Spain is world champion. The best team of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand therefore comes from Europe. And that is no coincidence. The epicenter of women’s soccer has moved from the United States to the continent where the sport was invented. For more than a hundred years, men in Europe have been among the absolute best in the world, and the time has now come for traditional (male) football countries such as Spain, England and France to rule among women as well. The Germans – who already won the world title in 2003 and 2007 – are regarded as the pioneers in this respect. Although Germany surprisingly did not get further than the group stage this time.
Wiegman’s second World Cup final
For the first time, Spain and England faced each other in a women’s World Cup final. Both countries have already won the men’s world titles. Spain in 2010 and England in 1966. Now the southern European country, together with Germany, is the only one that can call itself world champion in both sexes. National coach Sarina Wiegman personally lost her second World Cup final in a row with England. That happened in an exciting final battle in which Olga Carmona scored the only goal of the match in the 29th minute. In the second half, Jenni Hermoso missed another penalty for Spain. Left back Carmona of Real Madrid showed an undershirt with the word: Merchí after her goal. As a tribute to a friend’s recently deceased mother.
Read also: a profile of Alexia Putellas, written at the start of the World Cup. About the star player who glued Spain’s group of players together.
Spain – with Aitana Bonmatí as the best player of the World Cup – has become world champion of the collective. And that despite national coach Jorge Vilda, who was resisted last year by fifteen players who demanded his departure. They could no longer agree with his stringent method. Vilda stayed and in turn gave up confidence in the group of ‘rebels’. After a mediation attempt by star footballer Alèxia Putellas, twelve players backed down from their claim. The Barça trio of Mapi León, Patri Guijarro and Clàudia Pina stood their ground, and were missing at the World Cup.
In the run-up to the World Cup, Vilda and his players concluded a kind of truce with one common goal: the world title. For more than a month, the appearance of a unity was maintained for the outside world. But after the final whistle of the American referee Tori Penso, the images made a lot clear. The players celebrated their own party on the field, and Vilda did it without them down the line with his staff.
Huge development
The Spanish world title is further proof of the enormous development that the sport has undergone since 1991. At the first World Cup in China, the top was limited to countries where football for men was not the dominant sport. China, New Zealand, the US, Japan, Taiwan, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Nigeria were among the participants, in addition to three countries with a world title in the men: Brazil, Germany and Italy.
The top prizes at the first eight World Cups were shared by only four countries. After the first world title for the US, Norway (1995), Germany (twice) and Japan (2011) became world champions in a sport that until recently only had a very limited number of professional competitions for women.
The league founded in 2007 in the United States, the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), was considered Valhalla for a long time. European players including the Dutch Daphne Koster, the Swedish Kosovare Asllani and the Spanish Verónica Boquete sought refuge there.
No future in Sweden
Two decades ago Sweden, Norway and Germany were considered in Europe the places to be for the best women. The Brazilian world star Marta defended the colors of Umea IK, Tyresö and Rosengard. Dutch internationals such as Manon Melis, Lieke Martens and Daniëlle van de Donk also played in the Swedish Damallsvenskan. Dutch captain Sherida Spitse earned her money for three years in the past at the Norwegian LSK Kvinner FK. And midfielder Jackie Groenen played at the beginning of her career with the German clubs SGS Essen and FCR Duisburg.
Also read: a look back at the World Cup in four chapters. About top football, homosexuality and feminization
The current generation of European stars is not interested in the North American professional league and no longer see a future in Sweden and Norway. In fact; American, Swedish and Norwegian top players now prefer to play at ‘new’ European top clubs in women’s football, such as FC Barcelona, VfL Wolfsburg, Olympique Lyon and Arsenal. American top striker Alex Morgan’s move from Orlando Pride to Lyon in 2017 was telling. With just under 7 million euros in income (salary and sponsorship), Morgan, now phasing out in his own country, is the best paid player ever.
75,784 spectators
However, Morgan is far from the best player on the planet. Never have been. Her compatriot Megan Rapinoe was the last American to be voted FIFA’s best footballer in the world as world champion in 2019. The last three winners – Lucy Bronze (2020) and Alèxia Putellas (2021 and 2022) – come from England and Spain respectively. They faced each other on Sunday at Sydney’s Australia Stadium, where the World Cup final was played in front of 75,784 spectators.
Bronze and Putellas are teammates at FC Barcelona, the club that again showed Europe’s best this year by winning the final of the Champions League in Eindhoven against Wolfsburg. The team can not only be seen as the best team in the world, but also formed the basis of Spain’s success with nine selection players. A base that was still very shaky in 2007 when the Barcelona team was almost dissolved after relegation. Instead, women’s football was professionalized and the hunt for the top was started.
Just like with the men in 2010 picks LaRoja now also among the women the fruits of a unique generation of players brought up at FC Barcelona. And more is coming. Barcelona striker Salma Paralluelo (19) was named the best young player of the World Cup.
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