History was made in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 as Spain won their first title after scoring 1-0 against England. With this victory, La Roja became the first team to simultaneously hold the senior, under-20, and under-17 world titles. Besides this, England’s defeat made the team the fifth winner in the nine editions of the Women’s World Cup.
For the Lionesses, this match marked the first attempt to bring the World Cup back to England since 1966. Unfortunately for them, Spain held the team back in front of over 75,000 spectators at the final in Stadium Australia. When asked what she thought about this, England Captain Millie Bright said though the final score was disappointing, she was proud the team got this far in the World Cup.
Before this game, the two nations had met 11 times. As a result, England had six wins while Spain only landed two, and the teams had three draws. So, it’s safe to say Spain’s victory at the Women’s World Cup was a huge surprise for fans everywhere. Below, we’ll review everything about this shocking turn of events, including the odds and predictions leading up to the match.
Odds and Predictions
From a sports betting perspective, the Women’s World Cup title has been a race between the two teams since the beginning of the knockout stage. As the quarterfinals approached, most sportsbooks listed England as the favourite, with the odds of around +240. That was before Spain beat the Netherlands during the quarters, catapulting its odds and making England the underdogs.
The odds didn’t remain like this for much longer, though. Once the Lionesses won against Colombia in the quarterfinals, they became the favourites again on most sports betting sites. The predictions kept going back and forth in favour of Spain and England, and by match time, La Roja was on top with odds of around +170 against England’s +175 in most sportsbooks.
How La Roja Won
In the intense game, La Roja’s Carmona scored the winning and only goal in the match in the 29th minute. In the semifinal between Spain and Sweden, she also scored in the 89th minute, earning the team a 2-1 win. These victories made her the first player to score in both the Women’s World Cup semifinal and final since Carli Lloyd achieved this in 2015.
Though England also had the winning potential, considering they had taken the European Championship title, they had a huge disadvantage. Three of the team’s best players, Beth Mead, Fran Kirdy, and captain Leah Williamson, had knee injuries, so they couldn’t join the World Cup squad. In celebration, Carmona raised her jersey to show the word “Merchi” written on her undershirt, a tribute to her previous school.
Spain Made History in the 2023 Women’s World Cup
Despite the controversy around La Roja last year, with fifteen players almost dropping out of the national team, the team took the World Cup home. The win marked their redemption after Spain went against England in the UEFA Euros quarter finals and lost by a 2-1 score. It also meant that the nation had joined Germany as the only two countries to win women’s and men’s titles in history.
To many fans, this was the definition of commitment and hard work. But this victory meant way more to the team, as was shown when the final whistle was blown, and the members danced behind their bench in front of thousands of flag-waving fans.