A narrow 1-0 victory over England was enough for Spain to deservedly win the Women's World Cup for the first time.

England had started the brighter with Lauren Hemp having three chances in the first 20 minutes, the best of which was a twenty yard effort which crashed against the crossbar.

But overall England failed to be at their fluent best and Spain should have clinched the game in the 69th minute bit Marry Earp saved the penalty from Jennifer Hermoso after a lengthy VAR delay.

Once Spain took the lead they played patient possession football and always looked dangerous on the break, particularly in the latter stages as the Lionesses pushed players forward looking for the leveller.

The only goal of the game came on 29 minutes after Lucy Bronze had lost possession in midfield. England failed to regroup and Spain attacked down the wing for captain Redondo to fire a cross shot into the far corner.

Spain had come close before this through the goalscorer and once they had the lead England then struggled to retain possession and create many chances. Chloe Kelly provided an inviting cross for Hemp to shoot wide then substitute Lauren James clipped the outside of the post from an acute angle.

Spain frustrated England by making breaking the game up with stoppages for injury. This plus the penalty and a head injury to Alex Greenwood meant we had 13 minutes of added time in which Aitana Bonmati and Hermoso should have sealed the victory as the Lionesses resulted in the long ball to take the game into extra time.

England coach Sarina Wiegman is the first to have led two different nations to the FIFA Women's World Cup final and has lost both times

Full Time

Spain: 1 (Carmona 29)

England: 0

Att: 75,784

Venue: Sydney Football Stadium