Spain were crowned Women’s World Champions of football when they defeated pre-match favorites England convincingly by 1 – 0 at Stadium Australia, Sydney. A glittering closing ceremony took place prior to the match.
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Final
Spain 1 – 0 England
Goal Scorers
Spain: Olga Carmona 29’
Allsportspk Overview: The final match was the culmination of nearly a month long affair involving 32 teams which had emerged following a qualifying cycle. This was the first time that a Women’s World Cup Finals were played in the Southern hemisphere and hosted by two nations, Australia and New Zealand.
Spain dominated the game from the word go. They were more focused, determined and motivated than their rivals. Somehow, the spark was missing from England side which they had displayed throughout the tournament. Spain made their intentions clear as they hardly let the ball get into England possession in the first 15 minutes. Olga Carmona opened the scoring which proved to be the only and decisive goal of the match. She sent a ball from a narrow angle towards left of the England goalkeeper Earp in 29th minute to send the Spanish fans including Queen of Spain into wild jubilations. First half clearly belonged to Spain though a Hemp shot hit the cross-bar to the dismay of England fans.
Though England tried to regroup in the second half but still their efforts were disjointed. Spain on the other hand seemed to have found extra reserves of energy as they kept on piling the pressure. In 69th minute, England were given a ray of hope as their goalkeeper Earp saved a penalty taken by Jennifer Hermoso but they failed to take advantage. Earp was brilliant and by far the best England player saving many goals.
Match For Bronze
Sweden beat co-hosts Australia to win Bronze medal in the 3rd place play-off between the losing semifinalists at Milton, Australia.
Plate-winners’ Final (3rd Position)
Sweden 2-0 Australia
Goal Scorers
Sweden: Fridolina Rolfo 30’ (P); Kosovare Asllani 62’
Allsportspk Overview: 3rd ranked Sweden managed to occupy 3rd place at the FIFA Women’s World Cup today by beating Australia 2 – 0. Contrary to wishes of majority of fans in the packed stadium, Sweden controlled the game for most part of the match. Though there wasn’t much difference in possession (Sweden 54%, Australia 46%), but the difference was in coordination and attitude. Sweden’s pass accuracy was superior and attitude aimed at winning.
The match started cautiously, with no side willing to give the opponent the early advantage. A somewhat controversial decision based on VAR awarded Sweden a penalty in 30th minute and Rolfo made no mistake in giving Sweden a deserved lead as Australia couldn’t make any impact in the first half.
Second half was almost on the same pattern as Australian manager delayed making changes. As soon as first Australian change was made, Sweden struck to seal the match in 62nd minute. Asllani fired a brilliant strike home after a well-coordinated counter attack. Australia wasted the remaining game in long passes which were mostly intercepted by the Swedes who resorted to short passes and fast moves.
It was a well-deserved win for Sweden, who finished 3rd for the fourth time. Australia in their turn did well to reach the semifinals for the first time. In addition to accumulated fatigue, pressure of playing in front of home crowd amidst expectations to win must also have taken their tolls.
2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Semifinal 2- England Win; Final Clash With Spain + Overview
England beat the co-host Australia to play the final for the first time, like their final opponents Spain on Sunday, 20th August at Stadium Australia.
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Semifinal 2
Australia 1-3 England
Goal Scorers
England: Ella Ann Toone (36′), Lauren May Hemp (71′), Alessia Mia Teresa Russo (86′)
Australia: Samantha May Kerr (63′)
Allsportspk Overview: True to the form, England defeated Australia 3 – 1 to advance into their first finals after three failed attempts. It means that this World Cup is going to witness a first-time winner as other finalist Spain are also playing their first final in a World Cup. Though many Australian hearts were surely broken, but England indeed played a stellar game in the semis. The current European champions were 1 – 0 ahead at the half-time whistle with 71% possession and withstood the Australian onslaught in the second half to emerge victorious.
England played aggressively and beautifully. They controlled much of the game and displayed devastating efficiency to defeat the co-hosts comprehensively.
Ella Toone gave England lead in the 36th minute when she got a pass from Russo and rifled the shot into far corner of the goal. Australia could not make serious inroads despite much improved ball possession till Sam Kerr equalized for them in 63rd minute with one of the best goals of the tournament from more than 25 yards. However, a grave slip on part of Australian defenders allowed Lauren Hemp to take England ahead in 71st minute. Alessia Russo sealed the fate of the match with a goal in 86th minute. With all the focus on goal scoring, brilliance of England defenders, especially their ever-reliable goalkeeper Earps must not be overlooked who denied their opponents many scoring chances.
England’s (Dutch) coach Sarina Wiegman must be given due credit for her team selection, changes and tactics. She is the first coach to win European Championships with two national teams (Netherlands in 2017 and England in 2022) as well as taking two national teams into World Cup finals (Netherlands 2019 and England 2023). Let’s see if her charges can overcome the Spanish challenge on Sunday, 20th August to win the biggest prize in the sport.
2023 FIFA Women World Cup: Semifinal 1- Spain Finalist + Overview
Spain defeated Sweden and reached the World Cup final for the first time. Played at Eden Park, Auckland the goal account was opened by Spain’s Salma Paralluelo before an equaliser by Rebecka Blomqvist for Sweden. The decisive goal was kicked into the net by Spanish captain Olga Carmona in the last minute. This set the final date with Australia or England who play the second semifinal at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Sunday, 16th August.
Semifinal 1
Spain 2-1 Sweden
Goal Scorers
Spain: Salma Paralluelo (81′), Olga Carmona (89′)
Sweden: Rebecka Blomqvist (88′)
Football-European Leagues: Season 2023-24 Kicks Off | Update 14th August; Matchday 1
Allsportspk Overview: Spain were too fierce and determined to deservedly advance to their first final of a World Cup. Only one rival stands in their way to achieve the greatest award in the Sport. Though Spain emerged winner by 2 – 1 margin, all three goals were scored in the last minutes of the game. Spain mostly controlled the game with 63% possession. Their number of shots were nearly twice of higher ranked Sweden.
Paralleulo did not start once again, but like the quarterfinal, justified her late entry by giving Spain lead in 81st minute through a class action. Blomqvist equalized for Sweden in 88th minute but Carmona, who got the highest rating in the match, fired the winner in the very next minute. Full to capacity Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand witnessed an enthralling contest.
England play Australia in the second semifinal to determine who plays Spain in the 9th final of the Women’s World Cup.
2023 FIFA Women World Cup: Spain; Sweden; England & Australia Into Semi’s
The 2023 tournament being held in Australia / New Zealand, is the first FIFA Women’s World Cup to be hosted in the southern hemisphere. It is also first FIFA Women World Cup to be hosted by two countries. The tournament started on 20th July and will end after the Final is played on 20th August at the iconic Stadium Australia, Sydney.
It entered its Semifinals stage, based on the results of the 3rd and 4th quarterfinals played today (Saturday) and the first two quarter finals held yesterday (Friday).
Semi-Finals Schedule
Tuesday, 15th August – Spain vs Sweden at Auckland, New Zealand
Wednesday, 16th August – Australia vs England at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2023 FIFA Women World Cup: Semifinals Preview
4th Quarterfinal
England 2-1 Colombia: Played at Stadium Australia, Sydney England kept up the expectations of being the favorites. Although Colombia, presently ranked 27th in the world did put up a tough competition.
3rd Quarterfinal
Australia 0 (7) – 0 (6) France: Held at Milton, Australia. France were being slightly favoured, however, seems home luck and crowd made Australia have a breath taking win with one penalty.
2nd Quarterfinal
Sweden 2 – 1 Japan. Played at Auckland, New Zealand, the match result defied the odds. Most pundits predicted a win for Japan but it turned out otherwise. Not only Sweden played brilliantly but Japan have themselves to blame for missed chances including a missed penalty. Sweden’s Amanda Ilestedt scored in 32nd minute to take her team ahead. The first half belonged to Sweden as Japan couldn’t register a shot on goal. Filippa Angeldahl did not make any mistake in scoring from a penalty award and Sweden went ahead by 2 goals in 51st minute. Japan scored a consolation goal when Honoka Hayashi netted in 87th minute.
1st Quarterfinal
Spain 2 – 1 Netherlands. Played at Wellington, New Zealand, the match was fiercely contested. Though dominated by Spain with 62% possession, the match remained goal-less till M. Caldentey scored from the spot to give Spain lead in 81st minute. However, S. van der Gragt scored for Netherlands in the first minute of injury time and the match went into extra time. S. C. Paralluelo Ayingono scored a stunning goal in 111th minute to propel Spain into the semifinals.
Football World Rankings: As On 20th July 2023 | Top Positions Men’s-Argentina & Women’s-USA
Play-off/Final Schedule
3rd Place Play-off
Will be played between the losing-semifinalists at Milton, Australia on 19th August.
The Final
The World Champion for the next 4 years will be decided on 20th August at the Stadium Australia, Sydney.
Background
FIFA Women’s World Cup was first played in 1991. Since then, it is contested one year after the FIFA Men’s World Cup every four years. Under the tournament’s current format, national teams from five continental confederations vie for 31 slots in a three year qualification phase. The host nation’s team automatically occupies the 32nd slot. The Finals are played over a period of about one month.
So far, 8 Women’s World Cups have been held which have been won by 4 teams. The USA team, current champions have won it 4 times. However, this time they have not become part of quarterfinals’ line-up. Germany with 2 titles and Norway and Japan with one each are the other Cup winners. The World Cup has so far been hosted by six nations. USA and China have been the hosts twice whereas Canada, France, Germany and Sweden have hosted it once each.
Allsports.pk will continue to bring updates after each stage of the tournament.
