England had come close to taking the lead themselves in the 15th minute when Lauren Hemp’s shot hit the bar.
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
‘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.”
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.
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.
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
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 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 was 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 Matildassecured 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.
One person has died and others have been injured during severe turbulence on a plane from London to Singapore – with passengers saying people were “launched into the ceiling”.
Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from Heathrow was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.
“We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board,” a statement said.
“Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.”
The aircraft took off at 10.38pm UK time on Monday but had to divert to the Thai capital, landing at 3.45pm local time on Tuesday (9.45am UK time).
It was cruising at 37,000ft (11,280m) before dropping 6,000ft (1,830m) in around three minutes, according to flight tracking data.
Passenger Dzafran Azmir, 28, told Reuters news agency: “Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling.”
He added: “Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it.”
Social media video showed ambulances lined up at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport.
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Sky’s Asia correspondent Cordelia Lynch, at the airport, said it’s believed as many as 30 people were injured – with local media reporting two people may have died.
“There’s some suggestion the flight hit an air pocket before it had to make this emergency landing,” she said.
“There are some images circulating on social media that show parts of the plane inside and a lot of scattered debris.”
Singapore Airlines said it was working with Thai authorities “to provide the necessary medical assistance” and sending a team to Bangkok to provide extra help.
“Our priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew on board the aircraft”, it added.
Singapore is considered a standard-setter for the aviation industry and consistently tops airline awards.
Turbulence-related injuries are the most common type on board passenger planes, according to a 2021 study by the US National Transportation Safety Board.
It found it was responsible for more than a third of accidents between 2009 and 2018, but no aircraft damage.
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There are mechanisms to protect the regime in events like this and the Revolutionary Guard, which was founded in 1979 precisely for that purpose, will be a major player in what comes next.
In the immediate term, vice-president Mohammed Mokhber will assume control and elections will be held within 50 days.
Mokhber isn’t as close to the supreme leader as Raisi was, and won’t enjoy his standing, but he has run much of Khamenei’s finances for years and is credited with helping Iran evade some of the many sanctions levied on it.
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Drone footage of helicopter crash site
Raisi’s successor will most likely be the chosen candidate of the supreme leader and certainly another ultra-conservative hardliner – a shift back to the moderates is highly unlikely.
Likewise, we shouldn’t expect any significant change in Iran’s foreign activities or involvement with the war in Gaza. It will be business as usual, as much as possible.
However, after years of anti-government demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, this might be a moment for the protest movement to rise up and take to the streets again.
Iranian protesters have expressed “joy” over the death of President Ebrahim Raisi who was dubbed the “Butcher of Tehran”.
Speaking to Sky News’ The World With Yalda Hakim, three Iranians spoke on the condition of anonymity over fears of being tracked down by the country’s regime.
A protest leader – who is currently in hiding – suggested Sunday’s crash, that also killed Iran’s foreign minister, was “pre-planned”.
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Rescuers reach helicopter crash site
“We may not be across everything, but it’s been a known fact for a long time that Raisi was a serious contender to replace the Supreme Leader Khamenei, and perhaps some didn’t want that to happen.
“But all in all, this was very good news.
“All I can say is that the only thing that has made me truly happy over the past five years has been the news of Raisi’s death.”
Mr Raisi’s time in charge included major protests over Mahsa Amini – the woman who died after she was arrested for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.
The US said Mr Raisi had “blood on his hands” as the former hardline cleric was “a brutal participant in the repression of the Iranian people for nearly four decades”.
From the voices speaking out on The World with Yalda Hakim from inside Iran there was a sense of celebration on the eve of the funeral of their dead president but also a sense of realism.
One dead president the fall of a regime does not make. That is the bitter truth for those brave Iranians speaking out and the millions of Iranians they represent. They detest a man who presided over a brutal crackdown on protests that saw hundreds killed on the streets, and thousands incarcerated, tortured, raped or killed after their arbitrary arrest.
But there are reasons for Iranians to find some hope in the news of the president’s death.
Analysts have compared the Iranian theocratic Islamic regime to the Soviet Union in its dying days.
It is ideologically bankrupt. Its people do not believe in what it stands for anymore. It is morally bankrupt too, after the brutal repression that crushed the Women, Life and Freedom protests. But it remains powerful, with many people on its payroll and it is hard to predict how or when it falls.
Iran’s people want one thing though, and its government the opposite, and that ultimately is impossible to sustain.
Raisi had a unique skill set. He was both a zealous idealogue and an ex-judge. A man who understood how both Iran’s judiciary and presidency works. He combined a passionate belief in the Iranian revolution with an expertise in how its regime operated.
It has been said many times in the last 24 hours that Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, will find another hardliner to replace him. There are plenty more where he came from.
But no one with quite his skills and expertise. That may not be important immediately but at the moment of greatest danger in the not so distant future when Khamenei dies, it could make all the difference.
With no anointed successor, the supreme leader’s passing could usher in a period of instability and weakness for the regime. Raisi was seen as a potential successor but also a powerful stabilising force as president in that perilous hiatus, someone who could hold the ring while the new order is established and power struggles fought out.
Raisi’s death may well not mean immediate change for Iran but it could ultimately hasten its end.
A housewife, who was beaten up for taking parting in the “Woman, Life, Protest” movements, said: “The public hatred towards this regime is not a secret to anyone.
“Raisi’s death proved that the pain that this inflicted on our people will one day hit them back.
“My personal reaction to the death of Raisi… I was very happy.
“I’m not upset at all. Even though I never wish death on anyone, but this man, not only did he not do anything for our nation, but he ordered the death of countless young innocent people.”
Following news of Mr Raisi’s death, US State department spokesperson Matt Miller said the Iranian president “was involved in numerous horrific human rights abuses, including playing a key role in the extra judicial killing of thousands of political prisoners in 1988”.
“Some of the worst human rights abuses occurred during his tenure as president, especially the human rights abuses against the women and girls of Iran,” he added.
The US approach to Iran “will not change” because of Mr Raisi’s death, Mr Miller said.