It took place in front of 75,784 supporters, and Spain won the final 1–0 through a goal from Olga Carmona, assisted by Mariona Caldentey.

[14] In addition to the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field events, the stadium hosted the men's football gold medal match.

After Switzerland almost a second goal from Meriame Terchoun, Spain sealed up the match with a fifth coming from Hermoso and securing a spot into the quarter-finals for the first time.

In the 81st minute, Mariona Caldentey scored from the penalty spot to give Spain the early lead after Stefanie van der Gragt had a hand touch the ball.

Van der Gragt, who moved forward, got the equaliser nine minutes later with an assist from Victoria Pelova, putting the game into extra time.

Just a minute later, Olga Carmona scored a wonderful goal to send Spain to only its second senior World Cup final ever and the first since the men's 2010 triumph over the Netherlands in Johannesburg.

One of the young players called up after the 2022 Euro, Lauren James, was available to play in the final after a straight red card against Nigeria in the round of 16 resulted in her being suspended for the quarter-final and semi-final.

[45] Following the 2022 Euro, a group of 15 Spain players boycotted matches due to a dispute with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and manager Jorge Vilda.

[46][47] Two-time reigning Ballon d'Or Féminin winner Alexia Putellas was available for the tournament after recovering from an ACL injury.

[48] Both of the teams were considered golden generations of the women's game in their countries,[49][50] though each missing key players through the injuries and boycott.

[51] Both England (as part of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth) and Spain are constitutional monarchies and are often represented at sporting events by members of their royal families.

[55] Rubiales had accompanied the Spain team throughout much of their time in New Zealand and Australia, with a report in Relevo suggesting he had imposed his presence around the players too closely, behaving more like a teammate than the president, and had normalised a level of paternalism and condescension.

[58][59][60][61] The director of women's football for Barcelona, Xavi Puig, was also in attendance and allowed to accompany the Spain team, though stated to be supporting all the club's players.

[62] The tournament's closing ceremony took place ahead of the final, featuring a Welcome to Country, and a performance from Australian singer Tones and I.

Spain took advantage of the transition a minute later to launch a counterattack that saw centre forward Alba Redondo send in a loose cross.

[65] The match "sprung into life" when Spain made their first substantial attack a minute later, with vice-captain Olga Carmona crossing a ball to Paralluelo, who could not connect fully but sent the ball into the path of Redondo: England goalkeeper Mary Earps made a quick-moving save to catch the shot from Redondo.

[65] When England right wing-back Lucy Bronze attempted a dribble through the midfield, Spanish players dispossessed her and the ball was sent to Carmona, who took a tight-angled low shot past Earps and into the right corner of the net, scoring the only goal of the match in the 29th minute.

England recovered close to the end of the first half, and a long ball to Hemp was crossed in for Ella Toone with an empty goal in the 42nd minute, though Toone failed to connect and the ball was recovered by Spain; the same sequence was used minutes later, with Spain sending players into the box to clear Hemp's cross.

The change initially saw England improve defensively and create better opportunities, including the fullbacks continuing to play forward; Spain substituted centre forward Redondo for defensive player Oihane Hernández in the 60th minute, with Spain attacking midfielder Aitana Bonmatí trying to score from range in the 62nd minute.

England's confidence waned and Spain's was bolstered when Walsh conceded a penalty for accidental handball in the box while defending a corner in the 65th minute.

Spain defender Laia Codina was treated and eventually substituted with an injury in the 73rd minute, being replaced by captain Ivana Andrés.

England briefly found form again after the substitution, with James able to send in a tight-angled shot narrowly saved by Coll, but were hampered by defender Alex Greenwood receiving a head injury from Paralluelo's high knee in the 78th minute.

England continued to play desperately, leaving defensive gaps, with Earps saving a low shot from Spain fullback Ona Batlle in the 92nd minute.

[49] In the 23rd minute of the match, a man ran onto the field wearing an anti-Putin t-shirt, halting play briefly while England was waiting to take a free kick.

[78] The England team stayed overnight in Sydney before returning to London, set to arrive on 22 August; the Women's Super League would not begin its season until October.

Keir Starmer, the UK Leader of the Opposition, called for the team to be recognised with Honours for reaching a World Cup final, something which has precedent in men's sport.

[79] The match was also featured on the front pages of all British newspapers on 21 August, mostly using images of the team looking disappointed and headlines expressing pride at the achievement of reaching a final.

[80] In a separate incident at the end of the match, Rubiales was filmed pointing to the Spain players before grabbing his crotch, with the obscene gesture further criticised as he was standing next to the teenage Infanta Sofía.

[82] While on a layover returning from Australia, Rubiales published an apology video in which he said that he had no bad intentions and was sorry for distracting from the celebration, saying: "I have to apologise, learn from this, and understand that when you are president you have to be more careful.