Spanish skipper Olga Carmona scored the solitary goal of the final against England on Sunday to guide her side to their maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup title. Carmona found the back of the net in the 29th minute of the fixture with a fine left-footed strike at the Stadium Australia in Sydney. The left-back’s goal, just before the half-hour mark, turned out to be the deciding factor of the final encounter. This year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup final also marked England’s second defeat in 39 games since coach Sarina Wiegman took over as coach of The Lionesses.
Here we take a look at the top-five moments of this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup final between Spain and England:
England get the first chance
The English women’s football team kicked off the game on a promising note and they almost scored the first goal in the fifth minute. England forward Lauren Hemp had a crack at goal with a low left-footed shot but Spanish goalkeeper Catalina Coll made a crucial save to keep the score line unchanged.
Hemp squanders another opportunity
The Manchester City forward got another chance to register her name on the scoresheet 12 minutes later but this time woodwork came to the rescue of La Roja.
Spain respond immediately
Having dealt with an early series of English attacks, Spain found themselves in the opposition half just two minutes later. Spanish winger Alba Redondo registered a shot but English keeper Mary Earps pulled off a commendable save to deny La Roja a goal.
Spain breach English defence
Earps was eventually beaten in the 29th minute after England lost possession of the ball in the midfield region. Olga Carmona came up with a sweet strike to nestle the ball into the bottom-right corner.
Jennifer Hermoso misses a golden chance
Spain received, probably, the best chance to double their lead in the second half. England midfielder Keira Welsh was found handling the ball in the 64th minute and following a thorough Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check and another one by match referee Tori Penso on the monitor, Spain were awarded a penalty. Jennifer Hermoso came up with the spot kick but Mary Earps dived to her left to thwart La Roja from scoring the insurance goal.
Spanish defenders averted further danger and the Olga Carmona-led side ultimately succeeded in keeping the lead intact. Carmona was, quite rightfully, named the most valuable player of the final. She had also scored Spain’s late winner against Sweden in the semi-final. “I think all of us, we felt that this team had something special. I believe that we’ve shown this on the field, we’ve shown this in the group stage, in the knockout stage. We’ve been fighting until the end. We never stopped,” the Real Madrid player was quoted as saying by AP after Spain’s World Cup triumph.