Spain beat European champions England 1-0 to become the Women’s World Cup champions in the final at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Sunday.
Captain Olga Carmona fired Spain ahead in the 29th minute, coolly finishing in the right-hand corner after a rapid counter-attack.
England’s best chance came from Lauren Hemp, who rattled the crossbar with a powerful strike as both teams bid to win the World Cup for the first time.
In front of a crowd of nearly 76,000 at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Spain were the more accomplished side and had more chances, including missing a second-half penalty
The game was briefly interrupted by a fan running on the pitch wearing a ‘Free Ukraine’ T-shirt before being tackled by security.
In front of Spain’s Queen Letizia, defender Carmona scored what turned out to be the winner, rampaging from left-back to thrash the ball in low and hard on 29 minutes.
With 20 minutes left, Spain were awarded a penalty when VAR was called into action and, after a long review, Keira Walsh was judged to have handled the ball in the box.
Jennifer Hermoso stepped up but her penalty was weak and Earps saved comfortably to keep England just about alive.
Spain are the fifth team to lift the World Cup since the tournament began in 1991, joining outgoing champions the United States, Germany, Norway and Japan.
