Spain’s goalscoring hero Olga Carmona hailed her “unstoppable” side as it beat England 1-0 to win the Women’s World Cup for the first time on Sunday in Sydney.
Carmona drilled home after 29 minutes to put La Roja ahead and it held onto its lead to triumph.
“It was a really tough game, we knew it would be tricky, England has a great team, but I think it was our game,” Carmona told Spanish national broadcasters La 1.
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“We had the feeling we were going to do it, and this is unstoppable, the truth is I don’t know what to tell you.”
Carmona celebrated her goal by revealing a message on an undershirt, reading “Merchi”.
The 23-year-old said it was a tribute for a friend whose mother had passed away.
“I want to say this victory is for one of my best friend’s mother, who died recently, I celebrated the goal with that shirt,” added Carmona.
Spain coach Jorge Vilda said he was extremely proud of his team.
Vilda was heavily criticised in the build-up to and during the tournament for his tense relationship with a number of players who quit the national team in protest against the coach and the Spanish football federation.
Three of the 15 protesting players returned for the tournament -- Aitana Bonmati, Ona Batlle and Mariona Caldentey, all of whom started in the final.
Olga Carmona of Spain celebrates after scoring her team’s first goal during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Final match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia | Photo Credit: Getty Images
“It’s difficult to describe, immense joy, I’m so proud of this team,” said Vilda.
“I’m so happy for everyone watching us right now, we’ve made them happy too. We’re champions of the world.”
The coach said the celebrations would run on for a long time.
“Now we have to celebrate, I can only imagine how Spain is, we’re celebrating here and we don’t know when it will end.”
“I don’t have any words. At this moment, it’s unbelievable. I’m so glad because we had a great tournament. We suffered but also we enjoyed it. We deserve it.”
Bonmati capped a phenomenal World Cup for Spain and herself by being named player-of-the-tournament.
She dedicated the award to the women who had helped pave the way in Spanish football.
“I want to remember all the women that have been pushing and fighting throughout all the years, because we have better conditions,” she told Australian broadcaster Channel Seven.
“This is for them and from them.”
Bonmati also praised her teammates for their mental strength after the disrupted preparations.
“Everyone knew their goal at the beginning of the preparation of the tournament,” she said.
“Everyone is competitive. Everyone has strong mentally to win. We have been working a lot of years for this moment. We have it. We have the trophy.”
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