Everything you should know about Spain before they face the Lionesses in the World Cup final
For the first time in women’s footballing history England are through to the World Cup final.
After beating co-hosts Australia 3-1 on Wednesday, they will play Spain in the final this weekend.
La Roja were the first team to secure their place in the last two – but how much of a threat are they to the Lionesses?
Here Sky News looks at everything you need to know.
Route to the final
Spain were the clear favourites to win their group – having been drawn with Costa Rica, Zambia and Japan.
They began their Group C campaign with solid 3-0 and 5-0 wins against Costa Rica and Zambia respectively.
But their straight run of wins came crashing down in their final fixture, which they lost 4-0 to Japan.
Spain’s Olga Carmona (right) during Spain’s Group C match against Japan
It saw them fall to second place – but still allowed them to qualify and redeem themselves in the second round. That game against Switzerland was much more promising with goals from Aitana Bonmati, Jenni Hermoso and Alba Redondo and a 5-1 victory.
Next came a 2-1 win against the Netherlands, which had to go to extra time after they equalised with just minutes to go. Spain went through when left-back Olga Carmona stepped up with a shot off the bar to regain the lead.
La Roja’s semi-final against Sweden followed a similar pattern – but left fans on the edge of their seats until the final 15 minutes when all three goals came in quick succession.
Rising star Salma Paralluelo was the first to hit the back of the net – before an equaliser from Sweden’s Blomqvist. Again Carmona saved the day to put Spain ahead 2-1, scoring from a corner.
Spain celebrate their place in the final after beating Sweden
Pre-World Cup mutiny
Spain’s biggest weakness predates the tournament altogether – but could still help England to their first World Cup win.
In late 2022 15 Spanish players declared themselves unavailable for selection over claims coach Jorge Vilda and his backroom team had become unconcerned with their emotional and physical wellbeing.
Spain coach Jorge Vilda during their semi-final match against Sweden
The Spanish federation (RFEF) decided to back Vilda, who took over in 2015 after his predecessor Ignacio Quereda failed to get Spain through the group stages of the World Cup in Canada.
Eventually three players – Aitana Bonmati, Ona Batlle and Mariona Caldentey – returned and were picked for Vilda’s World Cup squad.
But when Spain suffered their unexpected and humiliating defeat against Japan in the group stage, fans were left wondering whether the hangover from the mass walk-out was to blame.
Ones to watch
In normal circumstances, Spain’s star player Alexia Putellas would usually pose the biggest threat.
The 29-year-old Barcelona captain has won back-to-back Ballon d’Ors and no less than seven league titles, seven Copas de la Reinas, and two UEFA Champions League trophies for her club.
Alexia Putellas
But after she tore a ligament ahead of last year’s Euros, questions remain on how strong she’ll prove to be in the final.
She’s only been able to start two of Spain’s World Cup games so far.
Instead the team have been relying on her Barcelona teammate Bonmati – who has netted three of Spain’s 17 goals.
Nineteen-year-old Salma Paralluelo is another key player – having scored in two games this tournament.
Salma Paralluelo
Vilda has only played her as a second-half substitute so far, but if Putellas isn’t feeling strong enough on the day – he might switch her to the starting line.
Spain’s goalkeeper Cata Coll is relatively inexperienced but is well supported by defenders Carmona and Battle.
Record so far
This is only the third time Spain have qualified for the World Cup.
But since they first made an appearance in 2015 they’ve made quick progress.
Most of their success has still been at the Euros, however, having reached the quarter finals last year. By contrast until this year they’d only ever won a single World Cup match.
The national team is currently ranked sixth in the world, behind rivals England in fourth.
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At club level, their main domestic league – Liga F – is now fully professional and with World Cup victories last year for the under-17 and under-20 squads, investment and belief in the women’s game there is strong.
Last time they faced England – in the 2022 Euro quarter finals – they lost 2-1.
They’ve met the Lionesses 16 times since they first came face-to-face in 1993 – and have only won three games, compared to England’s seven. They’ve drawn on six occasions.
World
‘Almost like a game of target practice’: British surgeon says IDF shooting Gazans at aid points
A British surgeon who recently returned from Gaza has told Sky News that there is “profound malnutrition” among the population – and claims IDF soldiers are shooting civilians at aid points “like a game of target practice”.
Dr Nick Maynard spent four weeks working inside Nasser Hospital, where a lack of food has left medics struggling to treat children and toddlers.
The conditions inside the hospital, in the south of the Strip, have been documented in a Sky News report.
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Malnourished girl: ‘The war changed me’
Dr Maynard told The World with Yalda Hakim: “I met several doctors who had cartons of formula feed in their luggage – and they were all confiscated by the Israeli border guards. Nothing else got confiscated, just the formula feed.
“There were four premature babies who died during the first two weeks when I was in Nasser Hospital – and there will be many, many more deaths until the Israelis allow proper food to get in there.”
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
In other developments:
• Israel and the US have recalled their teams from Gaza ceasefire talks
• US envoy Steve Witkoff has accused Hamas “of failing to act in good faith”
• France has announced that it will recognise the state of Palestine
• An influential group of MPs is calling on the UK to “immediately” do the same
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‘Starvation used as a weapon’
‘They were shells’
Dr Nick Maynard has been going to Gaza for the past 15 years – and this is his third visit to the territory since the war began.
The British surgeon added that virtually all of the kids in the paediatric unit of Nasser Hospital are being fed with sugar water.
“They’ve got a small amount of formula feed for very small babies, but not enough,” he warned.
Dr Maynard said the lack of aid has also had a huge impact on his colleagues.
“I saw people I’d known for years and I didn’t recognise some of them,” he added. “Two colleagues had lost 20kg and 30kg respectively. They were shells, they’re all hungry.
“They’re going to work every day, then going home to their tents where they have no food.”
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Ex-Gaza aid worker claims personnel shot at Palestinians
IDF ‘shooting Gazans at aid points’
Elsewhere in the interview, Dr Maynard claimed Israeli soldiers are shooting civilians at aid points “almost like a game of target practice”.
He has operated on boys as young as 11 who had been “shot at food distribution points” run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
“They had gone to get food for their starving families and they were shot,” he said.
“I operated on one 12-year-old boy who died on the operating table because his injuries were so severe.”
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Gaza deaths increase when aid sites open
Dr Maynard continued: “What was even more distressing was the pattern of injuries that we saw, the clustering of injuries to particular body parts on certain days.
“One day they’d be coming in predominately with gunshot wounds to the head or the neck, another day to the abdomen.
“Twelve days ago, four young teenage boys came in, all of whom had been shot in the testicles and deliberately so.
“The clustering was far too obvious to be accidental, and it seemed to us like this was almost like a game of target practice.
“I would never have believed this possible unless I’d witnessed this with my own eyes.”
Palestinians brought to Nasser Hospital after being shot by Israeli forces, according to hospital officials and eyewitnesses. Pic: AP
Sky News has contacted the Israeli Defence Forces for comment.
An IDF spokesperson previously told Sky News it “strongly rejected” the accusations that its forces were instructed to deliberately shoot at civilians.
“To be clear, IDF directives prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians,” the spokesperson said, adding that the incidents are “being examined by the relevant IDF authorities”.
Read more:
Medics at Nasser hospital struggle to feed children
Gaza food situation ‘worst its ever been’
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Israeli military show aid waiting inside Gaza
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been managing the supply of aid to Gaza since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade in May.
It has four aid distribution sites, all of which are located in Israeli military zones, with journalists prohibited from entering.
More than 1,000 people have been reported killed while trying to receive food aid since the GHF took over, according to the UN.
UNRWA, its relief agency for Gaza, has heavily criticised the scheme.
Commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini said: “The so-called ‘GHF’ distribution scheme is a sadistic death trap. Snipers open fire randomly on crowds as if they are given a licence to kill.”
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Just a fraction of the aid trucks needed are making it into the enclave, the UN has said, while multiple aid groups and the World Health Organisation have warned Gazans are facing “mass starvation”.
Mr Lazzarini quoted a colleague on Thursday and said malnourished Palestinians in the Gaza “are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses”.
Eleven Thai civilians and a soldier have been killed in clashes between Thailand and Cambodia, officials have said, as long-standing tensions in disputed border areas boiled over into open conflict.
Among those killed was an eight-year-old boy, the army said in a statement.
It said most casualties occurred in Si Sa Ket province, where six people were killed after shots were fired at a fuel station.
Smoke and fire in the Kantharalak district in Thailand amid clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. Pic: Army Region 2 via Facebook/Reuters
Another 14 people have been injured in three Thai border provinces.
Thailand’s health minister Somsak Thepsuthin confirmed the fatalities to reporters, adding Cambodia’s actions, including an attack on a hospital, should be considered war crimes.
Both countries accuse one another of starting the military clashes and have downgraded their diplomatic relations in the rapidly escalating dispute. Thailand has also sealed all land border crossings with Cambodia.
Early on Thursday, a Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed targets in Cambodia, according to Thailand’s army.
“We have used air power against military targets as planned,” Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon said.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said Thai jets had dropped bombs on a road near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, saying it “strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia”.
What has caused Thailand-Cambodia border clashes?
Thai people who fled clashes take shelter in Surin province. Pic: AP
Fighting has taken place in disputed border areas
‘Civilian areas targeted’
Clashes are ongoing in at least six areas along the border, the Thai defence ministry said.
Thailand’s foreign ministry said Cambodian troops fired “heavy artillery” on a Thai military base on Thursday morning and also targeted civilian areas, including a hospital.
“The Royal Thai Government is prepared to intensify our self-defence measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailand’s sovereignty,” the ministry said in a statement.
A livestream video from Thailand’s side showed people, including children and the elderly, running from their homes and hiding in a concrete bunker as explosions sounded.
The clash happened in an area where the ancient Prasat Ta Muen Thom temple stands along the border between Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province.
Thai people who fled clashes in Surin province, northeastern Thailand. Pic: AP
‘Conflict not spreading’
Thailand’s acting premier said fighting must first stop before peace talks can start.
Caretaker Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters there had been no declaration of war and conflict was not spreading into more provinces.
He said Cambodia had fired heavy weapons into Thailand without any specific targets, resulting in civilian deaths.
Earlier on Thursday, Cambodia downgraded diplomatic relations with Thailand to their lowest level, expelled the Thai ambassador and recalled all Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok.
The day before, its neighbour withdrew its ambassador and expelled the top Cambodian diplomat in protest after five Thai soldiers were wounded in a land mine blast, one of whom lost part of a leg.
A week earlier, a land mine in a different contested area exploded and wounded three Thai soldiers, including one who lost a foot.
Relations between the southeast Asian neighbours have collapsed after a Cambodian soldier was killed in an armed confrontation in a disputed border area in May.
Read more on Sky News:
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Nationalist passions on both sides have further inflamed the situation, and Thailand’s prime minister was suspended earlier this month as an investigation was opened into possible ethics violations over her handling of the border dispute.
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Border disputes are longstanding issues that have caused periodic tensions between the countries. The most prominent and violent conflicts have been around the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice recognised Cambodian sovereignty over the temple area.
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