The ending of a hyper-dramatic Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand could not have been more dramatic.
With how blisteringly fast the game has been evolving on the women's stage, Spain won the Women's World Cup for the first time to cap off what has been a magical tournament run for them where they displayed their youthful talent and their technical mastery, which could make them a dominating force for years to come.
It was Olga Carmona, who previously scored a last-minute game-winner for Spain in regulation against Sweden, delivering the winning strike at the 29th minute. With her racing into the offensive, Mariona Caldentey found her approaching down the far sideline, and she immediately fired a strike to the far post side after an England turnover in the middle of the pitch.
It was the fifth match where Spain scored first, and they improved to 5-0-0 in that category, and 5-1-1 all-time. Carmona is also the 7th player all-time to score in the semifinals and the Final at the same Women's World Cup, and is the 4th-youngest goal-scorer in a Final at 23 years, 69 days old, and the youngest since Alex Morgan in 2011.
The interesting part up to that point is how England was intent on counter-attaching full steam ahead when they got possession. The Lionesses were going directly to the goal with every counterattack. It was a surprise move but a strategy that had them fatigue early.
Lauren Hemp had a great chance at the 16th minute. A nice layoff by Rachel Daly on the left side of the penalty box set up a one-timer from the forward. While Hemp had Spanish goalkeeper Cata Coll beat, the shot rang off the crossbar in what was the first great opportunity for either side up to that point.
England played a more defensive game as they were without the ball for much of the game, something they weren't used to. On Spain's end, head coach Jorge Vilda inserted teenager Salma Paralluelo into the starting eleven, dropping Jenni Hermoso back into center-attacking, midfield role.
Spain had a clear intention to build down the left-hand side with the trio of Carmona, Hermoso, and Caldentey working a nice trio to stretch England's defensive shape.
At halftime, the Lionesses were not able to advance the ball out of the defensive third, and all they were managing was playing the ball from defender to defender and defender to midfielder, not showing any dangerous chances after Hemp's crossbar shot.
The high press and the counterattack from La Roja caused problems for Sarina Wiegman's team, and nearly every place where Spain won tackles came on England's half of the field.
Wiegman turned to her bench, inserting Lauren James and Chloe Kelly in place of Alessia Russo and Daly, shifting to a revised 4-4-2 formation. Immediately, they started performing better at the half, with Kelly setting up a beautiful cross where Hemp was on the receiving end of the pass but couldn't fire it home.
Though Hemp was booked for a yellow card, Wiegman wanted the Lionesses to stretch the field by providing width on the attack.
Then came a lengthy VAR check for a handball by Keira Walsh in the penalty area. The ball struck her right hand as she was trying to block a shot from Caldentey. It took a lot of minutes, where Spain was awarded with a penalty kick, but Hermoso's shot was saved by eventual Gold Glove winner Mary Earps. It was the third penalty in a Women's World Cup Final all-time, and just the second to be stopped.
Credit must be given where it's due to Wiegman on making her halftime changes. James and Kelly gave the Lionesses some pace and life in the match. James had a pass go her way in the box, though her top-shelf shot was stopped by the hand of Coll.
But the fatigue settled in during the 14 minutes of stoppage time. Spain was stringing together passes to ensure longer stretches of possession. The defending that the Lionesses did in the first half caught up with them, and they eventually ran out of gas.
In the end, La Roja emerged victorious for their first star, joining Germany as the only two nations to win the World Cup on both the men's and women's stage.
The celebrations were all smiles and cheers, especially after what happened 10 months ago. The country was at odds with manager Vilda, with 15 players protesting his coaching style. He did not resign, with the Royal Spanish Football Federation giving him full support.
That Spain made it to the Final, and won, despite such controversy on the coaching staff should underline the impressiveness of their achievement.
The internal struggles should not overshadow how amazingly they played during this tournament. Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí are established stars and two of the best players in football, now joined by rising stars Paralluelo (19 years old), Carmona (23), Coll (22), and Eva Navarro (22), in an outstanding collection of youth, firepower, and skill.
With the tears of happiness on one end come the tears of heartbreak on the other.
England, like Spain, were making their World Cup Final debut after they appeared in three straight semifinals. Unfortunately, they couldn't get past Spain's technical game of possession, having had to stay on the field for around 20 minutes while La Roja celebrated.
"It's hard to watch another team celebrate when it's obviously your goal, your dream and your dream as a team," said midfielder Georgia Stanway. "It's really, really difficult."
A bit of revenge was involved in this match, as England beat Spain in the Euro quarterfinals last year, 2-1, responding with the last two goals after La Roja opened the scoring.
The Lionesses went on to win the Euros, giving them a lot of confidence heading into the World Cup. Wiegman was also in this stage before, coaching the Netherlands to the Final in 2019, losing to the United States.
The Dutch coach said that the team was devastated but should be proud of how they battled throughout the tournament, overcoming the adversity they faced on the road to the biggest game.
"Everyone was very disappointed that we didn't win the game," she said. "We can be very proud of ourselves, though it doesn't feel that way at this moment; that takes a little bit of time. The disappointment is the way you feel. But everything we have done, how we have grown into the tournament, and how we have adapted to situations. We have given everything that we could in this tournament and also in this game. We can still be proud."
After the final whistle blew, she huddled her team in the middle of the field, telling them that they should be proud of what they accomplished. But she acknowledged the feeling of disappointment will take the time to process, and that everything will be alright.
While the heartbreak was with them in the aftermath of the match, eventually they will process the words of their coach.
With time, there will be an awareness of what they had accomplished. But their quest for a second World Cup title will have to wait.
When the men's team in England won in 1966, women's football was banned in the UK, and it wasn't until 1971 in which a group led by Carol Thomas, Gillian Coultard, Sheila Parker, Lily Parr, Pat Davies, Mary Phillip, Fara Williams, Kelly Smith, and Rachel Yankey paved the road for where England's women's national team is today.
This group has been resilient, even after the retirements of Ellen White and Jill Scott, plus the injuries to Leah Williamson, Beth Mead, and Fran Kirby. The public awareness of the team has risen to where they are driving a new legacy.
On Spain's end, there were a lot of concerns surrounding Vilda in light of "las 15" when they sent letters to the Royal Spanish Football Federation, saying they will no longer play for Spain as long as he is the head coach.
The RFEF backed Vilda, and he brought back three of "las 15" back to the team.
It's unknown how a full-strength Spain team would go, but the team that was on the field did amazingly well to win the entire thing.
"I've always said that if all the suffering was necessary to become world champions, it would be worth it," said Vilda to reporters via interpreter. "It's been difficult at a personal level in management, but at a sporting level we've achieved results that we've never achieved before. I am very happy that we are champions of the world."
He was booed by the crowd when he held the trophy and celebrated victory with barely any pats from the back of his players, but despite the adversity, him being a winning coach in the World Cup will mean vindication.
Probably not in the hearts of fans and players, given that his methods and approach to the sport are not the most popular with many, but the biggest prize of all in football is perhaps the biggest answer.
When his team eliminated the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, only one substitute embraced him in the end.
There was a similar lack of warmth after the semifinals victory against Sweden, and the Finals victory over England.
When his job was being threatened, Vilda was backed up by the RFEF president, Luis Rubiales. That created the rift in the squad in which it has evidently still not been healed, but that's the reality that many teams and athletes in the world perform for coaches they don't like. He is just the latest example in that long line.
The team was filled heavily with players from Barcelona, displaying the intimidating possession numbers. The players delivered and finished the job.
This success might lead to a line being drawn on the past, with the team focusing on what is ahead, but it could, in turn, get the lid being blown off on the situation.
At the end of the day, success is success, regardless of what happens.
While Vilda is not the most popular man among La Roja, he played his part in the team's success during the tournament. When he was needed to deliver the big calls, he executed them, and got them right.
There was the difficult issue surrounding Putellas, the Ballon d'Or winner in 2021 and 2022, where her fitness since recovering from a cruciate ligament injury was not sufficient to warrant a starting spot. It was a huge decision whether to get her on the starting lineup or on the bench, but when he chose to have her come off the bench, it was the right, and safe, call.
He used Paralluelo as a high-impact substitute in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and in both times, she delivered late go-ahead goals to secure wins for La Roja.
There were rough patches on the way, such as Hermoso's missed penalty, a 4-0 group stage loss to Japan, and some blips on the radar against the Netherlands and Sweden. But none of those were enough to overcome the most cohesive team in the world.
To win, a team needs skilled players that can move the ball, that can play with each other, solidify the midfield, and have fearless fullbacks. When everyone else was playing checkers, Vilda and Spain were playing chess.
Football teams can win in spite of their coach at times, and the many players from La Roja came together to do exactly that. But Vilda was the one devising the gameplans, the selection, and the substitutions, regardless of people liking him or not. If Spain can win with a manger that is not the most-liked man in their country, imagine what they can do if they have a well-respected coach.
In the end, there come ways to level things out, and history showed there is no such thing as an unstoppable force. But when a team can come up with a well-executed gameplan, they create a window of opportunity to dominate the competition.
And it leads to this time in football being at its peak, even as its game's history goes forward.
After what transpired in the past month in Australia and New Zealand, people will see this World Cup in many different perspectives.
But what is certain is that there are no more guarantees in the FIFA Women's World Cup. The tournament is now more wide-open than ever before. Gone are the days of the foregone conclusion that the Untied States will win the whole thing. Gone are the days of blowout victories and an established dominance from a handful of teams.
This tournament has been exciting in many ways, shapes, and forms. While Australia and New Zealand don't have an extensive history of football, the public has bought into this tournament.
Especially the Aussies, who will wonder if things had gone differently if Sam Kerr didn't strain her calf before the tournament.
The drama in the penalty shootout between Sweden and the United States overshadowed the fact that the four-time champions were lucky that they were not eliminated by Portugal in the group stage.
The Americans suffering their earliest exit in the knockout stage play was a challenge for a team that was used to outstanding success, but the change was welcome to the rest of the world.
Parity is what is needed in the sport, and it was refreshing to see new faces shine brightly.
Germany and Brazil, and Olympic champion Canada, all got bounced in the group stage. Morocco, the Philippines, Jamaica, Nigeria, and South Africa had their times to shine.
Unpredictability is the best thing that sports have to offer. And it's good news on the World Cup front.
The competition is only going to get more and more fierce, and the number of competitive teams will only go up from here. The future in this sport has never been as exciting as it has been before.
Scoring
Spain, 29': Olga Carmona [2], left footed shot from left side of the box to bottom right corner, assisted by Mariona Caldentey [1]. 1-0 Spain
Spain, 69': Missed penalty kick by Jenni Hermoso, Mary Earps saved left footed shot at bottom right corner. 1-0 Spain
Substitutions
England, 45': Lauren James replaces Alessia Russo.
England, 45': Chloe Kelly replaces Rachel Daly.
Spain, 60': Oihane Hernández replaces Alba Redondo.
Spain, 73': Ivana Andrés replaces Laia Codina because of an injury.
England, 87': Bethany England replaces Ella Toone.
Spain, 90': Alexia Putellas replaces Mariona Caldentey.
Disciplinary
England, 55': Lauren Hemp is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Spain, 78': Salma Paralluelo is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Team Stats
Possession: Spain 57% advantage
Shots: Spain 13, England 8
On Target: Spain 5, England 3
Fouls: Spain 9, England 16
Yellow Cards: Spain 1, England 1
Red Cards: Spain 0, England 0
Offsides: Spain 0, England 4
Corner Kicks: Spain 7, England 3
Saves: Spain 3, England 4
Miscellaneous
Venue: Stadium Australia (Accor Stadium)
Location: Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 75,784 (Capacity: 82,500)
Referee: Tori Penso (United States)
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