35min – Can England find a response? Spain are looking comfortable in possession inside the Lionesses’ half at the moment.
29min – Spain open the scoring! The ball is worked forward down the left and full-back Olga Carmona fires low across Mary Earps and inside the far post.
17min – And immediately a glorious chance for Spain at the other end! Paralluelo fails to connect at the near post and Redondo somehow sidefoots straight at Mary Earps! Hemp then draws a straightforward save from Coll.
16min – Lauren Hemp hits the bar! Daly teed the forward up on the edge of the box but her left-foot curler was just too high with Coll beaten.
12min – Alessia Russo almost breaks through but is crowded out by the Spanish defence. Alex Greenwood’s corner is well claimed by Coll.
7min – Spain put together their first attack of note but Alba Redondo’s cross is overhit and Rachel Daly shepherds Aitana Bonmati’s delivery to safety.
5min – Hemp has the first shot on goal, but a weak left-footed effort is easily fielded by goalkeeper Cata Coll.
2min – England start on the front foot with Lauren Hemp leading the press. Jess Carter’s long ball is just too far ahead of Ella Toone.
1100 – Kick-off in Sydney! Here we go…
1055 – A final reminder of today’s line-ups as we prepare for kick-off.
1050 – Spain have plenty of support as well.
1040 – FIFA and Adidas have pulled out all the stops with a golden matchball for the final!
1030 – England fans are showing their support at Stadium Australia.
1025 – England are taking in the scene ahead of kick-off in Sydney.
1020 – Spain are ready to go, with Salma Paralluelo looking focused as she prepares to start.
1010 – Sarina Wiegman was characteristically restrained when asked about Lauren James’ return from suspension.
Wiegman told BBC Sport: “First of all we hope everyone on the pitch, starting, will have an impact on the game.
“We have players on the bench who can make an impact and it’s really nice to have LJ on the bench too, and if necessary she’s ready.”
1005 – England full-back Lucy Bronze is calm before kick-off, telling BBC Sport: “I’m just enjoying the moment like I have in every game.
“We’ve played in this stadium twice before so it’s quite familiar territory for us now, so I think a lot of the girls are pretty relaxed and just excited for the next 90 minutes.”
1000 – Pre-match preparations in Sydney.
0940 – England have arrived at the stadium, having earlier been cheered onto their bus by fans outside their hotel.
0935 – England have named an unchanged XI for the final, meaning Ella Toone keeps her place with Lauren James on the bench.
0920 – “If you bring this home, man, I’ll be in Trafalgar Square, I’ll be topless, I’ll be in the water!”
Rio Ferdinand promises he will be crying in the Trafalgar Square fountains if England win the trophy…
0915 – Kelly Smith, second on the Lionesses’ all-time goalscoring list with 46, is tipping England to win 2-0.
“I’m really calm, confident, I’ve got no nerves,” Smith told Sky Sports. “The way they played against Australia, they managed the game so well, all three forwards scored so that will have given them great confidence.
“It’s the belief they’ve experience winning a trophy last year at the Euros, it’s the manager – the best manager in the world, Sarina Wiegman.”
0910 – Support from former Lionesses forward Toni Duggan.
0855 – Former captain Faye White was fired up by the Lionesses’ hype video.
0845 – Spain have gone early with their team announcement! Super-sub Salma Paralluelo steps into a starting role for the big game, with Alexia Putellas on the bench.
Will Sarina Wiegman follow suit by unleashing Lauren James from the start? We await news of the England XI.
0840 – England fans gathered ahead of the match have some live rugby to entertain them as well as a visit from Chelsea manager Emma Hayes.
0830 – Our reporter Rachel Steinberg is in Sydney for the occasion and is bringing us some pre-match flavour, with both teams having strong support.
0820 – Euro 2022 hero Beth Mead tells Sky Sports: “I’m sure the nerves are setting in and I’m sure they’ll be excited and ready to go, and I’m super excited for them.”
“There’s a lot of experienced players on that bus, a lot who’ve experienced that final last year, and they can share that with the girls who’ve not been there before.
“It’s been a tough tournament to sit there and watch the games when you know you could have been involved if I didn’t have the injury. I’ll be so proud if the girls lift that trophy but a little touch of sadness because I want to be there with them. I know the others will be feeling the same, Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby and the other girls.”
0810 – England men’s captain Harry Kane urged the Lionesses to “bring that trophy home” and James Maddison said they are “putting so many smiles on faces that (they) probably don’t even realise” in a message of support on social media.
Coach Gareth Southgate admitted: “There is of course no advice because you’ve done more than us already!”
0800 – Good morning and welcome to the PA news agency’s Women’s World Cup final blog. Stay here for all the build-up, key match action and post-game reaction as England and Spain clash at a sold-out Stadium Australia.
Al-Riyadh 0-1 Al-Nassr: Mane hands visitors bragging rights
Sadio Mane's first-half strike ensured Al-Nassr maintained their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season with a 1-0 win over rivals Al-Riyadh.
He smartly finished from close range in the 41st minute, with his goal enough to seal the three points and move Al-Nassr up to third in the table.
Al-Nassr's threat grew as the first half went on, with Milan Borjan making a fine double stop to deny Ronaldo and Talisca once again before Mohamed Simakan struck the post on the rebound.
Mane would eventually break the deadlock in the 41st minute though, darting in front of his marker to meet Abdulrahman Ghareeb's low cross and rifle it into the roof of the net.
The Senegalese striker arguably should have doubled his tally before the break, but was denied by Borjan's stretching save when one-on-one with the Canadian.
Talisca should have wrapped up the points in the final three minutes, but he blazed over an empty net from close range, before having a late goal disallowed for offside.
Data Debrief: Derby delight for Al-Nassr
After drawing their last two matches, this win was a welcome result for Al-Nassr as they racked up their sixth victory of the season to close the gap at the top of the table to six points.
It is just the second time Al-Nassr have avoided defeat in their first 10 matches of a Pro League campaign, last doing so in 2013-14, when they won the league title.
They are now unbeaten in their last seven Pro League derbies (W4 D3), their longest such streak since a run of nine between 2018 and 2020.
This is the first time in eight such games that they have kept a clean sheet though, and limited their opponents to just five shots throughout.
Al-Hilal 3-1 Al-Ettifaq: Champions return to the summit with dominant win
Al-Hilal surged back to the Saudi Pro League summit with a convincing 3-1 triumph over 10-man Al-Ettifaq on Friday.
The defending champions are now one point clear of Al-Ittihad in the standings, with their latest victory piling more misery on Al-Ettifaq boss, Steven Gerrard.
Al-Hilal struggled in the early exchanges at the Kingdom Arena, registering their first effort on Marek Rodak's goal in the 38th minute courtesy of Marcos Leonardo.
But the hosts would take the lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, with Mitrovic on hand to steer Renan Lodi's delivery into the net from close range.
Al-Hilal then doubled their advantage nine minutes from time when Malcolm collected the ball from Abdullah Al Hamddan, before rounding Rodak and finishing into an empty net.
However, hopes of a comeback from the visitors were revived in second-half stoppage time when Joao Cancelo gave away a penalty after a handball inside the box.
Vitinho stepped up and fired home the spot-kick, but Al-Hilal confirmed the win two minutes later through Mohammed Al Qahtani, with visiting forward Abdullah Radif shown a late red card for violent conduct.
Data Debrief: Happy Friday!
Al-Hilal continued their quest for a 20th Saudi Pro League crown with a dominant display against Al-Ettifaq, extending their unbeaten run against their opponents in the process.
They have now not lost their last 13 league encounters against Al-Ettifaq (W12 D1), surpassing their longest unbeaten streak against them in the competition (12 matches between 2008 and 2013 - W8 D4).
Al-Hilal have now lost only three matches when hosting teams on a Friday in the Pro League out of 55 matches (W46 D6 L3).
Lodi also took his goal contribution tally to eight this season in all competitions (three goals, five assists). During his European career with three different clubs, he only notched more goal involvements (nine) in the 2021-22 campaign with Atletico Madrid.
Kompany unbothered by modest scoreline as Bayern beat Benfica
Vincent Kompany was pleased with the way Bayern Munich attacked at home to Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, despite only winning 1-0.
The victory ended a run of back-to-back defeats for the German team in the competition, leaving them 17th in the league with six points from four matches.
"It's important for us to win a game this way. In the past, we always scored three, four or five goals, but today we stayed calm," Kompany told the official club website.
"We had 24 shots on goal and the opposition had one. Not every finish was dangerous, but we controlled the game. There are games in which the last pass just isn't as precise as necessary.
"We know we can decide matches within the first five minutes if we're on good form. That didn't happen today. But in the end, it's the Champions League. It was a good game and a good win."
Midfielder Jamal Musiala scored the only goal of the game in the 67th minute, turning home Harry Kane's knockdown after Leroy Sane had played the ball across the box.
Sane is yet to start a game in any competition for Bayern this season, coming on in the 56th minute on Wednesday, but his contribution was not lost on Kompany.
"Obviously, I'm really happy to have the quality of Leroy Sane and Michael Olise in the same position - not to forget Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry. You can say Leroy turned this game around today," he said.
The goalscorer Musiala, meanwhile, was pleased after scoring his fifth goal in all competitions for the club this season.
“We had good moments, but the opposition played and defended well. Of course, there are still things we can improve, but it's important to have won the three points," he said.
"I don't know what's going on with me scoring headers at the moment. The ball dropped nicely for me a few times and I just keep trying to get into good positions I can score easy goals from.
"We all knew we had to win tonight and we did a good job. We had a tough time settling into the game, but we can't win by four or five goals every time. Sometimes a 1-0 win has to be enough.”
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