After 62 matches in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the two European heavyweights, England and Spain, will bring the tournament to a close in what promises to be a close, high-quality final.
Both teams are featuring in their first Women’s World Cup final.
Spain and Sweden played a thriller on Tuesday in Auckland, scoring a flurry of goals in the final minutes of the second half: La Roja prevailed, 2-1. And in Sydney on Wednesday, Australia’s Sam Kerr equalised the game against England with a stunning goal in the 63rd minute. The Matilda faithful were feeling mighty good. But England soon got the goal back, and a perfectly-placed Alessia Russo’s shot in the 86th minute—off a no-look touch from Lauren Hemp—sealed the 3-1 win for the Lionesses.
Before this final, the two teams had faced off 11 times since 2007 with overall record reads 6-3-2 in favour of England, so the Lionesses have the upper hand by that metric.
England’s Lionesses also won the most recent encounter between the two sides–a close affair in a EURO 2022 quarterfinal, which went to extra time.
Spain, on the other hand, have never even played a major final at the senior level. Many of their players have represented their national team in such matches, as the country has been involved in 18 major finals in the last decade across various youth levels.
As aforementioned, this is the first Women’s World Cup final for both nations, so either outcome is set to be historic as it will see a new name etched on the tournament trophy.
On the pitch, both teams have been mightily impressive. England have conceded fewer goals and are still unbeaten, while Spain have scored more goals than anyone else and have won all but one of their six matches so far.
The key to England’s success at the Euros was continuity as they fielded the same XI for each of their matches, but they have only been able to do so once at this World Cup. Enforced absences due to injuries and suspensions have been a major factor but in the midst of all this change, they have found a new formation that just so happens to be very well-suited to defending against Spain.
Spain’s tactical identity is built around keeping the ball, so it should be no surprise that they have the highest possession average among the knockout participants at this World Cup at a whopping 70%. Although they should not expect to dominate proceedings to this degree against England, they will almost certainly have the majority of possession.
So, the Lionesses must prepare their match plan around their defensive approach. Their new 3-4-1-2 formation naturally matches up against Spain’s structure in possession from their 4-3-3 formation, which involves touchline wingers and two advanced midfielders on either side of a striker.
Key Facts:
1. The fact that both Spain and England will feature in the final for the first time brings the number of nations to have reached the FIFA Women’s World Cup showpiece to 10.
2. This will be the third all-European FIFA Women’s World Cup final, after the showpieces at the 1995 (Norway 2-0 Germany) and 2003 (Germany 2-1 Sweden – aet) editions.
3. The FIFA Women’s World Cup will be lifted by a European team for the first time since 2007, when Germany defeated Brazil 2-0 to clinch their second title following their triumph at the 2003 finals. Norway are the only other European side to have won the competition (1995).
4. Germany are the only nation to have won both the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and Spain or England will match that achievement.
5. This will be the first time since the inaugural instalment in 1991 that the FIFA Women’s World Cup final will be contested by two teams that have never previously featured in the tournament decider.
6. Three of the nine FIFA Women’s World Cup finals have required extra time, with two of those being decided by a penalty shoot-out.
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