The Women's World Cup came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday in Sydney, Australia.
In a battle of European nations, Spain defeated England 1-0 to win its first ever Women's World Cup title.
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Spain is the fifth nation to win the Women's World Cup, joining the United States (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019), Germany (2003, 2007), Norway (1995) and Japan (2011). Spain joins Germany as the only nation to win the World Cup on both the women's and men's side.
Olga Carmona scored the lone goal of the match in the 29th minute for La Roja, firing a left-footed shot from the deep left side of the box to the bottom right corner of the net -- just beyond the outstretched arm of English goalkeeper Mary Earps.
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Carmona scored her first goal of the Women's World Cup in the semifinal against Sweden -- and she did it in dramatic fashion. With that match tied 1-1, she scored in the 89th minute to send Spain to its first ever Women's World Cup final. The 23-year-old Carmona is just the seventh player in history to score a goal in both the semifinal and final in the same Women's World Cup.
Both Spain and England had multiple scoring chances in the opening 45 minutes.
In the 16th minute, England's Lauren Hemp rocketed a shot from the deep center of the box and hit the crossbar.
Less than a minute later, Spain countered with an incredible opportunity when Salma Paralluelo appeared to have an empty net but misfired the shot directly at the English goalkeeper to keep the match scoreless.
Spain nearly doubled its lead in the final moments of the first half. Paralluelo snuck a shot through a flock of English defenders, but her attempt hit the right post and the referee signaled for halftime seconds later.
The action was equally exciting in the second half, with both sides putting shots on goal.
In the 64th minute, England's Keira Walsh inadvertently touched the ball with her hand while inside the box. The call went to VAR, where the decision ruled in favor of Spain and awarded a penalty kick for La Roja.
With a chance to double the lead, Spain's Jenni Hermoso took a shot to the bottom right corner but it was saved by Earps.
The rest of the match was choppy, as both sides battled injuries -- forcing several long stoppages.
As a result, 13 minutes of stoppage time was added after 90 minutes. England's final chance came on the last play of the tournament, when it had a corner kick that was caught by Spanish goalkeeper Cata Coll.
Spain, who made its Women's World Cup debut in 2015, has quickly risen to the top of women's soccer. La Roja scored just two goals and failed to advance out of the group stage in 2015 before making the round of 16 in 2019, where it lost to the eventual champion U.S. women's national team.
Now, Spain has put the world on notice as it appears poised to be a women's soccer power for years to come.
