
are now locked on six points each.
However, Spain’s margin of victory means they now have a
better goal difference and so just need a draw to finish in first place when
the sides clash in Wellington.
Zambia are already condemned to a first-round exit in their
debut appearance at the World Cup after a second successive 5-0 hammering.
Putellas had made a series of cameo appearances for
Barcelona in the final weeks of the season following her return from a ruptured
anterior cruciate ligament suffered prior to last year’s European Championship.
She then started for Spain in a pre-World Cup friendly
against Panama before appearing off the bench in last Friday’s 3-0 defeat of
Costa Rica.
Here she came in from kick-off, with Mariona Caldentey also
handed a start by Vilda, the duo taking the Barcelona contingent in the Spain
line-up to six.
Putellas handed start
Another Barcelona player, winger Salma Paralluelo, blazed an
early chance over before Spain took a ninth-minute lead.
Hermoso laid off a Putellas pass for Real Madrid midfielder
Abelleira to blast high into the net from outside the area.
It was 2-0 on 13 minutes as Putellas flighted a ball up from
the left side of the box to the back post where Hermoso headed in.
Zambia, with the lively Barbra Banda leading the attack, had
the majority of the crowd of almost 21,000 behind them but struggled to create
chances.
Putellas was cruising through the game, finding pockets of
space in an inside-left role, but she did not reappear for the second half as
Vilda made three half-time changes.
Her place was taken by Redondo, and the Levante forward got
the third on 69 minutes, getting in front of Agness Musesa before rounding
Eunice Sakala to score.
The fourth goal arrived 60 seconds later, Hermoso converting
the rebound after substitute Irene Guerrero hit the post, although the goal was
initially ruled out for offside before being given after a VAR check.
Hermoso was denied a hat-trick when she saw a shot tipped
onto the bar by Sakala, but Redondo got her second with five minutes left as
she controlled Eva Navarro’s cross before slotting in.
Again the flag came up for offside, but again the decision was overturned on review. -AFP
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