Spain denies Lionesses with a 1-0 win the Women’s World Cup final
Spain has claimed its first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup after beating England in the final 1-0, with Spanish players setting aside months of drama with their coach to take home the trophy
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Spain has beaten England 1-0 to claim the country’s first Women’s World Cup, bringing an end to one of the most significant sporting events ever held in Australia.
The team’s preparation for the FIFA Women’s World Cup was not ideal. They spent months protesting* against their coach and the Football Federation. There were strikes*, leaked emails and threats to boycott* the tournament if coach Jorge Vilda kept his job, but for 90 minutes and a stack of stoppage time, Spanish players put aside their frustrations. In the end it took just one shot for Spain to sink England in front of more than 75,000 fans.
Spanish midfield maestro* Aitana Bonmati told Channel 7: “I don’t have any words. For this moment, it’s unbelievable. I’m so glad because we did a great tournament. We suffered but also we enjoyed it. We deserve it.”
Goalscoring hero Olga Carmona told Spanish national broadcasters La 1: “England have a great team, but I think it was our game.”
“We had the feeling we were going to do it, and this is unstoppable, the truth is I don’t know what to tell you,” she said.
The controversial* coach himself said: “It’s difficult to describe, immense joy, I’m so proud of this team.
“I’m so happy for everyone watching us right now, we’ve made them happy too,” Vilda said. “We’re champions of the world.”
The coach said the celebrations would run on for a long time.
“Now we have to celebrate,” he said. “I can only imagine how Spain is – we’re celebrating here and we don’t know when it will end.”
It didn’t take long for both teams to unlock their respective* defences in the final, with England going agonisingly* close to scoring the opener when Lauren Hemp curled a first-time strike into the crossbar.
That attempt seemed to shock Spain into action with the European giants launching a swift counter-attack* which finished up with Alba Redondo, who was left alone at the back post but fired her shot straight at keeper Mary Earps.
England wouldn’t be so lucky 12 minutes later when Spanish skipper Olga Carmona found space down the left and beat the keeper with a perfectly-placed shot into the bottom right corner that not even Earps could save.
It followed Carmona’s superb* knockout stage, when she also netted a late winner in the semis to book Spain’s place in the final.
Spain could and probably should have doubled their advantage, with a couple of great chances either side of halftime, with star striker Salma Paralluelo firing wide with the final kick of the first half before Mariona Caldentey forced another neat save from Earps just after the break.
England might have been sunk had it not been for the Manchester United star, with Earps standing tall once more in the most controversial moment of the night when Spain was awarded a penalty for a handball after a lengthy VAR check.
It took several minutes for the officials to decide if Keira Walsh had handled the ball in the area, but it took a split second for Earps to fire up the heaving crowd when she guessed correctly to deny Jennifer Hermoso from the spot.
Earps was the only one keeping England in it and she produced another stunning save to deny Ona Batlle, and even charged forward for a corner in the 114th minute, only for her opposite number to save the day just as the final whistle sounded.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- protesting: expressing an objection, disapproval, or dissent, often against something or someone more powerful
- strikes: when workers (or here players) stop work for a period of time to protest conditions
- boycott: refusing to take part in an activity as a way of expressing strong disapproval
- maestro: the master of an art
- respective: particular, separate, relating to the different sides just mentioned
- agonisingly: painfully, extremely
- counter-attack: attack made in response to or in defence against an attack made by another
- superb: excellent, great, extremely good
EXTRA READING
‘Til next time: our hearts are won
Matildas lose to bruising Lionesses
Semi-finals: Matildas make history
QUICK QUIZ
- Which country has won the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023?
- What was the final score?
- Which country did the new world champions defeat in the final?
- How many times has Spain won a soccer World Cup previously?
- How large was the crowd at Stadium Australia for the final?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. News: condensed
Identify the most important pieces of information in this article and write a condensed version of it using 50 words or less.
Draw a picture or diagram to support your condensed news story.
Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science
2. Extension
Compare your condensed news story with a classmate. Did you both include the same information or are your stories quite different? Discuss your choices and then work together to create a final condensed version of the story that you both agree tells the important parts that a reader would need or want to know.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
Question stems
The players in the FIFA Woman’s World Cup are some superior female athletes and role models for all who follow them. If you had a chance to interview one of these players, or another sporting hero of yours, what five questions would you love to ask them?
Extension:
Role play: with a partner, interview each other pretending to be the sporting hero you created the questions for and have a go at answering each other’s questions as best you can.
Time: allow at least 15 minutes to complete the task
Curriculum Links: English, Big Write, VCOP