Spain beat England to triumph in Women's World Cup final

Spain outplayed England to win the Women's World Cup for the first time thanks to a first-half goal from captain Olga Carmona.

Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses, the reigning European champions, were second best as they were beaten 1-0 by the Spaniards in front of 75,784 fans at Stadium Australia on Sunday.

England's women were seeking to emulate the men's team who won the World Cup on home soil in 1966 but ran into a Spain side full of energy and flair.

It was a first victory in the tournament for Spain, led by manager Jorge Vilda, with a side packed with stars from Barcelona's Champions League winning side.

Spain's captain scored the the winner in the 29th minute after a scything move, slotting a crisp winner past England keeper Mary Earps.

Earps, who won the Golden Glove award for the best keeper at the tournament, later kept her side in the game when she saved a penalty from Jenni Hermoso in the 69th minute.

But England just could not find a way to get an equaliser, even with 13 minutes of time added at the end of the match.

After the game, England captain Millie Bright said: “It’s hard, but it’s football. It can go either way. They’re a fantastic team.

“First half wasn’t our best, second half we had chances – we hit the bar. Congrats to them but this is the hard part of football.

“A lot of emotion [right now] 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.”

"I'm just deflated," said England defender Lucy Bronze. "Obviously, we went into the World Cup wanting to win it and we were so close, but in the end we couldn't quite get it over the line.

"I am proud of what we have achieved but I think everybody that knows me, knows