The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023 concluded with a new champion in history: Spain, who reached their first final and seized the opportunity presented to them to lift the cup by beating England 1-0 with a goal by Olga Carmona at minute 29 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
The victory was suffered, since the game turned rough and there were scoring opportunities on both sides. England He sold the defeat dearly and stood up very well on the field from the beginning, but he did not count on Spain to withstand all the attacks and, also, that he would have a bit of luck seeing how the crossbar and his goalkeeper would miraculously prevent the goal in several occasions.
Although La Furia Roja also had opportunities to increase the score and fortune told them “no” -or circumstances-; The fact is that they also swayed the post on one occasion and missed a penalty that Mary Earps saved Jennifer Hermoso, the Pachuca player in the MX League.
england ripped the party looking for the cup without fear, generating scoring chances, dominating the Spanish and giving them a big scare at minute 15, when in a great collective play of several touches Russo enabled Dali and this He finished off with a shoe that shook the horizontal post.
However, when the Lionesses were at their most dangerous, a flash of good football from Spain turned the tide of the match, because their captain Olga Carmona appeared, the one with the important goals, the one that gave victory to his team in the semifinal against Sweden, this time entering the big area from the left side and shooting an unassailable cross with his left foot for goalkeeper Mary Earps.
From that moment on, the match changed and Spanish dominance was present, partly because England withdrew, trying not to lose order and prevent the disadvantage from increasing.
The rest of the first part, the English endured the attacks in their area and came out very quickly on the counterattack, which bothered the Spanish who did not find a clear goal again, until the last play in the complement, when Salma Paralluelo hit the vertical post and the ball bounced wide.
For the second half, the English realigned themselves on the field with a couple of changes and looked for a tie. The game went back and forth It seemed that at any moment the tie or the second for Spain would fall.
The clearest play of the second half was for La Furia Roja and it arrived at minute 66 when, after reviewing the VAR, the referee decreed a maximum penalty because of a hand from Walsh in the area; however, Spain was unable to increase their lead, as the goalkeeper guessed the route of Jennifer Hermoso’s shot, dived to her left and kept the ball, giving life momentarily to your selection.
The goalkeeper’s feat gave the English a boost and they went forward with more intensity. At minute 75 they were close to equalizing with a shot from Lauren James in the area that goalkeeper Cata Coll miraculously saved.
Time was running out for England and they had no choice but to throw themselves in front and take risks, which Spain took advantage of to play on the counterattack. The scoreboard did not move, but there were dangerous plays on both sides and La Furia Roja closed the match at 90+1′ with a shot from Ona Batlle at the near post that Mary Earps, the best goalkeeper of the tournament, managed to save, to give his team a little more life, since it was almost 15 minutes of compensation.
However, the Lionesses could no longer force extra time and the final whistle came that gave Spain its first ever Women’s World Cup, becoming the fifth team to be crowned champion of the tournamentbehind the United States, which has 4 titles, Germany, which has 2, and Japan and Norway, which each have one.
Keep reading:
· Spain advances for the first time in its history to a final of the Women’s World Cup
· “I can’t stop crying, we dream it many times”: Jennifer Hermoso, the Liga MX player was moved by Spain’s pass to the final
· Sweden defeats Australia and stays with the third place in the Women’s World Cup