Spain was celebrating its first trophy Sunday after an impressive display proved too much for England in a 1-0 victory for La Roja.
Olga Carmona scored in the first half of the final and Spain held on to cap the month-long tournament in Sydney.
Overcoming the turmoil that had surrounded the team, the victory made Spain the first team to hold the under-17, under-20 and senior world titles at the same time. Spain is the fifth winner in nine editions of the Women鈥檚 World Cup and joined Germany as the only two nations to win both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 titles.
At the final whistle the Spanish players piled on each other in front of their goal. They were still dancing on the field until the trophy presentations, where they kissed the trophy and raised their arms triumphantly as golden glitter fell from above.
鈥淲e鈥檝e suffered a lot throughout the past 12 months but I think everything has a reason to be. This has made us a stronger team,鈥� Carmona said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 really incredible. I don鈥檛 know just why Spain is the world champions, but I think that we deserved it.鈥�
The Lionesses were trying to bring a World Cup back to England for the first time since the men won it in 1966.
鈥淎t first you feel like you failed with not winning,鈥� England captain Millie Bright said. 鈥淚 think in a couple of weeks and it settles, (we) will be really, really proud.鈥�
A beautiful finish from Carmona to win it! 馃嚜馃嚫 |
鈥� FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC)
In an open game featuring multiple chances for both teams, Carmona鈥檚 left-foot strike in the 29th minute 鈥� finishing off a fast-breaking counterattack after England鈥檚 Lucy Bronze lost possession 鈥� remained the only goal.
Carmona also scored the game-winner in the , becoming the first player since Carli Lloyd in 2015 to score in a World Cup semifinal and final.
Spain had a chance to double the lead in the 68th after a VAR review awarded a penalty for Keira Walsh鈥檚 handball, but Jenni Hermoso鈥檚 .
Spain鈥檚 victory comes despite a near-mutiny by players last year. Fifteen players said they were stepping away from the national team for their mental health while also calling for a more professional environment.
Three of those players 鈥� Ona Batlle, Aitana Bonmat铆 and Mariona Caldentey 鈥� reconciled with the federation and were at the World Cup.
The victory was also a bit of redemption for La Roja, which fell to England 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the European Championship last year. England went on to win the Euros on home soil.
鈥淚 think all of us, we felt that this team had something special,鈥� Carmona said. 鈥淚 believe that we鈥檝e shown this on the field, we鈥檝e shown this in the group stage, in the knockout stage. We鈥檝e been fighting until the end. We never stopped.
鈥淟ast year was different, but football gives you second chances What better chance than in a World Cup final and to be able to call ourselves world champion.鈥�
Spain grew over the course of the tournament. in the group stage, Spain replaced Misa Rodriguez with Cata Coll in goal. 5-1 to kick off the knockout round and built from there.
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鈥淲hen we found out that we had England in the final, we analyzed them and saw how they played,鈥� Bonmati said. 鈥淲e prepared it well, we came out confident of what we were doing, of our game, of our fight, of our dedication.鈥�
England had momentum going into the tournament after winning the Euros, but three of the team鈥檚 best players, captain Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead, all had knee injuries that kept them off the World Cup squad.
Sarina Wiegman was the first coach to take her teams to back-to-back World Cup title matches. She led the Netherlands to the final in 2019, but fell 2-0 to the United States. She鈥檚 now 0-2 in the championship match.
One of England鈥檚 best chances was in the 16th when Lauren Hemp鈥檚 blast caromed off the crossbar. A minute later, Salma Paralluelo raced toward goal but couldn鈥檛 get a clean shot and Earps stopped Alba Redondo鈥檚 attempt in the scramble in front of the net.
. Lauren James, who was the team鈥檚 top scorer with three goals and three assists, was forced to sit out two matches after being to open the knockout stage.
While James was available for the final, Wiegman started Ella Toone and used the Chelsea winger as a second-half substitute in a double change to spark the attack.
Spain coach Jorge Vilda started 19-year-old Paralluelo, who scored the breakthrough goal for Spain against Sweden, and the game-winner in extra time over the Netherlands in the quarterfinal. Those efforts helped her win the young player of the tournament award. Earps won the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper and Bonmati won the Golden Ball for best player of World Cup.
Vilda had a challenge in working around two-time Ballon d鈥橭r winner Alexia Putellas, who was still working her way back from a torn ACL last year. For the final, Putellas was on the bench at the start.
Putellas went into the game with 15 seconds left in regulation, but there were 13 minutes of stoppage time. After the match Putellas was in tears as her teammates danced in front of the flag-waving fans behind the team鈥檚 bench.
There were 75,784 fans at the final at Stadium Australia, including tennis great Billie Jean King, increasing the record attendance for the tournament to more than 1.975 million.
AP World Cup coverage:
Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press
