Sarina Wiegman leads plaudits as England beaten by Spain in Women's World Cup final: ‘We can be so proud’

Sarina Wiegman expressed her pride in the players after England were beaten 1-0 by Spain in the Women’s World Cup final.

Olga Carmona’s first-half strike proved decisive in a well-deserved first Women’s World Cup triumph for La Roja, with the Lionesses second-best for most of the contest.

However, Wiegman was keen to emphasise the positives after taking her squad on another memorable journey in a major tournament.

“I think everyone has seen an incredible game, very open game, both teams who want to play football,” said Wiegman in a post-match interview with BBC Sport.

“Two different halves for us. In the first half we really struggled to have a press on the ball.

"We changed it in the second half back to 4-3-3 and I think we got momentum then. But then the energy went out of the game with the penalty and the injury to Alex [Greenwood].

"After all Spain were just a little bit better than we were today and they had a great tournament so congrats for Spain.

"Of course, it feels really bad now, very, very disappointing. You go into the final and you want to give everything and then you lose it.

“That happens in sports too but what we have done, how we have shown ourselves, who we are, how we want to play as a team, overcoming so many challenges, I think we can be so proud of ourselves now although it doesn't feel like it at the moment."

The Lionesses certainly rode their luck during the tournament after edgy 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark respectively in the group stage, while Nigeria were beaten on penalties in the last 16 after a nervous goalless draw across 120 minutes.

Their luck ran out here though and despite an under-par display in the final, Wiegman insists neither she or her team could have done anything more.

Asked if she had any regrets, she added to ITV Sport: “No, I think we gave everything we could,”

“We tried different tactics. I also have to give credit to Spain; that was the team overall across the whole tournament that played the best football. Congratulations to Spain.”

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