UK (Common Wealth) _ Spain won the Women’s World Cup for the first time, defeating England 1-0 in the final, thanks to Captain Olga Carmona’s first-half goal.
La Roja, who were robbed of some of their greatest players only a few months ago in a mutiny against coach Jorge Vilda and were beaten 4-0 by Japan in the group stage, outplayed England to win their first major trophy in only their third World Cup on Sunday in front of 75,784 fans at Stadium Australia.
The Spanish midfield was led by Aitana Bonmati and Teresa Abelleira, and the margin of victory would have been higher had England goalkeeper Mary Earps not saved a second-half penalty.
England’s second defeat in 39 matches since Sarina Wiegman took over as coach denied them the opportunity to add a first world title to their European Championship title from last year.
The first Women’s World Cup final without the United States or Germany got off to a fast start, with England barely holding the upper hand in a fight of two first-time finalists. Forward Lauren Hemp carried on from her semifinal performance against Australia, screwing the ball towards goal in the fifth minute before clipping a shot off the crossbar 12 minutes later.
Spain promptly reacted, with Carmona overlapping down the left flank and driving the ball across the goal, but Salma Paralluelo, a teenager, was unable to make contact, while Alba Redondo’s attempt from the far post was well saved by Earps.
La Roja seized the lead shortly before the half-hour mark as Abelleira curled a wonderful crossfield pass to Mariona Caldentey, who slid the ball forward to Carmona. The left back drove into the area and sent an angled shot past Earps’ hands and into the far corner of the net. The goal took the wind out of England’s sails, and Spain dominated the remainder of the half, with Paralluelo pinging a shot off the post just before halftime.
England’s versatility has been on display throughout the tournament, as Wiegman shifted from three to four at the back after the interval, while bringing on Lauren James in place of Alessia Russo up front.
Spain’s game, on the other hand, has been consistent, with Caldentey forcing a wonderful save from Earps with a shot from the edge of the box in the 50th minute.
Just after the hour mark, Bonmati hit the crossbar with a long-range shot, and the Spaniards screamed for a handball against Keira Walsh during their next visit to the England box. From the moment referee Tori Penso was instructed by VAR to review the footage, the penalty appeared to be a formality, Jennifer Hermoso’s spot kick was stopped by Earps diving low to her left.
In the 75th minute, James had a shot deflected over the bar by Spanish goalkeeper Cata Coll, but Spain was not satisfied to sit on their advantage, and Earps had to be at her best to deny Ona Batlle as the clock struck 90 minutes.
England sent all 11 players forward for a corner deep into stoppage time, but Coll came out boldly to gather the ball. Officials predicted 13 minutes of injury time at the conclusion, but Spain appeared to be the more likely to score, while England’s hopes of winning faded its maiden world cup title.
England captain Millie Bright voiced her disappointment after the loss. “It’s challenging. They work well together. We struggled in the first half. We fought hard in the second half. We just couldn’t finish it today. “”This is the most difficult part of football,” she said.
Emotions are running high. A great deal of disappointment. We were defeated. We will be really proud in a few weeks when it has settled. At the start of the tournament, we had a lot of detractors. We recovered. It’s a privilege to be here today, she said.
