Fifa Women’s World Cup: England ‘heartbroken’ by final defeat, says captain Millie Bright
- Olga Carmona’s first-half goal enough for victory, as Mary Earps’ penalty save sets up dramatic finish
- England push until the end but cannot find a late equaliser to send match to extra time at Stadium Australia
England captain Millie Bright said the Lionesses were left heartbroken by a 1-0 defeat to Spain in the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday despite not being at their best in Sydney.
Olga Carmona scored the only goal as Spain kept the European champions at bay and could have won by a bigger margin had England goalkeeper Mary Earps not saved Jennifer Hermoso’s second-half penalty.
“We’re heartbroken. We gave everything, unfortunately we just weren’t there today,” said Bright.
“The girls are unbelievable. We had a lot of critics at the start of the tournament, a few lost belief in us, but we never stopped believing in ourselves.
“We had full belief, but sometimes football goes for you, sometimes it goes against you.
“We’ve played in a World Cup final. In a few weeks we’ll appreciate this day and coming second, but it’s hard to take because we’re winners, we want to win.”