As the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup draws to a close on Sunday, August 20, at Stadium Australia in Sydney, football fans are curious to know where the pendulum of victory will swing between England and Spain.
The epic final scheduled to kick off by 20:00 Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) or 11:00 British Summer Time (BST) between the Three Lionesses of England and the La Roja of Spain promises to be a thrilling encounter.
This final is the first for England’s women’s or men’s teams since 1966, hence, the British team is filled with unbridled joy for the feat so far, and are anxiously anticipating to add the trophy to the European cup in their cabinet already.
The Lionesses stormed past co-hosts Australia with goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo securing a 3-1 win. With this feat the Lionesses became the first senior England team – men’s or women’s – to reach a World Cup final on foreign soil.
The European champions blow the Matildas of Australia away with their best performance of the tournament so far. Prior to the semi-final game, the English team defeated Colombia 2-1 in one of the quarter-final matches, after edging out Nigeria 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out in the round of 16.
The Three Lionesses are ranked fourth in FIFA Women’s ranking, and with 17 percent chance of winning the tournament which places the team second to the ousted US women.
The La Roja of Spain on the other side is also making history, being the first time the team is reaching the tournament’s finals. The Spanish women reached the Women’s World Cup final for the first time in their history with a 2-1 win over Sweden on Tuesday, August 15.
In a frantic finale, Olga Carmona scored the winner in the 89th minute at Eden Park in Auckland to send Spain into Sunday’s final in Sydney.
The La Roja had earlier brushed aside the Netherlands 2-1 in the quarter-finals, before then, they thrashed Switzerland 5-1 in the round of 16.
The Ivana Andres-led team is rated third to winning the world cup by sport optus with 11.3 percent chance of winning.
The team boasts of Alexia Puteillas, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, Jennifer Hermoso with 46 goals, and other quality players.
The Three Lionesses of England have shown that they can roar even in the face of adversity. The team showed that the way in which they deal with adversity has become their defining characteristic at the world cup.
The team showed resilience and togetherness in their games, especially against Colombia and Australia. One of the strengths of the team is the ability to stay calm and execute plans.
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For La Roja, one of the things going for them is momentum. Besides, belated investment in women’s football is already paying dividends in the quality of players in the team.
Blessed with world-class playmakers such as Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati, the national team boasts such depth. Their ability to score also covers for their defensive lapses.
However, the question is can the power force of Spain’s attacking squad penetrate the solid defence wall of England where Lucy Bronze is the field marshal? This is the question that will be answered on Sunday.
Solomon Udoh, a fan based in Lagos said concerning the game on Sunday that the match will be won by the team with better tactical discipline and players’ fitness level, among others.
“I feel the final will be settled by some fine details, mostly tactical discipline, players’ fitness level, among others,” he said.
Imoh Edet, a football enthusiast and broadcaster with West Africa Democracy Radio, Senegal believes that it will be a very tough final between these two teams.
According to him, “The English team right from the start have shown that they are strong contenders for the cup, and that showed up when they played the Super Falcons of Nigeria.”
He went on to predict that the Three Lionesses of England would come top against La Roja of Spain because the English team have shown superior skills, great organisation skills and resilience.
“I see the English team lifting the trophy but it will not be an easy game. Who else would be better to win the championship?” he asked.
