- Spain Wins First Women’s World Cup Title
- Heartbreaking 1-0 Defeat for England Lionesses
- Promising Tournament Run for England Ends in Disappointment
Spain has won its first Women’s World Cup after a 1-0 victory over the England Lionesses.
Spain’s 1-0 victory over England’s Lionesses at the Women’s World Cup prevented the English team from winning the tournament.
At a crowded Stadium Australia in Sydney, Sarina Wiegman’s squad fought valiantly until the very end, narrowly missing out on a chance to repeat their triumph at Euros 2022.
In the 28th minute of the first half, Spain’s Olga Carmona struck across Mary Earps and into the far corner, breaking England’s hearts.
It is Spain’s first significant international trophy and makes them the first European team since Germany in 2007 to win the Women’s World Cup.
England nearly took the lead in the fifteenth minute when Lauren Hemp’s shot struck the crossbar.
The Lionesses tried to win after halftime with Lauren James and Chloe Kelly replacing Rachel Daly and Alessia Russo.
Jennifer Hermoso then wasted an opportunity to double Spain’s lead from the penalty spot in the 69th minute, following a heroic save by Earps, who dove to her left to make the save.
James forced Spain’s custodian to save a close-range shot a few minutes later as England sought an equaliser.
During the first half, the play was momentarily interrupted when a protester entered the pitch before an England free kick. Stewards quickly removed the individual from the arena.
Unfortunately, the Lionesses fell short at the final obstacle.
“Extremely heartbroken”
The team’s captain, Millie Bright, stated that they were “absolutely heartbroken” by the loss.
“We can affirm without reservation that we gave everything. “Sometimes football works in your favor, and sometimes it works against you,” she said.
She praised Spain as a “fantastic team” and stated, “A lot of emotion (right now), but I’m incredibly pleased with the team. To reach this point, competing in the World Cup final is a rare opportunity.
This is not the end for us; we will recover.
The game will still be remembered as the first occasion the Lionesses reached the tournament’s final.
Spain qualified for the World Cup for the third time, having never won a match before this year.
La Roja is now world champions thanks to a victory that will advance the women’s game in Europe.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted after the game that despite the loss, everyone was “incredibly proud” of the team.
Prince William stated that the Lionesses had brought honor to the nation. It follows the criticism the royal family received for choosing not to attend the event in person.
Disappointment following an unbeaten run to the final
Before today’s contest, England was undefeated in the tournament, but the road to the championship was not without obstacles.
Captain Leah Williamson and attacker Beth Mead were sidelined with ACL problems before the World Cup.
The team won its first two matches against Haiti and Denmark by a score of 1-0 and then defeated China by a score of 6-1 to finish first in Group D.
But when facing Nigeria, the Lionesses were soon pushed to their limits.
Due to Lauren James’ red card and subsequent two-game suspension, the team was reduced to 10 players for the round of 16 matches.
The contest was decided by a penalty shootout, which they won 4-2 to advance to the quarterfinals against Columbia.
After falling behind to a goal by Leicy Santos, goals by Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo secured their position in the semifinals against co-hosts Australia.
Weigman, who also led the Netherlands to the 2019 tournament’s championship match, described the Lionesses’ 3-1 victory over Australia as a “fairytale” victory.
The last time England encountered Spain, in the quarterfinals of the 2022 European Championship, they won 2-1.
