England
women's soccer
The champions will have another chance to make history in less than a year or so (by winning the European Cup in 2022) when they face Spain in the Women's World Cup final in Sydney on Sunday (2023/8/20). This England
women's soccer
The team will be desperate to win the World Cup and will also be the first English team to win a senior final on the world stage since 1966. Spain will be their opponents in what will be their first ever final and around 75,000 fans are expected to watch the match at the Australian Stadium (kick-off 11:00 UK time). Millions more will be watching the match live on BBC One, with Australia's pre-match show starting at 09:45. The winning team will become the fifth different country in the ninth edition of this competition to
world champion
.. The United States (four times), Germany (twice), Norway and Japan were the only other winning teams.
England manager Sarina Wiegman said, "Everyone is talking about 1966, so let's do our best on Sunday and try to be successful." England
women's soccer
The team will be wearing their blue jerseys, having won the European title 13 months ago by beating Germany, the first time they have won that title. Despite England winning the 2022
European cup (e.g. soccer)
The championship has been relatively quiet, but their journey to the
World Cup
The journey to the final has been a mixed bag. Prior to this tournament, they lost three of the stars of that championship, who were unable to play due to knee injuries - Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby.In addition, they had a testing tournament in Australia, where key players Keira Walsh and Lauren James sat out due to injuries and suspensions respectively, and defeated Nigeria on penalties.
But Wiegman's side kept their composure under pressure, only falling seven minutes behind against Colombia in the play-offs. Meanwhile, Walsh's injury was not as serious as initially feared and she only missed one game, while James will be available for the final after serving a two-match ban for stamping on Nigeria's Michelle Alozie.Wiegman will have to decide whether to maintain the side that performed so well in the semi-final or to bring back James, who, before being sent off was England's best player in the tournament.
Team captain Millie Bright, who was injured after Williamson received a
World Cup
of the captain's armband, she said, "To be able to enter the
World Cup
The finals are a dream come true. Leading the girls out was a special feeling.
"We have a game plan and we have to go out and execute it. Everyone knows how important it is. We know how passionate the fans are in our home country and how much they want us to win."
Against a backdrop of social unrest, discord and a 4-0 loss to Japan in the group stage, Spain managed to enter the
World Cup
The final, which was amazing. Spain was ranked sixth in the world, two places below England, but they managed to reach the final.
Reports of disagreements between head coach Jorge Vilda and his players have been accompanying the Spanish team in this tournament. Spain (La Roja) are making their third appearance in the
World Cup
, who have been impressive since being thrashed by Japan, knocking out Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden. Spain has always been a country that loves soccer, but it's not our stage, or at least that's how they make us feel," said center back Irene Paredes.
"We wanted to play soccer, and (the people before us coming) pushed them to put more into women's soccer. We had the opportunity to play
World Cup
Finals. Now is the time to enjoy it."
The majority of their squad comes from Champions League winners Barcelona, including 2021 and 2022 Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas.However, it was 19-year-old striker Salma Paralluelo who made the headlines, scoring the winning goal in the last eight, and then firing home twice for her team after coming on as a substitute in the semi-finals One came against the Netherlands and the other against Sweden.
While England manager Wiegman has been widely praised for uniting his team and leading them to a higher level, Spain manager Vilda has been surrounded by controversy since the player controversy erupted last September.
The Dutchwoman reached her fourth consecutive final of a major tournament, having led the Netherlands in 2017 and England in 2019 to win their second consecutive
European cup (e.g. soccer)
, and in 2019
World Cup
On, her home country's team lost to the United States in the final.
As of today, Wiegman is in England
women's soccer
The only defeat in the head coach's 38 matches came in a friendly against Australia in April, and she has won 18 of 19 matches as manager in major tournaments.
