Ivana Andres from Spain holds up the FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy after they win against England.
In front of almost 76,000 people at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Spain played better and had more chances to score, even though they missed a penalty in the second half.
Spain’s win proves that Jorge Vilda and the Spanish football organization were right to support the coach, even when 15 players said they didn’t want to play for him anymore last year.
England’s coach Sarina Wiegman, who now lost in the final two times in a row, and her team who are the champions of Europe, can’t really complain.
Spain is the fifth team to win the World Cup since it started in 1991. The other teams who won before are the US, Germany, Norway, and Japan.
In front of Queen Letizia of Spain, defender Carmona scored the decisive goal by running from the left-back position and hitting the ball hard and low into the net on the 29th minute.
Using her left foot, Carmona’s shot found the far corner of the net, just out of the reach of diving England goalkeeper Mary Earps.
To celebrate, Carmona lifted her jersey and revealed the word “Merchi” written on her undershirt in ink, which seems to be a tribute to her former school.
This victory marked the Spanish women’s first major international championship, and it also helped them get back at England for defeating them in the quarterfinals of the European championship the previous year.
England’s hopes of winning the World Cup were shattered. The England women’s football team, known as the Lionesses, reached the final without losing any matches. They wanted to bring the World Cup trophy back to England, something that hadn’t happened since 1966.
During the final match, the goalkeeper, Earps, made an incredible save against a penalty kick taken by Jenni Hermoso in the 70th minute. This penalty was awarded after Keira Walsh was found to have handled the ball, following a review using VAR (Video Assistant Referee).
England’s best opportunity to score came from Lauren Hemp, who struck the crossbar with a very powerful shot. Just a minute later, Salma Paralluelo rushed towards the goal but couldn’t get a good shot, and Earps prevented Alba Redondo’s attempt during the chaotic situation in front of the net.
The coach, Vilda, chose to include 19-year-old Paralluelo in the starting lineup. She was the one who scored the crucial goal for Spain against Sweden, and she also scored the winning goal in extra time against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.
Paralluelo almost scored right before halftime, but her shot hit the goal post. Later, she received a yellow card in the 78th minute for committing a foul on Alex Greenwood, who had a cut above her eye.
Hemp had another chance to score in the 54th minute, but her shot missed the target. A minute later, she received a yellow card for a foul on Laia Codina.
Spain had a chance to make their lead even bigger in the 68th minute. This happened after a video review gave them a penalty due to Keira Walsh accidentally touching the ball with her hand. However, England’s goalkeeper Earps prevented Spain from scoring again with a series of saves later in the game.
The coach, Jorge Vilda, faced a challenge in dealing with Alexia Putellas, who had won the Ballon d’Or award twice and was recovering from a knee injury she got last year. Putellas started the final match on the bench.
Putellas entered the game with only 15 seconds left in the normal playing time. However, due to various stoppages, the game continued for an extra 13 minutes.
The final match took place at Stadium Australia on Sunday and had an audience of 75,784 fans. Among them was the famous tennis player Billie Jean King.