First-time finalists England, Spain to face off for World Cup title

​​​​​By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - England and Spain will be hunting their maiden Women's World Cup titles Sunday as the 2023 edition will have a first-time champion.

England, who are in the semifinal for three times in a row, advanced to the final by beating hosts Australia. The English team has had five wins and a draw in six matches.

Spain narrowly survived against the 2019 bronze medalist Sweden to qualify for the final as the Scandinavian country never lost a single match.

- US team dominate tournament with 4 titles

The Women's World Cup was first held in China in 1991, and this year it saw its ninth edition.

The US is the most dominant force in women's football, winning four titles in the first eight editions -- 1991, 1999, 2015 and 2019.

But the American team was eliminated from the current tournament with a loss to Sweden on penalty kicks in the Round of 16. It was the US’ earliest-ever exit from the World Cup.

Followed by Germany with two titles, Norway and Japan each won a trophy in 1995 and 2011, respectively.

The German's 2003 and 2007 titles made them the most successful European team in women’s football.

- Champion to receive record $10 million

The 2023 prize pool totals $110 million, compared to $30 million in the last tournament in 2019.

Finalists will fight for a record $10 million in prize money and the runners-up will receive $7.5 million.

The final will be played at 1000 GMT at Sydney's 81,500-capacity Stadium Australia -- the country's largest stadium.

- A tournament with many firsts

The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 had some landmark moments that was first to the fans and the players.

This year's tournament was the first of its history as it was hosted by two nations, New Zealand and Australia.

The event also featured 32 teams, like the men's World Cup. This is the first time ever and it was 8 more teams than the last two editions.

The fans also showed interest in the tournament, the opening match between the hosts Australia and Republic of Ireland saw a record breaking turnout with 75,000+ fans in attendance.

More than 1.7 million tickets were sold for 64 matches in the tournament.

Morocco's Nouhalila Benzina became the first player to wear a hijab during the match.

Nigeria's Onome Ebi has become the oldest player in the tournament at age of 40, participating in a total of six World Cups.

On the other hand, South Korea's Casey Phair has become the youngest in the tournament, she is 16 years old.

When Jamaica beat Brazil in the group stage and advanced to the knockouts, they became the first Caribbean country to advance in the tournament.

A total of four African nations participated in the World Cup, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa advanced to the knockout stage, a first in World Cup history.