After battling through adversity all the way to this Women’s World Cup final, in the end it was beating Spain which proved one step too far for England.
At the full-time whistle, the Lionesses fell to the floor as their opponents celebrated wildly.
Spain were worthy winners on the night, with Olga Carmona making herself the hero with her first-half goal, but that will not make this any easier for England.
For so long at this World Cup, it felt like England were going to make history. They had gone through so much to make the final - injuries, suspension and a disrupted build-up - but they were outplayed by an excellent Spanish team.
They too had battled adversity to reach this point. A year ago, 15 players went on strike and refused to be called up. Somehow, they are now world champions after a performance in the final that underlined their immense quality - even with only 12 of their 15 rebels returning.
As was the case in their semi-final win over Australia, Lauren Hemp was England’s most dangerous weapon in attack. Three times in the first 20 minutes she went close to scoring, hitting the bar on one occasion.
Spain were having joy too, though, as out wide they caused England problems with numerous overloads. And that was their route to the opening goal too as, just before the half-hour mark, the Lionesses were punished for the one big mistake of the half.
Lucy Bronze carried the ball out of defence, however she was caught in possession in the middle of the pitch and Spain pounced. The ball went out wide to the left and Maria Caldentey drove forward. Carmona bombed outside her and, when played in, she drilled the ball first time into the bottom corner.
It knocked the stuffing out of England and they were lucky to not be further behind before the break. Centre-back Irene Paredes slashed wide from a free-kick and Salma Paralluelo hit the post with the last kick of the half.
OLGA CARMONA PUTS SPAIN AHEAD IN THE FINAL 🇪🇸
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 20, 2023
Watch now on @ITVX: https://t.co/06JPgWY6ix 📲#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/s8ug9cg9wa
Paralluelo had been a nuisance to England all half, rolling Millie Bright on several occasions and drifting out wide into the channels.
Wiegman opted to switch it up at the break, bringing on Chloe Kelly and Lauren James for Alessia Russo and Rach Daly as England moved to a 4-2-3-1 formation.
The Lionesses looked more threatening after the switch, with Kelly getting on the right flank and her cross was so nearly diverted home by Hemp.
It was the Spain, though, who had the best chance to score again when they were given a penalty midway through the second half.
VAR intervened to judge that Keira Walsh had handled the ball when Caldentey tried to skip past her and, after consulting the monitor, the referee pointed to the spot. After a long delay Jennifer Hermoso stepped up, but Mary Earps dived to her left and saved a weak penalty.
That gave England hope that they could still find a way back into the game. The desperation and effort was there, with Millie Bright thrown up front, but the goal wouldn’t come.
Their World Cup dream was over.
