England's hopes of getting their hands on the Women's World Cup trophy have been crushed following Spain's victory in today's final held in Australia. While it wasn't meant to be this year, England fans will be hoping that the next tournament will give the Lionesses another chance to bring it home.
The FIFA Women's World Cup is held once every four years, which means the next tournament will not take place until the year 2027. The women's tournament has been held one year after the men's FIFA World Cup since it started in 1991, when China became the first host nation.
This year, Australia and New Zealand co-hosted the event, with matches split between the two countries ahead of the final kicking off in Sydney on Sunday night. Millions of England fans tuned in to cheer on the Lionesses from 11am this morning, with big screens put up across the country to bring fans together.
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The host nation for the 2027 World Cup, which will be the tenth edition, has not yet been decided - but it could be much much closer to home. A total of four bids are expected to be submitted to the deciding panel - including a joint bid from three of the UK's neighbours in Europe.
The expressions of interest from the four potential hosts were confirmed by FIFA back in April. They are:
- Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands
- South Africa
- Brazil
- Mexico and the United States
Member associations will officially submit their bids in December, but the winning nation will not be decided until May next year, so we have a while to wait before we know where the action will be taking place. The tournament will involve 32 national teams in total, including that of the host nation.
The United States holds the record for the most wins - having won four of the nine tournaments so far. Germany has won the Cup twice, and Spain now joins Japan and Norway who have one once.
China and the United States have each hosted the tournament twice so far. Other nations that have hosted the event before include Canada, France, Germany and Sweden.
