| | Victoria Hernandez | Community Engagement Producer @ladyviii | | | | |
A winner has been crowned. |
After a month of play Down Under, Spain have walked away victorious, beating England 1-0 on Sunday at Stadium Australia in Sydney to win their first World Cup title. |
La Roja scored its lone goal in the 29th minute with a sharp kick from Olga Carmona that landed in the right corner of the net. After 13 minutes of extra time, players raised their arms in victory and hugged each other with tears streaming down their faces. |
They are celebrating the championship a little less than a year after 15 players wrote letters of resignation from Spain's national team, decrying the leadership of head coach Jorge Vilda. Three of those players ended up playing in the World Cup as Vilda retained his position. |
England had several chances to equalize. A shot in the 54th minute from Lauren Hemp was just wide left. Forward Lauren James came on the pitch as a second-half substitution after serving a two-game suspension and provided a boost for the Three Lionesses, but it wasn't enough. |
Congratulations not only to the Spanish national team, but to all you fans who survived late nights and early mornings to witness history. |
For Spain's lone goal of their victory, defender Olga Carmona sprinted past forward Mariona Caldentey to gain position on the pitch. Caldentey sent a pass to Carmona, who took a dribble at the left corner of the box and shot a strike to score in the right corner of the net. |
Aitana Bonmati came into this World Cup wanting to prove she's the best player in the world. |
Bonmati was the deserving winner of the Golden Ball as the best player at this World Cup. The midfielder had three goals and two assists, but her contributions to Spain's World Cup title run were immeasurable. She anchored a midfield that produced gorgeous passes and connecting play, and her defense was filthy. |
"I'm so proud," Bonmati said on the Fox broadcast after the game. "We deserve it. We deserve it. |
"We have been working for years for this moment." |
Spain also had the best young player of the tournament in Salma Paralluelo, who had goals in the quarterfinals and semifinals. |
Meanwhile, the Golden Boot, awarded each World Cup to the tournament's top scorer went to Japan's Hinata Miyazawa. She five goals before Japan was eliminated in the quarterfinals. |
England's Mary Earps, who saved a penalty kick in the final, was named the tournament's best goalkeeper. Some on social media were even referring to Earps as "Mary, Queen of Saves." |
The United States were eliminated in the Round of 16, their earliest World Cup exit in history. They were seeking a historic third-straight title. |
Manager Vlatko Andonovski resigned shortly after the match where Sweden won in penalty kicks. He had been at the helm of the USWNT for four years. Assistant coach Twila Kilgore was named interim head coach. | | | | Spain wins first World Cup title 1-0 over England. Aitana Bonmati wins golden ball. An early Olga Carmona goal sealed the World Cup title for Spain. | | | | For much of the women's game's infancy, the USWNT has been soccer's equivalent of an eclipse blocking out the sun. | | | | The Inter Miami vs. Nashville final score was 1-1 (10-9) after a penalty shootout. Miami was led by a Lionel Messi goal in the first half. | | | | Two new uplifting baseball films – "The Hill" and "I Can" are set to release and give audiences something to cheer for. | | | | "Sixth grade is when we tell kids to start getting going," says Jerome Williams, who played for Georgetown and went on to the NBA. | | | | | | | Sign up for the news you want | Exclusive newsletters are part of your subscription, don't miss out! We're always working to add benefits for subscribers like you. | | | | | | |
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