Spain defeats England to win women’s World Cup

Spain has won its first Women’s World Cup title less than a year after a player rebellion and a tepid performance from England.

The Lionesses were trying to bring a World Cup back to England for the first time since 1966, but fell just short.

Spain dominated not only the possession, but the overall play as England were guilty of making poor errors and it was a Lucy Bronze giveaway in midfield that eventually allowed Olga Carmona to rifle home a superb effort in the 29th minute.

The Barcelona right-back dribbled into midfield and lost possession, throwing her arms up in frustration while striker Alessia Russo tried to cover her, and Spain soon made inroads down that flank. A switch found Mariona Caldentey to feed Carmona, who slammed past England’s goalkeeper, Mary Earps.

Spain hit the post again before half-time through Salma Paralluelo with England second-best for most of the first half. It was then Earps again who kept the scoreline to 1-0 in denying Caldentey. Hemp had arguably her side’s most presentable chance, firing just wide from Chloe Kelly’s excellent cross.

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 in triumph as golden glitter fell from above.

The victory over England, made Spain the first country in the world 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’s World Cup and joins Germany as the only two nations to win both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

Spain’s 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; Ona Batlle, Aitana Bonmat, and Mariona Caldentey reconciled with the federation and were at the World Cup.

England had momentum going into the tournament after winning the UEFA European Championship at home last summer. But, three of the team’s best players, captain Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby, and Beth Mead, all had knee injuries that kept them off the World Cup squad.

England coach Sarina Wiegman is now 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 of America.