Spain Triumphed Over England in the Women’s World Cup, but at What Cost?

In the end, the bad guys always win, don’t they? That is perhaps the conclusion to draw from the 2023 women’s World Cup final, after Spain—a team actively in revolt against itself, its manager, and its federation—lifted the country’s first international trophy in women’s soccer. It was an incredible victory, especially considering the team had never won a knockout match at an international tournament. Spain has always possessed extreme levels of talent despite its previous failings, and, at last, that talent has paid off on the biggest possible stage.

Both Spain and England were familiar with each other ahead of this match, which brought a slightly muted element to a World Cup final that represented the first all-European title game since 2003. England’s quarterfinal win against Spain last year set the Lionesses on the path to winning the Euros, while a 0-0 draw a few months earlier in the Arnold Clark Cup showed the first inklings of how well organized this England team could be under manager Sarina Wiegman.

This time, though, Spain and head coach Jorge Vilda handed Wiegman just her second defeat as England manager, and consequently her second defeat in a World Cup final. (Wiegman led the Netherlands to the title match in the 2019 tournament; the team lost to the United States.) She became the first manager to reach two World Cup finals with different countries, but she still finds herself empty-handed. In her place, a manager who has been widely criticized as part of Spain’s controversy is holding the trophy.

Vilda’s role in this World Cup has raised a fascinating moral dilemma. Throughout the tournament, the Spanish players made it abundantly clear that their relationship with him had deteriorated. Their conflict with the federation and Vilda’s role in that dispute have been a central part of Spain’s journey over the past month. Back in September 2022, 15 players said they were not willing to play for the national team until the situation with both the manager and the federation improved. Come August, just three of those players were on the World Cup–winning side.

Prior to the final, a journalist asked Vilda whether he would apologize for his role in causing some of the world’s best players to remain at home. Back in Barcelona, Mapi León and Patri Guijarro spent the past couple of weeks in preseason training for their club. In a different timeline, there is no doubt they would have been starting this final. Vilda answered that question by deflecting, saying that the players currently on the team wanted to prove that they were the best in the world. The fact that they lifted the trophy shows that they are, but Spain’s victory leaves a bitter taste in many people’s mouths. Even though many of the Spanish players in this tournament were unhappy with the team’s staff and the federation, they chose to play for this team—for this manager—when push came to shove. And they chose to work together to win this trophy.

The match itself was flatter than the opening 10 minutes would have suggested. Early on, the way that Spain and England exchanged possession demonstrated that both of these sides’ technical abilities were worthy of the final. But as time went on, Spain began to take control of the midfield, and England’s initial confidence looked like it was wavering.

Spain had never won a knockout game ahead of this World Cup, but England was also playing in its first World Cup final. Although England was more familiar with the magnitude of late-tournament matches, there were still times when the team looked overawed. When Lucy Bronze lost the ball high up the pitch, leading Olga Carmona to score the only goal of the game, it was a frustrating moment for an England team that was looking to its most experienced player to lead the way.

Bronze has repeatedly said that winning trophies with England has been her main focus, but sometimes the occasion can get to players. England needed players like Bronze to show up, but decisive moments like these can be overwhelming. England also wasn’t helped by having absentees of its own, albeit for far different reasons than Spain.

Who knows whether Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby, or Beth Mead would have made a significant difference on Sunday, but all three started in the Euros final, and none were able to be selected for the World Cup squad. The injuries that impacted this England team had been handled impressively to reach the final, but perhaps as a result, everyone had forgotten exactly what the team lost.

Millie Bright and Mary Earps stepped up to take on the captaincy and vice-captaincy roles, respectively, but there was a sense that Wiegman never found her dream attacking combination without Mead and Kirby. The 3-5-2 that began the game, featuring Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp, was altered when England found itself down 1-0 at halftime. In its place was a 4-3-3 that never really got going, as Hemp was left to fend for herself up front, with Chloe Kelly and Lauren James only vaguely alongside her. The latter two were pushed back so much that the formation resembled more of a 4-5-1.

In another world, Wiegman’s halftime substitutions would be hailed as a genius way to change the game’s dynamic, but in this reality, those subs made England look more unsettled. The Lionesses reached the final by finding a way to win no matter the situation, but they didn’t push for much here. As the clock ticked down, it seemed less and less like they would score. Even when Earps saved Jenni Hermoso’s penalty, England could not rally.

The clock continued ticking, and despite Beth England’s introduction and a switch to Bright up front, Wiegman’s side created little. Spain was put under far less stress than it experienced in the quarterfinal and semifinals, in both of which it conceded late goals. Spain didn’t necessarily deserve to win this match based on how it played. Rather, England failed to make much of a case for itself.

Spain’s lifting of the trophy was possibly the most fitting way for this tournament to end. Over the past couple of weeks, it has been clear that the women’s game is constantly being rewritten. This was the first women’s World Cup final to not involve either the U.S. or Germany. For a long time, there has been a well-established elite group in the women’s game. It is no longer guaranteed that any nation will be part of that club.

Both Spain and England will feel that there is more to come from them. So will teams that did not make the final. Whether that is Sweden or Australia, which were both knocked out in the semifinals, or teams like France and the Netherlands, who showed that they can threaten, the intensity around the World Cup is only increasing.

For now, though, Spain has to face an intriguing reckoning. The team won the World Cup, the biggest trophy in global soccer, in a situation that was clearly uncomfortable for everyone involved. There is a high chance that Vilda will have awards bestowed upon him. There is a negligible chance he will lose his job. What does that mean for Spanish soccer? Spain won on Sunday, and that victory will justifiably propel interest in women’s soccer back home. But that does not mean there is no cost, further down the line, to the means used to achieve that success. The problems Spain’s players raised in the past will not simply go away. And just because there is something shiny in front of them, that does not mean they, or any of us, should let it be a distraction.

The 2023 World Cup closes out as the best-attended women’s World Cup of all time. It was watched by more people around the world than ever before. And it was won by a team that publicly said it felt let down by its own federation. These issues will continue to circle around the women’s game. The most important lesson we can take from this World Cup is to not let a win cover up the sport’s problems.