Women’s World Cup: Heartbreak for England as Lionesses miss out on final glory after defeat to Spain
England’s Lionesses have missed out on glory at the Women’s World Cup after being beaten 1-0 by Spain.
Closely missing out on repeating their success at Euros 2022, Sarina Wiegman’s team fought to the very end at a packed-out Stadium Australia in Sydney.
But a first-half goal by Spain’s Olga Carmona, who shot across Mary Earps into the far corner in the 28th minute, broke England’s hearts.
It is Spain’s first major international trophy and makes them the first European team to win the Women’s World Cup since Germany in 2007.
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England had come close to taking the lead themselves in the 15th minute when Lauren Hemp’s shot hit the bar.
A shot from England’s Lauren Hemp, right, hits the crossbar. Pic: AP
Spain’s goal by Olga Carmona
Two changes at half-time saw Lauren James and Chloe Kelly replace Rachel Daly and Alessia Russo for the Lionesses, as they tried to turn the game around.
Spain’s Jennifer Hermoso then missed a chance to double her side’s lead from a penalty – granted after a handball by Keira Walsh – after a heroic save by Earps, who dived to her left to save in the 69th minute.
James then forced a save from Spain’s goalkeeper from a tight angle a few minutes later, as England pushed for an equaliser.
Earps even went up to attack a corner in the dying moments for England.
But sadly, it wasn’t to be, as the Lionesses fell short at the final hurdle.
Earps saved a Spanish penalty. Pic: AP
Play was also briefly disrupted during the first half after a protester entered the pitch before an England free kick. The man was swiftly removed by stewards.
A protester stormed the pitch during the first half of the match
‘Absolutely heartbroken’
Captain Millie Bright said the team were “absolutely heartbroken” at the defeat.
“We can say hand on heart we gave everything. Sometimes football goes for you, sometimes it goes against you,” she said.
Complimenting Spain as a “fantastic team” she said: “A lot of emotion… but I’m really proud of the team. To come this far, to play in the World Cup final, not many get to do that.
“This is not it for us, we’ll bounce back.”
(L-R) Millie Bright and Alex Greenwood
Lauren James
Serena Wiegman said that Spain were “a little better” than England today, adding that the team are “feeling bad” in the aftermath of the loss.
She said she had no regrets despite the defeat.
“We gave it everything we could. We tried different tactics. You have to give credit to Spain. Over the tournament they played the best football, so congratulations to Spain,” she said.
Bethany England and Sarina Wiegman
The game will still go down in history as the first time the Lionesses have reached the final of the tournament.
It is also only the third time Spain have qualified for the World Cup, only having won a single match in the tournament until this year.
But La Roja are now champions of the world, with a victory which will push forward the women’s game in Europe.
Spain celebrate their World Cup win
After the game, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted on Twitter to say everyone was “incredibly proud” of the team despite the loss.
Prince William said the Lionesses had done the nation proud after watching the match alongside the Princess of Wales and Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at home in Sandringham, Norfolk, Kensington Palace said.
The royal had faced criticism for not attending the game in person.
Sadness in Sydney for England – as Spain turn disharmony into delirium
This isn’t how it was meant to end for England.
Hope turned to heartbreak. There was to be no addition to the trophy cabinet for the European champions a year on from Wembley glory. Just sadness in Sydney.
Spain’s is the new name etched on the trophy. At only their third women’s World Cup, they are champions.
They’ve turned disharmony into delirium – a campaign that looked like it was going to be derailed by 15 players quitting international duty last September has ended with the biggest prize of them all.
Only three of the rebel group decided to return to the squad following protests against their treatment by the Spanish Federation.
It is a reminder this World Cup has been surrounded by concerns about the status of players within national football associations.
Even the Lionesses head home from this tournament not only without the trophy, but into talks with the Football Association about the bonuses they believe they’re owed.
They will see this as a missed opportunity as well to conquer the world for the first time, as all the former champions had been toppled before the semi-finals.
The Lionesses were the favourites, but ultimately Spain were supreme in the final.
Sarina Wiegman’s side were reliant on Mary Earps producing several huge saves, including a penalty in the second half that could have seen Spain double their lead.
Even taking that slender 1-0 deficit into the final 20 minutes, England couldn’t find a way to goal.
Now they’ll regroup.
Many of these players will be trying to qualify through the Nations League for the Paris Olympics, where they’ll compete as part of a British team next year.
Then there’s the defence of their Euros title in 2025 before they can set their sights on trying to finally win the World Cup in 2027.
Disappointment after undefeated run to final
England were undefeated in the tournament before today’s game, but the journey to the final wasn’t without its challenges.
Before the World Cup even began, captain Leah Williamson and striker Beth Mead were ruled out of playing in the tournament due to ACL injuries.
The first two games saw the team secure 1-0 victories against Haiti and Denmark, followed by a whopping 6-1 win over China to finish top of Group D.
But the Lionesses were quickly pushed to their limits when coming up against Nigeria.
A red card handed to Lauren James – which was later followed by a two-game suspension – meant the team were down to 10 players in the last 16 match.
The game went down to a nail-biting penalty shoot-out, before a 4-2 win saw them progress into the quarter-finals against Columbia.
After falling behind to a goal from Leicy Santos, goals from Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo booked them a slot in the semi-finals against co-hosts Australia.
A stunning 3-1 win against the Matildas secured the Lionesses’ spot in the final against Spain, which even without the win felt like a “fairytale” to Weigman, who also took the Netherlands to the final of the tournament in 2019.
Last time England faced Spain – in the 2022 Euro quarter-finals – they won 2-1.
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:
UK’s ‘tough choices’
‘Man-made starvation’ in Gaza
Man ‘scarred’ by Trump max security prison
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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