Bernadett Szabo/Reuters
VALENCIENNES, France — It was a momentary lapse in a scoreless game, a ball left dangerously free on the lip of the Spanish goal line after a superb parry during group play at the Women’s World Cup. That split second of hesitancy became decisive, though, as a German player slid onto the goalkeeper’s deflection and produced the goal that gave her team a 1-0 victory.
“It’s very frustrating,” Spain’s goalkeeper, Sandra Paños, said through an interpreter. “We are better than Germany.”
It was not fatal to Spain’s hopes. Sandwiching that defeat between a win over South Africa and a tie against China, Spain has advanced to the second round of the World Cup, where it will play the United States on Monday in Reims.