The battle of first timers in the World Cup final

Australia and New Zealand are currently hosting the ongoing ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Since its inception in 1991, four countries, namely the USA, Norway, Germany, and Japan, have won the tournament, with only the USA and Germany securing multiple victories. The United States won the very first edition of the Women’s World Cup held in China in 1991 and have won three more since then, making them the country with the most women’s world cups in history.

The 2023 edition of the global competition will experience a huge change when the finalists clash in Sydney, Australia, on August 20. Both sides that have successfully made it to the final of the competition have never played in a World Cup final before. England came really close in 2015 but ended up settling for third place behind eventual winners the USA and runner up Japan.

On the other end, for Spain, it has been a remarkable achievement with a series of first time qualifications into the knockout stages of the competition. This edition of the World Cup has been a historical moment for them, with the team making it to the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final of the Women’s World Cup for the first time in their history.

England are the reigning European champions after they turned out the eventual winners in 2022, while the Spanish national team are the underdogs in terms of achievement and have constantly shown the quality in their ranks throughout the competition.

Eleven players from FC Barcelona Femeni represent both sides, with nine of them playing for La Roja and two representing the Lionesses. Aitana Bonmati, Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes, Laia Codina, Mariona Caldentey, Cata Coll, Salma Paralluelo, Ona Batlle, and Maria Perez are the Barcelona players in the Spanish squad. The English side is represented by Keira Walsh and Lucy Bronze.

In what promises to be an epic clash of titans, both teams looking to make history will be engaging in a battle of first timers to decide who will be crowned world champions. The most coveted trophy in women’s football will have a new name inscribed on it when both teams clash in the final on Sunday.