The FIFA Women’s World Cup comes to an end this Sunday, and fans are promised a captivating final match between Spain and the Lionesses of England, as a first-time winner is guaranteed at the tournament.
La Roja and England will both be playing in the final of the tournament for the first time ever as they become the 9th and 10th different World Cup finalists in the tournament’s history.
The two football powerhouses will ensure that a European side lifts the title for the first time since 2007, when Germany last won it in China, and the 2023 Women’s World Cup final will also feature an all-European affair for just the third time in the competition’s nine-tournament history.
Led by the brilliant Sarina Weigman, who becomes the fourth coach to reach two women’s World Cup finals and also the first coach to lead two different nations to a men’s or women’s World Cup final, the Lionesses will welcome the return of 21-year-old maestro Lauren James after she missed their last two games due to suspension.
Key facts
– Either Spain or England could join Germany as the only teams to have won the World Cup in both the men’s and women’s tournament.
– The two teams ensured there would be two first-time finalists in the Women’s World Cup final for the first time since 1991.
– The Lionesses of England can become the second nation to win the World Cup as reigning European champions, also alongside Germany.
– Wiegman at 53 years 298 days, could become the oldest coach to win the Women’s World Cup.
– If Spain’s Salma Paralluelo, who is the first teenager to score multiple goals in the knockout stage at a single World Cup, gets a goal in the final, she will become the youngest goalscorer in the final of the Women’s World Cup at 19 years 280 days.
Head-to-Head
The two teams have not been strangers to each other over the years, having met on 16 previous occasions. England, however, have the upper hand with seven wins, while Spain have won three games and the other six meetings have ended in a draw.
Albeit their frequent clashes on the pitch, this will be the first World Cup meeting between the sides, although they met in qualifying rounds for the 1995 and 2011 tournaments.
Their last competitive meeting was at the UEFA Women’s European Championship in 2022, which England won 2-1 in the quarterfinals thanks to two goals from Ella Toone and Georgia Stanway cancelling out Esther Gonzalez’s goal for Spain.
Players to Watch out for
Spain
Jennifer Hermoso: The 33-year-old is Spain’s all-time leading scorer, and she has helped La Roja with three goals and two assists at the Mundial so far.
Having been kept quiet since her last goal against Switzerland in the round of 16, Hermoso would be hungry to get back on the scoresheet to help Spain clinch the title.
Salma Paralluelo: At 19, the teenager has made a case for herself as the best young player at the tournament, having scored back-to-back goals in the knockout phase.
Her strike against the Netherlands was the winning goal that helped them reach the last four, and her opener against Sweden in the semi-finals strengthened them to get this far.
England
Alessia Russo: The Arsenal forward started the tournament badly, but she has since picked herself up and currently has three goals in her first World Cup.
She scored in both the last eight and last four, and Russo could well join an exclusive list of players to find the back of the net in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals of a single Women’s World Cup, alongside the United States duo of Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd, who did it in 2011 and 2015, respectively.
Lauren James: James was England’s “X-factor” in the opening stages of the tournament, but she has been absent in their last two games after her red card against Nigeria in the round of 16.
The 21-year-old has the most goal contributions of any member of the Lionesses team at the Mundial with three goals and three assists, and she will be looking to up that number and announce her return in a big way in the final.
The #FIFAWWC comes to an end this weekend after about four weeks of breathtaking action.
Watch the two matches LIVE on #Afrosport ???? Channel 730 on Free TV or stream for FREE via https://t.co/GWrcUMfLC3#BeyondGreatness pic.twitter.com/HGgNYMD3dq
— AfroSport (@AfroSportTV) August 18, 2023
When and Where is the Match taken place?
The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 final will kick off at 11am WAT on Sunday, August 20 at the 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia in Sydney.
How to watch/stream Women’s World Cup 2023 final?
You can watch the encounter on Nigeria’s first 24-hour free-to-Air (FTA) national sports channel, Afrosport TV.
The Live Studio opens at 10 a.m. WAT, and you can watch Afrosport on channel 730 on Free TV or stream online for free via VIDIVU.
Afrosport TV’s affiliate broadcast partners across Nigeria—TVC Entertainment, Silverbird TV, NTA Sports, OSBC, WazobiaMax, CRBC Calabar, AKBC Akwa Ibom, SuperScreen, Kwara TV, BCA Umuahia, and DBS Asaba—will also show the match live.
YOU CAN WATCH THE FINAL OF THE FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP 2023 LIVE ON AFROSPORT ON FREE TV CHANNEL 730 OR STREAM FOR FREE ON VIDIVU FROM 10AM WAT.
