Underdogs Spain beat European champs England 1-0 to win Women’s World Cup
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Spain defender Olga Carmona celebrates after scoring her team's first goal against England in the Women's World Cup.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
SYDNEY – Captain Olga Carmona scored the winner in the first half, as Spain won their maiden Women’s World Cup by beating European champions England 1-0 in the final in front of 75,784 fans at Stadium Australia on Sunday.
La Roja, robbed of some of their best talent by a mutiny against coach Jorge Vilda only a few months ago and thrashed 4-0 by Japan in the group stage, outplayed the Lionesses to deservedly claim their first major title in only their third World Cup.
Carmona, 23, drilled home after 29 minutes to put Spain ahead and the goalscoring hero hailed her “unstoppable” side.
“It was a really tough game, we knew it would be tricky, England have a great team, but it was our game. We had the feeling we were going to do it, and this is unstoppable, the truth is I don’t know what to tell you,” she told Spanish national broadcasters La 1.
She celebrated her goal by revealing a message on an undershirt, reading “Merchi”. The left-back said it was a tribute for a friend whose mother had died.
“I want to say this victory is for one of my best friends’ mother, who passed away recently, I celebrated the goal with that shirt,” she added.
Spain coach Jorge Vilda said he was extremely proud of his team.
The 42-year-old was heavily criticised in the build-up to and during the tournament, for his tense relationship with a number of players who quit the national team in protest against him and the Spanish football federation.
Three of the 15 protesting players returned for the tournament – Aitana Bonmati, Ona Batlle and Mariona Caldentey, all of whom started in the final, with Barcelona midfielder Bonmati winning the Golden Ball for the best player at this tournament.
“It’s difficult to describe, immense joy, I’m so proud of this team. I’m so happy for everyone watching us right now, we’ve made them happy too. We’re champions of the world,” said Vilda.
“Now we have to celebrate, I can only imagine how Spain is, we’re celebrating here and we don’t know when it will end. I don’t have any words. For this moment, it’s unbelievable. I’m so glad because we did a great tournament. We suffered, but also we enjoyed it. We deserve it.”
Bonmati dedicated the Golden Ball award to the women who had helped pave the way in Spanish football.
“I want to remember all the women that have been pushing and fighting throughout all the years, because we have better conditions. This is for them and from them,” she told Australian broadcaster Channel Seven.
The 25-year-old also praised her teammates for their mental strength after the disrupted preparations. She said: “Everyone is competitive. Everyone is strong mentally... We have been working a lot of years for this moment. We have it. We have the trophy.”
The first Women’s World Cup final not to feature either the United States or Germany started at quite a pace, with England just about enjoying the upper hand in the battle of two first-time finalists.
Forward Lauren Hemp screwed the ball towards goal in the fifth minute before clipping a shot off the bar 12 minutes later.
Spain responded immediately, with Carmona overlapping down the left flank and driving the ball across the goal, but teenager Salma Paralluelo was unable to make contact and Alba Redondo’s shot from the far post was well saved by Mary Earps.
La Roja took the lead just before the half-hour mark after England were dispossessed in midfield and Teresa Abelleira curled a sublime cross-field pass to Caldentey, who slid the ball forward to Carmona. The left-back drove into the area and let fly with an angled shot which flew past Earps’ fingertips and into the far corner of the net.
Bonmati hit the bar with a long-range effort shortly after and the Spaniards appealed vociferously for a handball against Keira Walsh during their next visit to the England box.
The award of a penalty looked a formality from the moment American referee Tori Penso was instructed by VAR to review the footage, but Golden Glove winner Earps dived low to her left to stop Jennifer Hermoso’s spot kick.
Spain’s Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia were in Sydney for the match. Afterwards, the queen hugged each player before they were handed the trophy.
The Spanish royal family was quick to celebrate, writing on their official X, formerly Twitter, account: “You are the best football players in the world, this is FOOTBALL and this is HISTORY!”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also sent his congratulations, writing on X: “You have made history. You are a source of pride. You are an inspiration. You are GREAT”. REUTERS, AFP
