SYDNEY — Salma Paralluelo is the Kylian Mbappé of the women’s game, and England might be about to discover that the Spain forward has become an unstoppable force at the Women’s World Cup.
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Like France and Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappé, Paralluelo has blistering pace and can play anywhere across the forward line, and, come Sunday’s final, she could claim a World Cup winners’ medal as a teenager, just as Mbappé did aged 19 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. She is destined to be a superstar who can take her sport to a new level.
England will go into the World Cup final at Stadium Australia with the pedigree of European champions — Sarina Wiegman’s team defeated Spain in the quarterfinals at Euro 2022 en route to winning the competition — but, in Paralluelo, Spain possess the player who can turn the game in an instant.
The 19-year-old has already done that twice at this World Cup. In the quarterfinal against Netherlands in Wellington, she came off the substitutes’ bench to win the tie with a stunning solo goal in the 111th minute of the game. Four days later, she once again made a decisive contribution as a second-half substitute by scoring the opening goal in the 2-1 semifinal win against Sweden in Auckland.
