Today at the World Cup: England fall short as Spain lift trophy

By Sports Desk August 20, 2023

The World Cup drew to a close on Sunday with Spain emerging as the victors with a 1-0 win against England.

Olga Carmona’s first-half strike was enough for Spain to lift their first Women’s World Cup, as the Lionesses achieved a bittersweet second-place finish.

Here the PA news agency takes a look at the final day at the tournament.

Spain triumph in Sydney

Spain secured the top prize with victory over England at Stadium Australia in Sydney, achieving their first World Cup win.

Carmona’s goal in the 29th minute proved to be the difference after Lucy Bronze lost possession in midfield and the Spanish captain took advantage to tuck the ball into the bottom right corner.

Despite being unable to double their lead through Jennifer Hermoso from the penalty spot, Spain worked hard to see the game out through 13 minutes of added time to be crowned champions.

Aitana Bonmati told the BBC afterwards: “It’s unbelievable, I’m so proud. We have been working a lot of years for this moment and we have the trophy.”

Heartbreak for Lionesses

Spain’s victory marked a heartbreaking loss for England, who were also aiming for a maiden World Cup win after reaching back-to-back finals in a major tournament.

Lauren Hemp had some early chances for the Lionesses before rattling the crossbar in the first half.

Mary Earps made a brilliant low save from Hermoso’s spot-kick to provide more hope for England, but they were unable to find the breakthrough in the final stages.

England boss Sarina Wiegman said post-match: “That’s hard to take now, and of course we did everything, we gave everything, we’ve overcome lots of challenges and today we did everything we could to win.

“It feels really bad, of course, and very disappointed, but still very proud of the team.

“I’m just hurt about this moment. Losing a game and in a final, when you’re in a final you want to win it.”

Earps’ award


The England goalkeeper won the Golden Glove award for her performances throughout the tournament.

Earps kept three clean sheets throughout the competition and collected her award post-match alongside Bonmati, who won the Golden Ball as player of the tournament.

The Barcelona midfielder scored three goals and provided two assists to earn the award, with Spain colleague Salma Paralluelo being named the best young player award.

Quote of the DayTweet of the DayPicture of the Day

Related items

  • Euro 2024 social round-up: Bellingham's new celebration and Kane in the Haaland role? Euro 2024 social round-up: Bellingham's new celebration and Kane in the Haaland role?

    Day three at Euro 2024 brought plenty of action.

    Jude Bellingham was the main man for England as the Three Lions beat Serbia 1-0.

    Earlier in the day, Denmark drew 1-1 with Slovenia, and the Netherlands came from behind to beat Poland.

    But there was also plenty of action on social media, and not just on the pitch. Here, we round up the best posts from Euro 2024.

     

    Wolfpack

    Bellingham celebrated his goal for England with Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the pair debuted a new "wolf" celebration.

    They embraced before they each got down on one knee and placed a hand over their face.

    Explaining the celebration, Bellingham told BBC Sport: "When we play Wolf, one of the staff loves that face when he doesn't have a clue what's going on! So that was kind of, a little group celebration for the wolf crew!"

    Man on a mission

    Bellingham may have grabbed the headlines, but Declan Rice was vital for England in midfield.

    Indeed, only Bellingham (92) had more touches than Rice (90), while the Arsenal man led the team for passes (81), accurate passes (78) and interceptions (two, along with Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker).

    And the official England account made sure to give Rice some love. 

    Harry Haaland?

    At half-time in the England match, pundit and former Three Lions defender Jamie Carragher posted on X that Harry Kane was "playing the Haaland role".

    By that point, Kane had only touched the ball twice, and the captain would go on to finish with 24 touches, exactly half the amount of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who ranked 10th in that metric of the 11 England players to start the game.

    Carragher suggested that, like Erling Haaland at Manchester City, Kane was being instructed to stay high and wait for the ball to come to him, though does not feel that role suited him.

    Kane, who was making his record-breaking 23rd appearance for England at a major tournament, nearly scored in the second half, but saw a header saved onto the crossbar.

    How to save a life

    A genius idea in the fan zones in Germany, is that there are CPR training units set up, so that supporters can learn the basics if they need to act quickly.

    UEFA broadcast this on their official account.

    Eriksen's emotional Euros return

    The need for CPR training is only hit home when thinking about Christian Eriksen.

    June 12 marked the third anniversary of Eriksen collapsing on the pitch in Copenhagen, during Denmark's opening game of Euro 2020.

    Thankfully, and due to the swift actions of the medical staff that day, Eriksen survived the cardiac arrest he suffered, and on Sunday, matters came full circle as the 32-year-old scored his nation's opening goal against Slovenia.

    Dress sense

    Some managers go for a tracksuit. Others go for a smart casual look. Plenty wear a suit.

    Poland boss Michal Probierz falls into the latter category, but he made sure to stand out with his bold choice in Sunday's clash with the Dutch.

    Probierz went for an eye-catching tweed waistcoat and a brown blazer, drawing the attention of the Men In Blazer's X account, and in turn, their post was picked up by Poland's official team account too. 

    What do you think of the look?

    Memphis' new look

    Speaking of making a statement, Memphis Depay is not exactly shy when it comes to what he wears.

    And for Euro 2024, it would appear the Netherlands' forward has a new look, with the 30-year-old donning a headband.

    It's usually a look reserved for basketball, not football, but Depay will do what Depay wants to do. Not that it greatly helped his performance levels. The former Manchester United attacker had four shots, but didn't get any of them on target.

  • Tadic tips 'hungry' Bellingham to win the Ballon d'Or Tadic tips 'hungry' Bellingham to win the Ballon d'Or

    Jude Bellingham "has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or", Serbia skipper Dusan Tadic insisted after his side fell victim to England's star midfielder.

    Bellingham was the hero with his first-half header ensuring Gareth Southgate's side got off to a winning start at Euro 2024, as they edged out the Eagles 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen.

    The Real Madrid midfielder built on the momentum from his memorable debut season with Los Blancos, for whom he scored 23 goals and helped win LaLiga and the Champions League.

    The second player after Michael Owen to score at the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, he is also the first to do so for the Three Lions while playing his club football outside of England.

    And Tadic, who appeared as a second-half substitute in Serbia's first match at the European Championship as a unified nation, paid tribute to the 20-year-old.

    When asked whether he thought Bellingham was the difference in the Group C contest, the Eagles skipper told reporters: "Yes, definitely. I think he is a great player and a great personality. I think he has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or.

    "I think everything that he did was great today, he showed personality, he took England to the next level. He was always asking for the ball and I think he had a great game.

    "What I think is most important for such a young player is that he always takes responsibility. That is amazing to see, and you can see he is very hungry."

  • Tadic tips 'hungry' Bellingham to 'win next Ballon d'Or' Tadic tips 'hungry' Bellingham to 'win next Ballon d'Or'

    Jude Bellingham "has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or", Serbia skipper Dusan Tadic insisted after his side fell victim to England's star midfielder.

    Bellingham was the hero with his first-half header ensuring Gareth Southgate's side got off to a winning start at Euro 2024, as they edged out the Eagles 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen.

    The Real Madrid midfielder built on the momentum from his memorable debut season with Los Blancos, for whom he scored 23 goals and helped win LaLiga and the Champions League.

    The second player after Michael Owen to score at the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, he is also the first to do so for the Three Lions while playing his club football outside of England.

    And Tadic, who appeared as a second-half substitute in Serbia's first match at the European Championship as a unified nation, paid tribute to the 20-year-old.

    When asked whether he thought Bellingham was the difference in the Group C contest, the Eagles skipper told reporters: "Yes, definitely. I think he is a great player and a great personality. I think he has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or.

    "I think everything that he did was great today, he showed personality, he took England to the next level. He was always asking for the ball and I think he had a great game.

    "What I think is most important for such a young player is that he always takes responsibility. That is amazing to see, and you can see he is very hungry."

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.