Women’s World Cup Final: One Game to Immortality
After a month of thrilling football, it all comes down to one more game. Spain meet England in Sydney at 11am on Sunday in what will certainly be an end to end rollercoaster. The two sides have seen off plenty of strong teams and now they are 90 minutes away from footballing immortality. England aim to hold both the European Championship and World Cup, whilst Spain aim to be the first side in women’s football to hold the Under 17 World Cup, Under 20 World Cup and World Cup.
Make sure you watch Sunday’s game in a We Love Sport pub or bar anywhere across the country. We’ve been there every step of the way and we’ll hope you’ll join us for the first World Cup Final that the women’s team have reached.
Route to the final
England reached their first World Cup Final after defeating co-hosts Australia 3-1 in Sydney. The game was tight and tense but goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo sealed the game for The Lionesses. England topped their group which featured China, Haiti and Denmark, defeating all three and finishing with 9 points. This saw England face Nigeria. The Lionesses made hard work of this game, with Lauren James getting sent off. The tie went to penalties with Chloe Kelly emphatically scoring to put them through. A 2-1 win against Colombia in the quarters put them through to their game against the hosts.
Find Your Local Showing the Women’s World Cup Final
Spain reached the final after a dramatic 2-1 win against Sweden. Despite conceding an equaliser in the 88th minute, the Spanish side managed to grab a winner just 60 seconds later. Their journey started in the groups where they comfortably defeated Costa Rica and Zambia, but were humbled 4-0 by Japan in their final group game. The Spanish women’s national team won their first ever knockout game when they defeated Switzerland 5-1 in the Round of 16, and they then put Holland to the sword, defeating them 2-1.
Keys to victory
Both Spain and England possess some of the best players on the planet and it’s a battle of tactics. England are relentless, physical and nonstop. Spain on the other hand have a similar philosophy to the men’s side of old – keep the ball and break teams down slowly. The tactics both sides employ are clearly incredibly effective and these are the best two sides on the planet.
Sweden showed though, that stopping the Spain midfield can really slow down the entire team and nullify them. The energy of England’s midfield will likely do just that. The winner of the 2022 Ballon d’Or, Alexis Putellas, will be aiming to add another trophy to her fantastic collection and the world’s best player will undoubtedly have a say in Sunday’s match up. Salma Paralluelo has taken the tournament by storm too. She has won 3 international underage tournaments and will be looking to achieve legend status already as she’s already scored two of the biggest goals in history!
For England, it comes down to their defensive prowess. The team have shown excellent resiliency in the face of a lot of adversity. Stars like Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby missed the tournament through injury, which probably made The Lionesses think they’re cursed. Lauren James’ red card made the round of 16 a much tougher task than it needed to be, but they got over the line. Sarina Wiegman has brought a lot of grit into this national side and it showed in the EURO’s last year and is showing now. Grit and hard work will be what defeats this classy Spanish side, with Millie Bright leading a defensively strong unit.
Find Your Local Showing the Women’s World Cup Final
Prediction
You’d be a fool to put money on this game, or to put your name to a prediction. That’s why we won’t. This final is as 50/50 as it possibly could get. Two sides excellent at a plethora of different things and both of these sides could go back to Europe as worthy World Champions.
We Love Sport x Women’s World Cup
Our partnership with HerGameToo has really helped us flourish when it comes to the women’s game. As the Women’s World Cup has taken over the nation, we’re proud to have supported the tournament in We Love Sport pubs and bars. No matter how the game goes Sunday, we’re looking forward to continuing our longstanding relationship and promoting the women’s game even further.
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