The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand hit a climax in fascinating fashion with Spain emerging champions after edging England 1-0 in the final in Sydney on Sunday. It was a great one month of women's football experience with great performance, goals galore, records and excitement from the group stages to the final. Times Sport brings you five things we learnt from the tournament. Spain can emulate their male heroes of 2008-2012 Spain are the new Women's World Cup champions after pipping England 1-0 in the finals. The Spaniard have a solid team which can rule world football for at least the next four years like their male counterparts did between 2008 and 2012 where they won back to back European Championships in 2008 and 201 and the World Cup in 2010. African teams make a statement This World Cup was an absolutely massive one for Africa, with each of Nigeria, Morocco and South Africa qualifying from really tough groups to reach the last 16. For Morocco, it was a big nod to the strong work the federation has done investing in women's football and committing to supporting the sport more. The country did a fantastic job at last year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations, both in how it was hosted and that the national team reached the final, and their successful debut at the World Cup was another huge step in the right direction. Nigeria and South Africa, meanwhile, sent messages to their federations with their performances. Both teams have been surrounded by off-field chaos before, during and after the tournament, but they did their talking on the pitch in Australia and New Zealand, showcasing the wonderful talent they have and the fantastic football they can play. Hopefully this is the latest sign that women's football is massively on the rise in Africa and there will be more investment and, thus, success stories in the near future. Last Dancers So many iconic names in women's football came into this World Cup knowing that it was going to be their 'last dance'. This was going to be the last appearance on this stage for Brazil's magical Marta, USWNT star Megan Rapinoe and Sweden legend Caroline Seger. At 40 years old, many expect this to be Christine Sinclair's last World Cup, too, the all-time international goal-scorer who has been to six editions with Canada. All four of them would've loved to bow out in glorious fashion and yet, every single one of them endured a nightmare farewell to the competition. Marta and Sinclair were eliminated in the group stages despite Brazil and Canada both being in the top eight in the FIFA world rankings. Rapinoe’s exit was one she described as a ‘sick joke’, the USWNT icon, a two-time World Cup winner and the player who won the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot back in 2019, missing her penalty as her nation crashed out on penalties in the last 16. Seger, meanwhile, helped Sweden to reach the semi-finals of a major tournament for the seventh time since her senior debut in 2005, but once again they failed to get over the line when it really mattered. The cases of all four acted as reminders of just how cruel football can be. ALSO READ: Olga Carmona nets winner-as Spain edge England to lift WWC End of an era of the USA, Germany and Japan? Previously, the likes of the USA, Germany, Japan and others solely ruled women's football. But they were all were all dumped out in the knockout stages There has been vast improvement among other teams over the years and this competition is clear evidence with Spain opening a new chapter of dominance, becoming only the fifth country to win the world's most prestigious title. Record attendance Despite the time difference between Australia/New Zealand and major markets such as the United States and Europe playing to the disadvantage of the 2023 FIFA Women's World in terms of TV viewership, the month-long tournament was a huge success both in terms of at-home audience and stadium attendance. According to FIFA, nearly two million people attended the 64 matches played down under, blowing past the previous record of 1.35 million match day fans at the 2015 World Cup in Canada. While it needs to be noted that it was the first Women's World Cup played with 32 teams instead of 24 at the previous two tournaments and 16 before that, it was also only the third Women's World Cup to surpass 30,000 in average stadium attendance.
