Olga Carmona’s 29th minute strike saw Spain controversially beat England 1-0 to win 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Carmona picked up Teresa Abelleira pass from Aitana Bonmati’s interception of Lucy Bronze and rifled across goal into the far bottom right corner to score the winning goal of the game.
Spain could of won by a wider margin if Bonmati, Salma Paralluelo and others didn’t waste further chances, whilst Jennifer Hermoso saw a 69th minute penalty saved by Mary Earps after Keira Walsh had controversially committed a handball.
The victory meant that Spain became the fifth different winner of the Women’s World Cup, whilst England’s Sarina Wiegman is the first manager to lose two consecutive Women’s World Cup Finals – having lost with the Netherlands to USA in 2019.
Prior to kick-off, England remained unchanged prior to kick-off as Wiegman named the same line-up which started wins over Colombia and Australia, with Lauren James on the bench following her return from a two-match ban for a stamp on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie in their Round of 16 win.
Spain manager – Jorge Vilda meanwhile boldly dropped Alexia Putellas to their substitutes bench and started Paralluelo, who had came on as a substitute to score against Netherlands and Sweden respectively in their last two matches.
Vilda’s tactical gamble almost backfired in the fourth minute as a throw-in found Hemp to rifle towards the left corner, only for Catalina Coll Lluch to make the crucial save.
Coll Lluch then comfortably saved a 12th minute corner whipped in by Alex Greenwood, whose corner-kicks have often been quite dangerous for oppositional teams to defend across this tournament.
England continued to press despite allowing Spain to dominate possession but Georgia Stanway’s 16th minute shot was blocked, from which the ball eventually fell for Hemp whose shot rifled off the crossbar in a huge scare for Spain.
Mary Earps less than a minute later saved Alba Redondo’s shot as Spain finally began to click into gear up top, before she denied Paralluelo in the 21st minute.
Spain however could of been behind a minute before Paralluelo threatened Earps’ goal after Bronze and Ella Toone linked up some passing play, with Toone slipping Hemp through to shoot but Coll Lluch made another crucial save.
With protestors increasingly invading major sporting events in recent years, it was little surprise that a protestor briefly invaded the pitch in the 24th minute but the incident was swiftly dealt with as the offtender was removed from the stadium.
England’s wasteful end product eventually was punished in the 29th minute as Bronze broke forward seeking to link up with Toone, but was intercepted by Bonmati who laid off for Abelleira who quickly fed a short cross to Mariona Caldentey Oliver.
Caldentey Oliver quickly slipped through the overlapping Carmona who calmly beat a back-tracking Alessia Russo to rifle low across into the far right corner, beyond the reach of an out-stretched Earps who was unable to make a touch in time.
England continued to push for an equaliser before half-time as Hemp played a diagonal pass into the box for Toone, but the Manchester United midfielder was marginally offside as the ball rolled across the goal.
Hemp then saw a 45th minute cross towards Russo punched away by Coll Lluch as the Lionesses continued to frantically chase an equaliser.
Amidst that desperation, England almost found themselves two goals down at the break as Ona Batlle teed up Parauello in the sole minute of injury-time, only for the 19 year-old to flick her right-footed shot wide of the near-bottom right corner.
Wiegman consequently substituted Rachel Daly and Russo at half-time for Chloe Kelly and James, and switched to their original formation which was used in group wins over Haiti and Denmark in hope of sparking a comeback.
Spain however started the second half brightest as Earps was forced to punch away Caldentey Oliver’s shot in the 50th minute.
England meanwhile struggled to again create much end product against a resilient Spanish defence and were lucky to not concede a second goal in the 62nd minute, as Bonmati rifled over after Walsh was intercepted.
Walsh then found herself at the centre of controversy of two minutes later as Carmona pulled back a pass to Caldentey Oliver, which led the Barcelona forward to slip through a pass to Paralluelo who fired wide but Walsh accidentally flicked the ball through with her right hand in the process.
Spain however theatratically launched into complaint mode claiming the handball was deliberate with Video-Assistant Referee (VAR) and referee, Tori Penso in agreement after a three minute review.
Hermoso stepped up and calmly fired the penalty towards the bottom right corner, only for Earps to dive to her left and gather the shot up into her arms much to the celebrations of fans inside Stadium Australia.
England quickly began to feed off that atmosphere as they pressed high up the pitch, which culminated in James’ 76th minute shot being flicked over by Coll Lluch.
Paralluelo however decided a minute later to take the sting out of England’s momentum with a reckless high knee into Greenwood, which left the left-back on the ground needing treatment for several minutes whilst Paralluello .
Penos meanwhile was unable to control the theatrical antics of Spain once play resumed, with players randomly going to ground to stop play, whilst Carmona escaped a booking for a 83rd minute shove on James as Spain sunk to dirty defensive depths to protect their lead.
Vilda’s La Roja eventually dug deep through 14 minutes of injury time to secure a controversial maiden Women’s World Cup title, which made them only the second team to win the title having lost a group match after Japan who achieved that feat in 2011.
Post-match, King Charles III issued the following message applauding England for their efforts; ‘To have reached the final at all is an immense tribute to your skill, determination and team spirit in the finest sporting tradition.
What’s Next?
Both Spain and England will now turn their attention to the inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League this autumn.
Spain will compete against Sweden – who they beat in the semi-finals – in League A4 alongside Italy and Switzerland, with their group campaign beginning away to Sweden in Gothenburg on 22 September.
England meanwhile are in League A1 and will begin their group at home to Auld Enemy, Scotland, at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on 22 September, before visiting Wiegman’s home country – Netherlands in Utrecht on 26 September.
Teams
Spain: Catalina Coll Lluch, Ona Batlle, Irene Paredes, Laia Codina (Andres 73′), Olga Carmona, Aitana Bonmati, Teresa Abelleira, Jennifer Hermoso, Alba Redondo (Hernandez 60′), Salma Paralluelo, Mariona Caldentey Oliver (Putellas 90′)
Substitutes: Misa Rodriguez, Ivana Andres, Irene Guerrero, Esther Gonzalez, Alexia Putellas, Enith Salon, Eva Navarro, Maria Perez, Rocio Galvez, Claudia Zornoza, Athenea del Castillo
England: Mary Earps, Jess Carter, Millie Bright, Alex Greenwood, Lucy Bronze, Georgia Stanway, Keira Walsh, Rachel Daly (Kelly 45′), Ella Toone (England 87′), Alessia Russo (James 45′), Lauren Hemp
Substitutes: Niamh Charles, Lauren James, Jordan Nobbs, Hannah Hampton, Lotter Wubben-Moy, Esme Morgan, Laura Coombs, Chloe Kelly, Bethany England, Katie Zelem, Ellie Roebuck, Katie Robinson
Referee: Tori Penso (USA)
Attendance: 75,784
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