La Roja went into the clash in Lyon having enjoyed a perfect record at the Games, but was on the brink of a shock exit when Leicy Santos put Colombia 2-0 up.

Santos's goal came after Mayra Ramirez had opened the scoring for Colombia at Groupama Stadium.

Yet Spain fought back late on, with Jenni Hermoso scoring in the 79th minute before captain Irene Paredes netted deep into stoppage-time.

Extra-time came and went, and Cata Coll proved Spain's hero with a save from Catalina Usme, while Colombia substitute Liana Salazar also missed the target.

That paved the way for Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati to dispatch the winning spot-kick and tee up a meeting with France or Brazil in the last four.

Despite creating fewer expected goals (xG) than its opponent, with 1.05 to Spain’s 2.52, Colombia showed real effectiveness in taking the chances that were presented to it.

It scored close-range goals from four shots inside the area and seven in total, while it only had eight touches in the opposition box for the entirety of the match.

But Spain overwhelmed Colombia as the match wore on, as evidenced by a huge gulf when it came to final third entries, with 155 for La Roja to 26 for its opponent, while it also enjoyed 46 more touches in the opposition box.

Paredes was ultimately Spain's hero in regulation time. She has been involved in three goals in her past five games for her country – two goals and one assist – the same as in her previous 30 games in all competitions – two goals and one assist.