By: Puter Kang
Southern American fans have been cheering at their loudest in Sydney, Australia. After Brazil’s surprising and disappointing loss to France, the Colombians, also wearing yellow shirts, beat Germany dramatically with a last-minute header.
The goalscorer and hero of the game has to be Manuela Vanegas, who scored a shocking header and secured the win in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Stoppage time, also known as injury or added time, is the time added on at the end of each half, making up for wasted, deciding, and injury time. Six minutes were added for the tied game after ninety full minutes, and Vanegas created the miracle at the seventh, being extra time for finishing off the corner.
The other goal scorer, Linda Caicedo, also struck a beauty. After a goalless first half, the game was looking boring, possibly even finishing without the net swishing. After a few more minutes, in the middle of the second half, Caicedo claimed possession in a dangerous position on the left flank. After losing a defender and ignoring a second, she swings it into the net, close to the far post.
Colombia kept their one-goal lead until the eighty-eighth minute, when German attacker Lena Oberdorf was tripped by Colombian keeper Catalina Perez in despair in the penalty area. The referee points to the penalty spot; Colombia has conceded a penalty! Alexandra Popp, the German penalty taker, calmly slots the penalty straight down the middle as goalkeeper Perez jumps to her left.
That left a draw, and the fans sat back in their chairs. After the Colombian goal, fans actually thought they had a chance to win. Mayra Ramirez, a Colombian winger, runs down the right flank but fails to convert a chance into a goal because of a block. Her energy was clearly all used up, as were the other players’.
The referee has to allow the corner to finish. According to FIFA soccer rules, if a team has attacking momentum, a good referee would not blow the whistle. Manuela Vanegas was also tired and was about to give up. But a chance came. It was a great corner, right at the top of Vanegas’s head. She jumps up and flings her head in the direction of the goal with her last bit of energy. Skill, paired with luck, finds the net at the last second of the game!
The fans went crazy, and the Colombian coaches and substitutions all came up, celebrating. The stadium was booming and roaring with joy. German defenders look down with despair, and the Colombian players smile with pride— they beat Germany 2-1! The final whistle sounds right after kickoff. They are the winners!
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