Spain won the Women’s World Cup for the first time after beating England 1-0 in the final, tt Stadium Australia in Sydney on sunday.
Captain Olga Carmona scored in the 29th minute, drilling in from the left of the area after England lost possession in midfield and Spain countered quickly to take advantage in the clash at Stadium Australia.
Spain were awarded a penalty shortly after the hour mark for a handball by midfielder Keira Walsh.
However, goalkeeper Mary Earps saved Jennifer Hermoso’s spot kick by diving to her left.
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Prior to this tournament, Spain had never won a knockout round in a major tournament.
The loss is only England’s second under Sarina Wiegman since her appointment in 2021.
Early in the first-half, both sides had chances. England almost scored after Rachel Daly cut a pass back towards the edge of the area for Lauren Hemp, whose left-footed curled shot smashed off the crossbar.
Spain were simply the better team on the day, which will be disappointing for England. La Roja dominated the midfield battle, and while England knew that they were never going to keep possession against this Spanish side, small moments due to Spain’s brilliance led to the loss.
It was a big call for Jorge Vilda to drop Alexia Putellas, the two-time Ballon d’Or winner, but the starting midfield of Aitana Bonmati, Teresa Abelleira, and Jennifer Hermoso were excellent in nullifying Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway and spotting the runs of their forward line.
England failed to keep it tight in the back, and were especially vulnerable on the flanks, which Spain exploited.
The Lionesses press was also easily bypassed by Spain, which can be deadly against a team whose strength is short passing in the build-up.
While Wiegman’s changes in the second-half were positive, neither James nor Kelly could really get into the game.
The Lionesses failed to attack the weakness of Spain, which we’ve seen other sides do successfully earlier in this tournament, and that’s what ultimately led to their loss.
Spain are only the second nation in history to win both the Women’s and Men’s FIFA World Cup.
Spain are the first team in Women’s football history to be reigning World Cup champions at Under-17, Under-20 and Senior level.
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