Spain vs. England live updates: La Roja strikes first

The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup comes to a close Sunday (on FOX and the FOX Sports app) with a thrilling matchup between Spain and England at Sydney's Stadium Australia. 

Regardless of which nation wins, a first-time champion will be crowned, something that hasn't happened since 2011.

Spain leads 1-0 at halftime after an exciting, back-and-forth first half. Spain is 3-0-1 (W-D-L) all-time when leading after the first half of the Women's World Cup game, while England is 1-0-5 all-time when trailing after the first half in the Women's World Cup. 

Follow our live coverage below, featuring analysis from FOX Sports' Michael Cohen!

Spain vs. England 

48': Sure enough, Sarina Wiegman made two personnel changes and a formation change at the break. Attackers Lauren James and Chloe Kelly have replaced Alessia Russo and Rachel Daly, respectively, as England shifts to playing four in the back. Right now, the revised formation looks like a 4-4-2.

Halftime: What a clinic by Spain

Manager Jorge Vilda's team has thoroughly outclassed England through 45 minutes on both ends of the pitch. Offensively, Spain has kept 64% possession and out-passed the Lionesses by 303-178. The Spanish have a 5-2 edge in total shots, a 2-0 edge in big chances and teenage sensation Salma Paralluelo struck the outside of the right post just before halftime. Had that ball snuck inside the post, England would have been in a world of trouble at 2-0 down.

Defensively, the waves of pressure from La Roja have given England all kinds of problems. Keira Walsh, Ella Toone and Alex Greenwood are the only English players with at least 80% passing accuracy in today's game, while the Spanish have seven such players. The high press from Spain is making it difficult for England to play out from the back, which has forced the Lionesses to rely on speculative long balls toward forwards Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp. And the counter press from Spain, which rockets into gear the moment La Roja gives the ball away, is affording England no time to breathe and reset.

There is plenty for England manager Sarina Wiegman to ponder at halftime. Does she commit to playing a lower block defensively and fortify the penalty area with extra bodies? Does she change shape by converting from a back three to a back four? Does she introduce star attacker Lauren James? There are no easy answers for a team that struggled to keep possession and dedicated 17.4% of its passes to low-percentage long balls in an effort to generate counter-attacks.

46': Building momentum

Best spell of possession for England in terms of passes strung together, but the Lionesses were unable to advance the ball out of the defensive third. All they could manage was to play the ball from defender to defender, defender to midfielder, with nothing to break the Spanish lines and push forward. 

Meanwhile, the high press and counter-press from La Roja was really causing problems for Sarina Wiegman's team. Nearly every location on the field where Spain won tackles came in England's half of the field, demonstrating just how potent and effective its pressing/counter-pressing has been.

Salma Paralluelo gets off a shot on goal that hits the post in 46'

29': GOAL! Spain leads 1-0

Two games, two goals for Olga Carmona. It was her strike from outside the box that propelled Spain into the final, and now she surged into the box for a low finish into the bottom-right corner after a turnover from England in the middle of the park. Beautiful placement and control.

Spain is 5-0-0 (W-D-L) in this tournament when scoring first, and 5-1-1 all-time when doing so. What's more, Carmona is the seventh player all-time to score in the semifinals and the final at the same Women's World Cup and is the fourth-youngest goalscorer in a final at 23 years and 69 days old (and the youngest since Alex Morgan in 2011).

Spain's Olga Carmona scores goal vs. England in 29'

What was interesting about how the game had unfolded up to that point was England's clear intention to counterattack at maximum speed whenever it won possession. Most people assumed Spain would win the possession battle, but England was compounding that discrepancy by playing at 100 miles per hour and hardly even trying to keep the ball. As soon as Spain turned it over, England was going direct to goal with counterattack after counterattack.

It was a bit surprising and a strategy that opened the Lionesses up to early fatigue. Fair to wonder if manager Wiegman will tweak that approach at halftime. Might England be better served by forcing Spain to defend for longer stretches? Teams with less possession can still keep the ball for short spells without going straight to goal.

20': Back and forth

An early heatmap for Spain showed a clear intention to build down the left-hand side with the trio of Carmona — who scored what proved to be the winning goal in the semifinals on a fizzed shot from outside the box — Jennifer Hermoso and Mariona Caldentey working some excellent combinations to stretch England's defensive shape.

A real cat-and-mouse game in strategy in the first half.

16': Woodwork!

A beautiful layoff by England wingback Rachel Daly on the left side of the penalty box teed up a first-time shot from Lauren Hemp. The shot had Spanish goalkeeper Cata Coll beat but rattled off the crossbar in what was the chance of the match for either team up to that point.

England's Lauren Hemp NEARLY scores against Spain in 16'

15': Finding a rhythm 

Early possession numbers: 58% and 78 passes for Spain, 42% and 42 passes for England. 

England will have to be content to play on the counterattack.

9': Eyes on the prize

Spain has been the best team in this year's tournament at keeping the ball and dominating matches with volume passing. For England, playing a more defensive game and keeping a shape for long stretches without the ball isn't something the Lionesses do very often. One thing to keep an eye on early was how England responded to having less possession than in past games.

5': On the move

The introduction of Paralluelo into Spain's starting lineup dropped forward Hermoso back into more of a center-attacking, midfield role. She occupied the space behind Paralluelo when Spain was in possession and appeared to have a license to float from side to side and get on the ball wherever possible.

Meanwhile, Hemp took an early shot for the Lionesses, but Coll wasn't having it.

1': We're off!

Just like that, things got underway in Sydney, and the competition was heated from the very start.

PREGAME

Setting the stage

The "World Cup NOW" crew and FOX Sports lead soccer analyst Alexis Lalas previewed the match live on social media ahead of kickoff.

Star power 

Key players to watch for England include forward Alessia Russo, defender Lucy Bronze and goalkeeper Mary Earps. 

Heading into Sunday's final, Russo was tied for the team lead with three goals in this tournament and led all players at the World Cup in total shots (22) and shots on target (12). She also led England in progressive passes (48). Bronze, a wingback in Wiegman's 3-4-1-2 formation, has been critical at both ends of the pitch. She led England in interceptions (14) and crosses into the penalty area (five), and she ranked second on the team in recoveries (48) behind midfield star Georgia Stanway. 

Last but not least, Earps had enjoyed a strong tournament with a mark of 1.6 goals prevented, which was tied for fifth among all goalkeepers at this year's World Cup. She posted three clean sheets ahead of Sunday's match, with a save percentage of 87.5% and just 0.47 goals against per 90 minutes.

Spain and England walk outs, national anthems at Women's World Cup final

Spain qualified for its first major tournament final by defeating Sweden 2-1 in a thrilling semifinal that produced three goals in the span of nine minutes in the second half. La Roja continued to rely on its youth, with an average age of just 25.3 — the youngest among World Cup finalists since 1995.

Key players for Spain include forward Paralluelo, forward/midfielder Hermoso and midfielder Teresa Abelleira.

Heading into Sunday's final, Paralluelo led the World Cup in successful take-ons (21) and was tied for fifth in shot-creating actions with 23, a reflection of her willingness to drive at opposing defenses. Hermoso, a leading figure for Spain's attack, was tied for the team lead in both goals (three) and assists (two). She had started all six games prior and ranked second on the team in minutes played with 556. She was also tied for third overall at this year's tournament with 14 passes into the penalty area and tied for second in expected assists with 1.8.

Abelleira, the central figure in Spain's possession-based approach, led all players at the World Cup in progressive passes with 57 and was tied for first in shot-creating actions with 33, level with Hermoso in that category. Her pass success rate of 87% led all Spanish players who had completed more than 175 passes at this year's tournament ahead of the final.

Aitana Bonmati leads key players to watch for Spain vs. England in the final

Starting lineups

England manager Wiegman went with the same lineup she used in the Lionesses' quarterfinal and semifinal victories, meaning 23-year-old attacking midfielder Ella Toone got the nod again Sunday over Lauren James — one of the breakout stars of the tournament's group stage who was eligible to return for the final after serving a two-game suspension. James had scored or assisted on six of England's 14 goals at this tournament prior to the final.

James received a red card in the round of 16 and was unavailable for both the quarterfinals and semifinals, as the Lionesses moved past Colombia and Australia, respectively.

[Related: England star Lauren James will not start in first game back from suspension]

Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas, who has spent most of her tournament waiting in the wings, also began the game on the bench. Instead, 19-year-old breakout star Salma Paralluelo got the start after coming off the bench — and scoring — in the last two matches.

[Related: How Salma Paralluelo went from track star to Spain's World Cup game-changer]

Check out the full Women's World Cup schedule here. Find the latest scores here.

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