By Samuel A. August 21, 2023
After a tense and incredibly competitive game on Sunday, 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. The Spanish women national team won their first Women’s World Cup title after beating England courtesy of Olga Carmona’s first half goal, handing Sarina Weigman only her second loss since her appointment in 2021.
The victory over the Lionesses made the women of La Roja the first team to hold the under 17, under 20 and senior world titles at the same time – and the fifth winner in nine editions of the Women’s World Cup.
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 ricocheted off the crossbar. However, Spain reacted almost instantly, when moments later Mariona Caldentey powered down the left flank and whipped a cross in for 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, before drilling a low, powerful shot into the 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 and semifinals. The changes made meant an instant 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, but 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, and 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.
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.
