Sydney, Australia —
Spain won its first Women’s World Cup title on Sunday, almost a year after a player’s mutiny, by beating England 1-0 following a first-half goal by Olga Carmona.
The victory made La Roja the first team to hold the world titles for the under 17, under 20 and senior age groups simultaneously. Spain is the fifth winner of nine editions of the Women’s World Cup and together with Germany are the only countries to have won the men’s and women’s tournaments.
At the final whistle the Spanish players piled on each other in front of the goal and were still dancing on the pitch until the presentation of the cup.
Carmona’s left-foot shot in the 29th minute went into the far corner of the net and out of reach of England keeper Mary Earps.
In celebration of his victory he lifted his shirt to reveal the word “Merchi” scrawled across his undershirt, clearly proud of his former school.
Carmona also scored the winner in the 89th minute of Spain’s 2-1 semi-final win over Sweden, becoming the first player since Carli Lloyd in 2015 to score in a World Cup semi-final and final.
Spain had the chance to double the lead in the 68th minute but Jenni Hermoso’s penalty was saved by Earps, who anticipated perfectly and dived to the left. (my/h)
