England player ratings v Spain: Mary Earps shines as Lionesses lose Women's World Cup 2023 final
Our full England player ratings following the Lionesses' clash against Spain in the Women's World Cup 2023 final.
Spain have won the Women's World Cup 2023 final after defeating England 1-0 in a tense, end-to-end encounter in Sydney.
The Lionesses huffed and puffed but were ultimately suffocated by a Spain team who dominated possession with crisp passing and executed their gameplan to the letter.
Olga Carmona opened the scoring for Spain after she burst down the left flank and fizzed a shot low across the goal into the bottom right corner.
Spain should have doubled their lead from the spot, but Mary Earps denied Jennifer Hermoso in heroic fashion to keep England in the encounter, but Sarina Wiegman's side couldn't find a way through.
RadioTimes.com has rounded up the England player ratings following the Women's World Cup final in 2023.
Read more football features: Best female players in the world | Best female players of all time | Live football on TV today
England player ratings – Women's World Cup final 2023
Mary Earps – 8
Give her the shirt, Nike. Give. her. the. shirt. A penalty save. In the Women's World Cup final. Everything on the line. Beyond the penalty, she made other big, important stops to ensure England stayed in the game right to the end. Admirable.
Jess Carter – 7
Overloaded as Spain burst beyond Bronze. Switched to left-back in the second half and performed well, absolutely refused to know when it was over, several massive challenges and blocks against superb opposition.
Millie Bright – 6
Had a lot to deal with, but coped as well as could be expected as a last-ditch wall.
Alex Greenwood – 6
Like Bright and Carter, suffered from being overexposed by a flimsy midfield in front of her, but still held firm to limit the damage. Couple of superb challenges to frustrate Spain.
Lucy Bronze – 5
Spain targeted Bronze throughout the game. Their left flank overwhelmed the England veteran in the first half. Lost the ball on a forward foray and Spain capitalised to score.
Georgia Stanway – 5
Made incisive runs on a couple of occasions, but failed to get much of a foothold deeper in midfield as Spain suffocated the Lionesses and Walsh cried out for help.
Keira Walsh – 5
Struggled to keep up with Spain's dominance in possession. Simply overrun, couldn't exert any influence.
Rachel Daly – 5
Often caught between two minds: attack and defend. Most of Spain's good work came down the flanks and Daly was unable to stop the crosses pinging in until she was subbed at half time.
Ella Toone – 5
Poor. Game drifted her by and looked way off the pace. The right call to start her ahead of Lauren James, but ultimately didn't pay off.
Alessia Russo – 5
Typically hard-working, scrappy and tenacious... until she wasn't. Bronze may have lost the ball but Russo didn't track the runner as Carmona flooded past in the build-up to the goal. Hooked at half time.
Lauren Hemp – 6
Hit the bar early in the game, had another decent chance soon after, maintained supply lines in the first half and led the line in the second. England's brightest spark in attack, but faded in the second half.
SUB: Lauren James – 5
Barely made her presence felt in the game.
SUB: Chloe Kelly – 6
Glorious ball into the box for Hemp, injected some life into England's attack.
SUB: Beth England – 5
Not really enough time to impact the game. And didn't.
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Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
