Spain beats England 1-0 to win its first Women's World Cup
Spain etched its name into the history books on Sunday, as the Spanish national team beat England 1-0 to win its first FIFA Women's World Cup.
A 29th-minute goal from left back Olga Carmona was all La Roja needed to cement their victory over England's Lionesses in Sydney, Australia. While England had entered the tournament as one of the odds-on favorites, Spain never wavered in their dominance throughout the match. Spain heavily controlled the time of possession and doubled England in attempts on goal by 14 to seven, according to FIFA's official game statistics.
Following the 90 minutes, La Roja would survive an extra 15 minutes of stoppage time before the final whistle, bringing the Women's World Cup to Spain for the first time. It also puts the country in an elite category with its European neighbor, Germany, as the only two nations to win both a men's and women's World Cup.
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The Spanish team is also the first team to hold the world championships in all three major categories: under-17, under-20 and senior.
"I think all of us ... felt that this team had something special," Carmona said after the game, adding that the team had "shown this on the field, we've shown this in the group stage, in the knockout stages. We've been fighting until the end. We never stopped." Carmona, who was named player of the game, also told Spanish broadcaster RTE it was "a difficult match [but] we always thought we were going to make it."
The World Cup drought now continues for England, which has not brought the golden trophy home since the men's team last won it in 1966. The Lionesses' victory at the Women's UEFA Championship last year marked the first time either English team had won any major tournament since then.
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Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other Hollywood news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
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