The First Soccer Player to Win a World Cup Final: Olga Carmona-Earps scored the Only Goal in the Final
Olga Carmona scored the only goal in Spain’s win over England in the Women’s World Cup final. She found the net with a well placed shot in the 29th minute, giving Spain its first ever Women’s World Cup championship.
Carmona also scored the game-winner in the 89th minute of Spain’s 2-1 semifinal victory over Sweden, becoming the first player since Carli Lloyd in 2015 to score in a World Cup semifinal and final.
Spain had a chance to double their lead after a video review awarded them a penalty in the 68th. But Earps kept England in the game, as she did with a succession of saves late.
Spain’s victory comes despite a close call last year. Fifteen players said they were stepping away from the national team for their mental health while also calling for a more professional environment.
England won the European Championship at home last summer and that gave them confidence going into the tournament. The World Cup squad was missing three players who had knee injuries, Fran Kirby, the captain, and Beth Mead.
England coach Sarina Wiegman was the first coach to take her teams to back-to-back World Cup title matches. She was leading the Netherlands to the final when they were defeated 2-0 by the United States. She’s now 0-2.
England beat Australia 3-1 in the semifinals. Lauren James, who was the team’s top scorer with three goals and three assists, was forced to sit out two matches because of a suspension for stomping on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie to open the knockout stage.
The loss of 19-year-old Paralluelo to putellas on the bench is a tribute to the memory of her father, Olga,
Vilda started 19-year-old Paralluelo, who scored the breakthrough goal for Spain against Sweden, and the game-winner in extra time over the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.
Paralluelo’s shot hit the post as she neared the end of the first half. She was sent off in the 78th minute for a foul on Alex Greenwood, who had a cut above her eye.
Coach Jorge Vilda had a challenge in working around two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, who was still working her way back from a torn ACL last year. Putellas was on the bench for the final.
Last year, England overcame a first-half deficit to beat Spain in the Euro quarterfinals, while Spain was beaten by Italy in the semifinals.
Just after scoring, Carmona, a 23-year-old fullback for Real Madrid, lifted her jersey to show a word scrawled on her undershirt: “Merchi.” She explained that the message was a memorial to the mother of one of her best friends, who had recently died.
“Yesterday was the best and the worst day of my life,” Carmona wrote on social media. “I know that you would like to see me enjoy this historic moment, that is why I will be with my teammates, so from wherever you are know that this star is also yours, papá.”
The Spanish Football Federation said that Carmona learned the sad news after the game, but offered no details of her father’s passing. “We stand with you, Olga; you hold a significant place in the history of Spanish football,” the federation wrote.
The celebration of the win of the Spanish soccer team at the esplanade where the men’s team met the winner’s trophy
The Spanish team will revel in its victory with a public celebration on Monday in Madrid, at the same esplanade where the country toasted its victorious men’s team after the 2010 World Cup.