Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I was promised a recession.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

I really should read my own blog.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

A consequence of cucumbers

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Come on, man.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

You are here: Home / Sports / FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 / FIFA Women’s World Cup – Final Match! Spain vs. England 6 am Eastern on Sunday

Reader Interactions

126Comments

  1. 1.

    HumboldtBlue

    England coach Sarina Wiegman has led her teams to four consecutive major cup finals. Wiegman led the Dutch to the 2017 Euros title and then followed that up by leading England to the Euros title in 2022, and now the World Cup is on the line.

    Also:

    AMAZING MOMENT as TORI PENSO finds out she’s been selected to referee Sunday’s Women’s World Cup Final between England & Spain. Understandably overcome with emotion, Penso will become the first American ever to officiate a World Cup Final.

  5. 5.

    WaterGirl

    @Omnes Omnibus: The scheduling feature fails about half the time, so I can’t count on it going up in time for the batch.  So I figure somewhere on the front page is better than just being in the sidebar.

    Am I wrong about that?

  7. 7.

    WaterGirl

    @Scout211: Wow.  I don’t follow soccer, but those are not the teams I would have expected to see in the final.  Spain maybe, but not England.  Am I wrong?

    edit:  In before someone pipes up to say that I am wrong most of the time :-) – I am asking if I am wrong about this in particular.

  10. 10.

    HumboldtBlue

    @WaterGirl:

    This is fine, there will only be one more post tonight if it’s like a normal Saturday, right? A late night thread?

    I am asking if I am wrong about this in particular.

    Yes, the English are the current reigning European Champions and are in their third consecutive major final under Wiegman. They are no surprise at all.

    Spain are the surprise because of a lot of internal turmoil leading up to the tourney. They are definitely a surprise to be in the final.

  12. 12.

    Alison Rose

    @WaterGirl: England’s women’s team is currently ranked 4th in the world, so it’s not a surprise :)

    ETA: Not looking forward to the next ranking update and seeing where the US lands. They’re currently 1st of course, but…that might change. They’re only about 29 points above Germany, 40 above Sweden, 50 above England.

  13. 13.

    Alison Rose

    It’s gonna be on at 3am my time, so…guess I’ll just have to watch highlights later on. I’m too old to get up in the middle of the night to do anything other than stumble to the bathroom and then spend five minutes trying to get back to sleep while the cat meows at me for breakfast.

  22. 22.

    frosty

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​Also the York US 30 Dragway at Thomasville Airport! (Were all dragstrips on US 30 (AKA Lincoln Hwy here)? How strange.

    On Saturday nights for nearly 20 years, the York Airport in Thomasville, York County had a dual purpose: first as an airport and second as a drag strip. York U.S. 30 was known as the super track of the east. The drag strip was the first NHRA-sanctioned track in the region.

    “We’d have to stop the drags to let the airplanes land, and sometimes they would knock out our timing lights,” said Kashner.

    Source: https://www.fox43.com/article/sports/sunday-frenzy/york-airport-home-to-us-30-drag-strip-racing-fast-lane/521-9762482c-c85f-4a32-97b4-a868c44a842d

  26. 26.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Jeffro: I’ve been both to England and Spain and despite my heritage (my father a born Brit), I prefer Spain. The peeps in London were as surly as I was told to expect in Paris who were nowhere near as pretentious. I did like Wales a lot.

  31. 31.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Psychic dubbed ‘mystic veg’ who claims to know the future using ASPARAGUS predicts result of the World Cup final

    By Harriet Johnston For Mailonline

    Published: 09:48 EDT, 18 August 2023 | Updated: 09:56 EDT, 18 August 2023

    A fortune teller who predicted the Lionesses winning the World Cup using asparagus has revealed this weekend’s final will be decided – on penalties.

    Jemima Packington, 66, of Bath, is the world’s only asparamancer and claims she can peer into the future by tossing spears in the air and interpreting how they land.

    She has previously correctly predicted Brexit, the Queen’s death, and Harry and Meghan quitting the Royal Family.

    Tasty result

  33. 33.

    HumboldtBlue

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:

    Jemima Packington, 66, of Bath, is the world’s only asparamancer

    If you can’t trust an asparamancer you can’t trust any fucking body.

    In Asia, it’s green tea. In Bath, it’s green pee!

    And I don’t think this game goes to penalties, two very good attacking teams, I see regular time goals.

  36. 36.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Last night’s match was so intense.

    Sadly America would say 3rd place is a failure, but most nations recognize finishing 3rd out of 196 countries as a great achievement, especially a small country like Sweden and Oz.

    Sweden and Oz literally fighting for the bronze medal (video)

    Then they knocked each other out (video)

    Full highlights [the Spanish broadcasters are great showmen/showwomen] (video)

  37. 37.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    “Dollars, pounds, yen, euros, pesos and dinar are pouring into Australia to the tune of an extra $7.66 billion thanks to the Matildas and the World Cup,” says Luke Latham, Airwallex General Manager for Australia and New Zealand. “In the current environment this has been a screamer of a goal for the Australian economy.”

    [Australian Labor] government to pledge $200m for women’s sport after Matildas inspire Australia
    ***
    The government expects soccer will need a significant amount, given clubs have seen a “mind-boggling increase in interest” in the wake of the World Cup.

    The thing is Australia/New Zealand aren’t soccer countries. Their primary sports are rugby, cricket, Aussie rules football, basketball, with soccer coming a distant fifth. When they announced the World Cup would be held down under I did not expect it to succeed. But the women have been a box office smash.

  40. 40.

    Dangerman

    Decided to stay in SoCal; this is as close as I will ever be to a Hurricane, so bring it the hell on. I feel kinda like Lt. Dan, shaking his fist to the Heavens, in Forest Gump. At least, that is how I remember the movie; it’s been a while.

    Am I or SoCal well prepared? Yes and no; this is Earthquake Country (duh) and there is a lot of preparation for the basics (water, food, etc). That said, I took a look around some of the flood control infrastructure and sensed “ok, that will be just fine” and saw other locations that are going to get an ass whooping.

    So, we shall see. E ticket in hand.

  45. 45.

    raven

    @Dangerman: My brother took his daughter down to San Diego to start her second year at SDSU. They went to Zoom classes tomorrow so I hope things are manageable there!

  49. 49.

    HumboldtBlue

    Spain are very dangerous in the final third. But they are vulnerable at the back.

    Both teams came out on the front foot. Good pace, Spain look sharp.

  51. 51.

    Tony Jay

    @HumboldtBlue:

    That’s the British anthem (despite the verses about laying the slap down on those rebellious Scots), and yes, it sucks sandy camel balls.

    Quite fitting for a dirge for a zombie country.

  52. 52.

    Tony Jay

    Looks like being a very open game this. The Spaniards like to play out from the back and pass you into contorted positions, England are explosive and tenacious and very clinical.

    I only just got to the TV in time for it to start. Spent half an hour chasing a rogue chicken around the neighbour’s garden. Damn you, Shiny Cousin Sue, you rascal!

  53. 53.

    HumboldtBlue

    @raven:

    The pitch.

    Spain have grabbed this match early, looking for that early goal. All pressure and counter.

    And against the run of play, England are dangerous!

    Ooooohhhhhh Spain!

  55. 55.

    Mike E

    @raven: Divide the field into three parts: Midfield, where both teams battle for possession and look for momentum; and, the two attacking (final) thirds where the biscuit goes into the basket and the defenses (and goalkeepers) get tested.

  57. 57.

    Tony Jay

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:

    It was, but it’s about the tribulations of the Men’s football team and David Baddiel is a slimy, racist piece of shit who can do shove his newly appointed role of Jewsplainer to the masses up his sell-out arse.

    I’d prefer the theme from Coronation Street, played on electric guitar in a Jazz Bar, with lyrics by Stewart Lee.

  58. 58.

    raven

    @HumboldtBlue:

     

    @Mike E:

     

    Got it, thanks! Amir turned me on the “Inverting the Pyramid” years ago but the best I could do was figure out I didn’t understand the game and just enjoy it! This from a person who started a kids soccer program here some 35 years ago!

  61. 61.

    Tony Jay

    Both teams have had chances here. How the hell Spain didn’t score before I do not know.

    Paralluelo is a talent, isn’t she. Skilful, fast, fearless, then they had a think and decided to make her 10ft tall as well. Not bad for a kid who’s only been playing full time for a year. 

  63. 63.

    Tony Jay

    @Mike E:

    I think they’ve run the odds and decided they’ve got a better chance of cracking England with Paralluelo as a mobile target for up front so the rest of the team can move from defence to attack as a unit.

    And Spain score! What a cracking finish.

    ETA – That’s a PinPoint finish. Anywhere else and the keeper gets it.

  64. 64.

    HumboldtBlue

    Goal! Well-earned for Spain. They have dictated play, pressure, on the front foot, great counter-attack off a turnover.

  66. 66.

    Tony Jay

    Unlike the Men’s team, though, I’ve no concerns that this England team will lose focus here. They’ll just do what the best German teams used to do and stick to their game, avoid further mistakes and expect to score sooner or later.

  67. 67.

    raven

    So apparently it’s really important to the integrity of the game to say ONE V ONE instead of one-on-one?

  68. 68.

    HumboldtBlue

    Does Spain keep up this pace, the pressure? England needs a counter, and fatigue is going to come into play at 70 minutes.

    @raven:

    So apparently it’s really important to the integrity of the game to say ONE V ONE instead of one-on-one?

    Lol, just the lingo specific to the game. You go on-on-one in basketball and one v one in soccer.

  69. 69.

    Mike E

    @raven: JP Dellacamera is a past-his-prime announcer and Fox could learn a thing or twenty from Telemundo’s coverage of this beautiful game

  73. 73.

    Tony Jay

    Oooooooh. Offside all day, but that’s what England are going to do to this wobbly Spanish defence every time they don’t have 10 shirts clogging the penalty box.

  74. 74.

    HumboldtBlue

    This Spain #2 is a baller.

    That’s a helluva half for Spain. They ran the play, England need a change.

  76. 76.

    Tony Jay

    You don’t punch the ball there, senora! Very lucky England didn’t have someone in the middle to pick that up.

  78. 78.

    Argiope

    @Tony Jay: ah, a chicken on the lam(b).  I used to have two and one year they escaped Christmas morning and I had to wander the neighborhood peeking in back yards.  Called the local constabulary also in case anyone turned them in, metaphorically speaking.  Made the dispatcher’s day.

  80. 80.

    Tony Jay

    @Argiope:

    People say they’re incredibly stupid creatures, but when it comes to getting out of places they should be and into places they can’t get out of, they are 100% on the ball and this sheep.

  83. 83.

    Tony Jay

    @raven:

    A convention instituted in 1889 by Sir Milniver Dawes-Applegate, Football Association Head honcho and owner-operator of the largest Hyphen Farm in the Empire.

  84. 84.

    HumboldtBlue

    England better get control of the ball because Spain is relentless with the press and counter press.

    England can not keep playing this game in their final third.

    Ooooohhh England with a chance against the run of play!

    That is not a yellow card! Bad call!

  85. 85.

    Tony Jay

    @Argiope:

    @eclare:

    Swear to Dog, I’ve got chickens just like that. They jump – behind – chicken wire fences and can’t turn themselves around, then dig themselves in deeper when Man That Only Ever Feeds Them tries to get them out again.

    Frigging morons. I’m not surprised the dinosaurs died out. 

  86. 86.

    Tony Jay

    Lauren James on. That’s a statement. England are going for goal ASAP.

    Spain dominating possession, but when they’ve got this many players in the English half it leaves their defence very, very exposed to pace.

  89. 89.

    Argiope

    @Tony Jay: My institution just tried to find itself a new executive only to announce a failed search with the current one remaining in place.  I had to send the sheep video to some colleagues because damn if it didn’t describe the situation exactly.  Willfully Stuck Sheep is my new favorite metaphor and band name.

  91. 91.

    HumboldtBlue

    Spain No. 6, Bonmatí, is running the show.

    I am surprised at Spain’s dominance. They have dictated the tempo and forced England to play in their own half.

    That’s gonna be a penalty.

  92. 92.

    Tony Jay

    England grinding up the Spanish half of the pitch and keeping possession better, which makes it harder for the Spanish to get themselves into those close order positions to fully tiki-taki the ball around the pitch.

    Sooner or later they’re going to get the ball into the net. The Spaniards realise this and have started playing to the ref with dives and rolls and the usual professional antics.

    If VAR gives this as a penalty it’ll be laughable. You can’t avoid the ball at that distance, it’s just not humanly possible.

  93. 93.

    Mike E

    Ugh, I’d say that was incidental contact… this needs to be addressed in the women’s game, ballgame.

    ETA Save! Whew

  94. 94.

    HumboldtBlue

    This is game.

    What a save and what a terrible penalty!

    Can England use that to force Spain to retreat? They gotta do something.

  98. 98.

    HumboldtBlue

    Oh lawd, here comes the moaning, and the cramping and the time-wasting…

    Spain are world champs in that shit.

  99. 99.

    Tony Jay

    Terrible penalty, but the save had to be made.

    England need to take this game by the scruff of the neck now. Get the ball in Spain’s half and keep it there. Rack that pressure up to the max.

  101. 101.

    Tony Jay

    Oh my word, did England just get a free kick? And a Spaniard punished for a bit of dark arts?

    Oh, my clutched pearls. The world hath shifted into an unfamiliar orbit.

    Though, if you knee someone in the face hard enough to draw blood and possibly concuss your opponent, isn’t that a red? Dangerous play, etc? I’ve seen them given.

  102. 102.

    Tony Jay

    How the hell was that not a free kick for the push and trip on James?

    Spaniards dropping left, right and centre. Cynical fouls. They’re getting worried.

  104. 104.

    Tony Jay

    Uh, kicking the ball away is a straight yellow under these new rules. Paralluelo is already on a yellow.

    Sooooo? Nothing? Okay then. Reasons, I guess.

  105. 105.

    HumboldtBlue

    England are gonna need a smash-n-grab at this point.

    All credit to Spain, they have bossed the match.

  107. 107.

    Tony Jay

    @Mike E:

    They’ve made a point of stopping the clock to negate the deliberate time wasting  lots of teams have started engaging in.

    Though you can bet your arse that Spain are going to start seriously wasting as much time as possible now that we’re in time added on.

  108. 108.

    bjacques

    @Tony Jay: “I’d prefer the theme from Coronation Street, played on electric guitar in a Jazz Bar, with lyrics by Stewart Lee.”

    Please tell me this is a thing.

  111. 111.

    Tony Jay

    England have just lacked zip in the final third and have consistently given the ball away in the middle of the pitch. They haven’t made (enough) chances to worry the Spaniards much.

  116. 116.

    Tony Jay

    That’s it. The Spaniards played their game better and had more energy. England just didn’t crack 80% all game and simply didn’t threaten the Spanish goal.

    Oh well. Win it in 2027.

  117. 117.

    JML

    England just wasn’t organized enough in their attack; they couldn’t sustain possession effectively and recycle quickly to keep sustained pressure up. Their best opportunities came on really direct play and trying to go over the top, but Spain was able to shut it down. Not great forward play in front of goal even when the service was there. Earps kept them in it with that save and played very well. Bit gutted for her.

    Spain was just so strong in the midfield and controlled possession so well. They did a great job building up their attacks and keeping the ball out of their own end. And they did it without just doing a million side to side passes in the middle third that go nowhere; this team attacks and pushes play. They’re very talented and played a smart and controlled game.

    Great Cup. Wish I could have watched more of it live.

  120. 120.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Thank you!

    I’ve been thinking I’ll put up an after action report for the Women’s World Cup to find out what worked about this method, and what didn’t.

    I think having a “designated WaterGirl notifier” would be helpful.  They could send me a text or email a few hours before a thread should be moved to the front page.

    Sometimes I would stumble across a request for that in the comments, when the time for the thread had already passed. :-)

  123. 123.

    Tony Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    Unless you’re pregnant. It’s like a kick up the tush for the squirming little lumps. Lady Jay was still two weeks off due when she munched on some and Little Jay was clawing his way out within hours.

    Also, too, thanks for these threads.

  126. 126.

    Slightly_peeved

    @billcinsd:

    7’s isn’t particularly popular in the southern states, and there’s not a particularly prominent local league. The A-league and NBL get similar attendance numbers, depending on the team.

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