Spain beat England to win 2023 Women's World Cup despite Mary Earps heroics in tense final in Sydney
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Updated 20/08/2023 at 22:02 GMT+1
It was tense and incredibly competitive, but Spain ended up coming out on top in the 2023 Women's World Cup final with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over England at Stadium Australia in Sydney. Olga Carmona scored the only goal of the game with a clinical-driven finish from out on the left. Despite England goalkeeper Mary Earps saving a penalty, Spain preserved their advantage to triumph.
‘Gutted that we fell short’ - ’England player reaction after loss to Spain
Olga Carmona scored with a low, powerful strike to lead Spain to a maiden Women’s World Cup triumph after beating England 1-0 in the final at Stadium Australia.
Prior to this tournament, Spain had never won a knockout round in a major tournament. The loss is only England’s second under Sarina Wiegman since her appointment in 2021.
Early in the first-half, both sides had chances. England almost scored after Rachel Daly cut a pass back towards the edge of the area for Lauren Hemp, whose left-footed curled shot smashed off the crossbar.
Spain reacted almost instantly, when moments later Mariona Caldentey powered down the left flank and whipped a cross in for Salma Paralluelo, who scuffed a chance from close range. Her effort deflected into the path of Alba Redondo, but her right-footed strike was poorly taken and parried away by Mary Earps.
La Roja got their opener in the 29th minute, when Carmona overlapped Caldentey and sped down the left-flank before drilling a low, powerful shot into the far-right corner. Lucy Bronze, who initially gave away possession, was out of position, allowing the Spain captain space to receive the ball and score.
Wiegman opted to make changes at half-time with Lauren James, who served her two-match ban in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, and Chloe Kelly. The changes made meant a formation switch, changing from a back-three to a back four. It led to more England chances, but nothing Spain weren't able to deal with.
In the 66th minute, Spain were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR check deemed that Keira Walsh handled the ball in the box. Jennifer Hermoso failed to double her side’s lead after Earps saved her spot-kick.
England tried to gain momentum after the penalty save through James, but the Chelsea youngster often found herself crowded out by the Spanish defence. Her best chance floated right above the bar.
In the latter stages of the match, Millie Bright stayed forward in hopes that her aerial prowess could help with an equaliser, but not enough crosses came her way, and it led to England being susceptible to the counter.
Wiegman made a final change, bringing on Beth England, but during the 13 minutes of extra time, the European champions failed to truly test Catalina Coll as Spain held on to claim the victory and the title.
TALKING POINT: SPAIN THE BETTER SIDE
Spain were simply the better team on the day, which will be disappointing for England. La Roja dominated the midfield battle, and while England knew that they were never going to keep possession against this Spanish side, small moments due to Spain's brilliance led to the loss.
It was a big call for Jorge Vilda to drop Alexia Putellas, the two-time Ballon d'Or winner, but the starting midfield of Aitana Bonmati, Teresa Abelleira, and Jennifer Hermoso were excellent in nullifying Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway and spotting the runs of their forward line.
England failed to keep it tight in the back, and were especially vulnerable on the flanks, which Spain exploited. The Lionesses press was also easily bypassed by Spain, which can be deadly against a team whose strength is short passing in the build-up.
While Wiegman's changes in the second-half were positive, neither James nor Kelly could really get into the game. The Lionesses failed to attack the weakness of Spain, which we've seen other sides do successfully earlier in this tournament, and that's what ultimately led to their loss.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: AITANA BONMATI
Bonmati has done it on the biggest stage for club, leading Barcelona to a Champions League, and she's now managed an equally fantastic performance in a World Cup final. She dictated play from midfield, picking up the ball in key areas, and either found her team-mates or attempted tricky shots herself. With two key passes, two shots, two interceptions, and two tackles.
She was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament, and her performance may have just cemented herself as the 2023 Ballon d'Or winner.
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Aitana Bonmati receives the 'Golden Ball' after winning the 2023 Women's World Cup final between Spain and England at Stadium Australia.
Image credit: Getty Images
Olga Carmona deserves an honourable mention. Her goal will, of course, go down in Spanish football history, and she consistently dominated her flank defending well against Russo and Bronze.
PLAYER RATINGS
SPAIN: Coll 7, Batlle 8, Paredes 7, Codina 7, Carmona 9, Abelleira 8, Bonmati 9, Hermoso 7, Redondo 7, Caldentey 7, Paralluelo 7.
Subs: Hernandez 7, Andres 7, Putellas N/A.
ENGLAND: Earps 9, Bronze 5, Carter 7, Bright 7, Greenwood 7, Daly 7, Walsh 6, Stanway 6, Toone 5, Hemp 7, Russo 6.
Subs: Kelly 7, James 7, England 6.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
16' - HEMP HITS THE BAR: SO CLOSE TO AN OPENER FOR ENGLAND! Good play from England to get up the pitch, and Daly lays it off to Hemp. She curls it, but it clatters against the bar! Wow!
17' - EARPS SAVE: HUGE CHANCE FOR SPAIN THERE! Somehow they haven't scored, and they'll be annoyed they haven't capitalised. It's a perfect pass in, but Paralluelo scuffs the shot. The follow up lands perfectly to Redondo at the back post, but Earps comes in with the big save! Earps is screaming at her backline!
29' - GOAL! SPAIN 1-0 ENGLAND: SPAIN GET THE OPENING GOAL AND IT'S THE CAPTAIN CARMONA! SHE SCORED THE WINNER AGAINST SWEDEN IN THE SEMI-FINALS AND NOW SHE GETS HER GOAL ON THE BIGGEST STAGE. Spain exploit the gap made by Bronze and Carmona gets the ball in space. She drills a low, powerful shot into the far corner. As soon as that went in, you can see Earps shouting at her backline. It's a rare lapse for England and they've conceded. It's the second-time that they've conceded first in this tournament - the first came against Colombia in the quarter-finals.
67' - PENALTY! PENSO GIVES A PENALTY! SPAIN HAVE A CHANCE TO DOUBLE THEIR LEAD! The ball bounces back and forth as Spain try to get the ball in the back of the net. It eventually ventures wide, but a VAR check confirms a handball from Walsh in the box.
70' - PENALTY MISS! HERMOSO'S PENALTY IS SAVED BY EARPS! Hermoso's shot was low, and Earps guessed right and came up big!
KEY STATS
- Spain become the fifth team to win the World Cup after the United States (4), Germany (2), Norway (1), and Japan (1).
- Sarina Wiegman becomes the first manager to finish runner-up as in two Women's World Cup tournaments.
- Spain, who lost 4-0 to Japan 20 days ago, are only the second side to be crowned champions of the tournament despite having lost a group stage game, after Japan in 2011 [Opta].
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