To win a World Cup, a delicate equilibrium must be maintained between the manager and players. The squad has to be in a harmonious balance: between talent and tenacity, youth and experience, self-belief and self-control. A team needs momentum, good fortune, and unity. Luckily, this year’s Spain team had it all.
Despite warnings from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) that it could result in a five-year disqualification from international competitions, Spain stood firmly to represent their national football team.
Months before the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 was set to commence, many of the 15 members began to make themselves available for selection once more.
In a historic victory, Spain has emerged as the winner of the Women’s World Cup, marking its first time ever to get the title. A team that had endured all that Spain has in the past 12 months should not be able to win a World Cup. It should not have outlasted every other team in the tournament. Spain achieved the ultimate expression of succeeding despite all odds by narrowly beating England 1-0 in a tense, delicately poised final. Spain proved to be wily, effective, and resolute in their victory.
Olga Carmona’s shot shook off the goalkeeper Mary Earps and proved to be the only goal Spain would need in the final.
“I am happy for the people who are happy for us,” said Vilda, the coach.
The best expression of Spain’s superiority, though, was in almost every pass played and touch taken and decision made by the unparalleled Bonmatí, the Barcelona midfielder who decided to use the greatest stage soccer has to offer to paint her own personal masterpiece. She was elected player of the tournament after the game.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Spain’s team was undoubtedly the most skilled and talented of all the participating countries in the tournament. Their level of proficiency on the field was unmatched, and no other team could even come close to their impressive abilities. Only a single goal separated the finalists, in the end.
But far more frequent were the times when it appeared that Spain was playing if not quite a different sport, then one on a significantly higher difficulty level.
“Today we have this star and this medal and this cup, but it’s for all of them, all of those who have fought for more equality and to get us to a better place,” said Bonmati. “We love that we could contribute our part to be role models for all those girls and boys. Very emotional to have achieved something so extraordinary.”
“We’ve suffered a lot throughout the past 12 months but I think everything has a reason to be. This has made us a stronger team,” Carmona, the captain of the team said soon after the game. “And it’s really incredible. I don’t know just why Spain is the world champions, but I think that we deserved it.”
Does football have a gender problem and does it need to be addressed? YES! But that’s still not going to stop us from celebrating these athletes who are now facing new hurdles after crossing the massive one which was the World Cup Finals. NO! So let’s revel in the joy of their victory for some time before another sexual predator from the murky world of high-level football executives is exposed.
