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SYDNEY — A champion’s medal round her neck, Salma Paralluelo lay on the sphere for some time and nestled into the golden glitter that had fallen over Spain’s Ladies’s World Cup crew because it celebrated a 1-0 victory over England.
Already a world champion within the Underneath-17 and Underneath-20 ranges, Paralluelo took her time absorbing the environment at Stadium Australia on Sunday after serving to the Spanish ladies’s crew overcome adversity to win its first senior main world title.
Olga Carmona scored within the first half of the ultimate and Spain held on to cap the month-long event. Carmona’s triumph was tinged with disappointment after studying of her father’s dying. The Spanish soccer federation issued an announcement after the match to verify Carmona’s father had died, with out giving particular particulars.
Overcoming the turmoil that had surrounded the crew, the victory made Spain the primary crew to carry the under-17, under-20 and senior ladies’s world titles on the identical time. Spain additionally joined Germany as the one nations to win each the boys’s and ladies’s titles.
On the closing whistle the Spanish gamers piled on one another in entrance of their aim. They have been nonetheless dancing on the sphere earlier than and after the trophy shows.
“We’ve suffered so much all through the previous 12 months however I believe every thing has a purpose to be. This has made us a stronger crew,” Carmona mentioned quickly after the sport. “And it’s actually unbelievable. I don’t know simply why Spain is the world champions, however I believe that we deserved it.”
The Lionesses have been making an attempt to convey a World Cup again to England for the primary time because the males received it in 1966. The wait will go on.
“At first you are feeling such as you failed with not profitable,” England captain Millie Vibrant mentioned. “I believe in a few weeks and it settles, (we) shall be actually, actually proud.”
In an open recreation that includes a number of probabilities for each groups, Carmona’s left-foot strike within the twenty ninth minute — ending off a fast-breaking counterattack after England’s Lucy Bronze misplaced possession — was the one aim.
Carmona additionally scored the game-winner within the 89th minute of Spain’s 2-1 semifinal victory over Sweden, changing into the primary participant since Carli Lloyd in 2015 to attain in a World Cup semifinal and closing.
Spain had an opportunity to double the lead within the 68th after a VAR overview awarded a penalty for Keira Walsh’s handball, however Jenni Hermoso’s penalty try was saved by Mary Earps.
Spain’s victory comes regardless of a near-mutiny by gamers final yr. Fifteen gamers mentioned they have been stepping away from the nationwide crew for his or her psychological well being whereas additionally calling for a extra skilled setting.
Three of these gamers — Ona Batlle, Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey — reconciled with the federation and have been on the World Cup.
The victory was additionally a little bit of redemption for La Roja, which misplaced 2-1 within the quarterfinals to eventual champion England on the European championship final yr.
“I believe all of us, we felt that this crew had one thing particular,” Carmona mentioned. “I consider that we’ve proven this on the sphere, we’ve proven this within the group stage, within the knockout stage. We’ve been preventing till the tip. We by no means stopped.
“Final yr was totally different, however offers you second probabilities. What higher probability than in a World Cup closing and to have the ability to name ourselves world champion.”
Spain grew over the course of the event. After a 4-0 loss to Japan within the group stage, Spain changed Misa Rodriguez with Cata Coll in aim. La Roja rebounded shortly by trouncing Switzerland 5-1 to kick off the knockout spherical and constructed from there.
“Once we came upon that we had England within the closing, we analyzed them and noticed how they performed,” Bonmati mentioned. “We ready it nicely, we got here out assured of what we have been doing, of our recreation, of our combat, of our dedication.”
England had momentum going into the event after profitable the Euros, however three of the crew’s finest gamers, captain Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead, all had knee accidents that saved them off the World Cup squad.
Sarina Wiegman was the primary coach to take her groups to back-to-back World Cup title matches. She led the Netherlands to the ultimate in 2019, however fell 2-0 to america. She’s now 0-2 within the championship match.
One in every of England’s finest probabilities was within the sixteenth when Lauren Hemp’s blast caromed off the crossbar. A minute later, Paralluelo raced towards aim however couldn’t get a clear shot and Earps stopped Alba Redondo’s try within the scramble in entrance of the online.
England was coming off a 3-1 victory over host Australia within the semifinal. Lauren James, who was the crew’s prime scorer with three targets and three assists, was compelled to take a seat out two matches after being suspended for stomping on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie to open the knockout stage.
Whereas James was out there for the ultimate, Wiegman began Ella Toone and used James as a second-half substitute in a double change to spark the assault.
Spain coach Jorge Vilda began 19-year-old Paralluelo, who scored the breakthrough aim for Spain in opposition to Sweden, and the game-winner in further time over the Netherlands within the quarterfinal. These efforts helped her win the younger participant of the event award. Earps received the Golden Glove for finest goalkeeper and Bonmati received the Golden Ball for finest participant of World Cup.
Vilda had a problem in working round two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, who was nonetheless working her means again from a torn ACL final yr. For the ultimate, Putellas began on the bench.
Putellas went into the sport with 15 seconds left in regulation, however there have been 13 minutes of stoppage time. After the match Putellas was in tears as her teammates danced in entrance of the flag-waving followers behind the crew’s bench.
There have been 75,784 followers on the closing at Stadium Australia, together with tennis nice Billie Jean King, growing the document attendance for the event to greater than 1.975 million.
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AP World Cup protection: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup
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