Winners And Losers As England Suffer Agonizing WWC Final Loss
Written by Olaleye Oluwadamilola
Who would have given Spain a shot at the FIFA WWC at the beginning of the tournament owing to their off-field dissent and a fractured relationship with head-coach Jorge Vilda? many could have thought that the tantrums thrown by players and the visible distance relationship between the manager and players will put the team in turmoil and derail them from their ultimate game albeit they decided to put that all aside and give their all for themselves, fans, family and ultimately, the country’s pride.
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It was a bitter ending for England who haven’t lost a game in the tournament until today but manager, Sarina Wiegman has said that England can be ‘very proud’ and have no regrets after devastating World Cup final loss to Spain but admits their decisions on the day didn’t work and opponents ‘were a little better.
With the crown given to Spain, there were individual winners and losers if we want to make use of the word, standout performers who were recognized during the trophy and award ceremony, a little consolation to a very tough journey.
Lioness first choice goalkeeper, Mary Earps has been awarded the Golden Glove at the 2023 World Cup for her performances for England with the Manchester United No 1 notably producing a typically unflappable display as England were defeated by Spain in Sunday’s final, making a number of strong saves to keep England in the game as they went behind in the first half.
Spain’s Aitana Bonmati, who scored three times and laid on two assists during the tournament, took home the adidas Golden Ball Award for the tournament’s best player following a string of exceptional displays at the heart of La Roja’s midfield as they lifted the trophy.
Despite exiting the competition at the quarter-final stage, Japan dynamo Hinata Miyazawa scored an unmatched five goals from as many games to scoop the adidas Golden Boot Award.
Salma Paralluelo will add to her winners’ medal with the FIFA Best Young Player Award after scoring crucial goals in the both the quarter-finals and semi-finals while Japan have been awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award after finishing first in the Fair Play contest.
Jennifer Hermoso scoops the adidas Silver Ball Award, Amanda Ilestedt (Sweden) winner of adidas Bronze Ball Award, adidas Silver Boot Award was given to Kadidiatou Diani of France, adidas Bronze Boot Award then goes to Germany’s captain Alexandra Popp.
FIFA Best Young Player Award goes deservedly to Spain’s Salma Paralluelo, FIFA Fair Play Award presented by McDonald’s to Japan as all decided by FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG).
Meanwhile…
FIFA have confirmed England Women’s goalkeeper Mary Earps was on her line for her penalty save against Spain in the World Cup final, which the Lionesses went on to lose 1-0 after the kick was awarded for a handball which was subjected to a VAR check, but Earps ensured the deficit was not increased with a solid save to her left.
A screenshot shared on Twitter from BBC Sport’s coverage of the game appears to show Earps was off her line when the penalty was taken, a situation that could have resulted in the penalty being re-taken, giving Spain another chance to double their lead.
Read Also – Top 10 All-Time Moments Of FIFA Women’s World Cup
However, FIFA have now confirmed that her positioning was checked by VAR and found that her foot was on the line when the penalty was taken.
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