Spain beat England to win its first Women’s World Cup title

• Spain have won the Women’s World Cup title for the first time in history after defeating England 1-0 in Sydney’s Stadium Australia
• The La Roja have joined previous winners the United States, Norway, Germany and Japan in the list of elites

Spain have won the Women’s World Cup title for the first time in history after defeating England 1-0 in Sydney’s Stadium Australia.

Olga Carmona’s superb strike in the first half was all that Spain needed to win their first-ever major tournament. The La Roja have joined previous winners the United States (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019), Norway (1995), Germany (2003, 2007) and Japan (2011) in the list of elites.

Spain won the World Cup after beating England 1-0. Photo/ Bangor Daily News.

Meanwhile, England’s wait to win a first Women’s World Cup title continues. The Lionesses were aiming to become the first England senior side to win the World Cup since the men’s team in 1996.

Jorge Vilda, Spain’s coach, became only the second male coach to win a major women’s tournament – the World Cup, the Olympics and the Euros – since 2000.

Speaking after making history in Sydney, Vilda said he was proud of his team for becoming world champions.

“What we did, it’s difficult to achieve. I’m very proud of this team, we have shown we know how to play, that we know how to suffer, we have believed and we are world champions.” Reuters quotes Jorge Vilda.

How The Game Unfolded

This was the first Women’s World Cup final not to feature either the United States or Germany. Sydney’s streets, which had been draped in gold and green for most of the competition, were transformed on Sunday to represent England and Spain’s colours.

England fans came dressed in costumes, banging drums and chanting on Sydney’s trains en route to the final. The Lionesses had a huge fan base compared to Spain, who eventually won the World Cup.

It was a feisty start in Sydney’s Stadium Australia, but a chance at either side ignited the tie. England’s Lauren Hemp had the first big chance of the day in the 16th minute but she ended up hitting the crossbar. A few minutes later, Mary Earps had to make a brilliant save to deny Spain’s Alba Redondo.

Spain started to dominate the game afterwards and soon got their reward when Olga Carmona opened the scoring. The 23-year-old, who plays for Real Madrid at club level, raced forward and made a fine finish from Mariona Caldentey’s through pass.

Olga Carmona scored the only goal of the match. Photo/ CNN.

England tried to respond immediately but met a stern Spanish rareguard. The Lionesses needed the same courage they used to make a 2-1 comeback against Spain in the Euro 2022 quarter-final. However, Spain proved to be determined to win the world title this time and even came close to adding a second goal before the end of the first half.

England coach Sarina Wiegman made bold changes at half-time but it seems her side needed more to break Spain’s defence. The La Roja were awarded a penalty in the 66th minute following a lengthy VAR check after Keira Walsh handled in the area.

Spain’s all-time leading scorer Jennifer Hermoso stepped up and fired towards the bottom corner but her effort was saved by goalkeeper Mary Earps. Spain held on until the referee blew for full-time despite 13 minutes of added time.