Everything has come to this, the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup will see England and Spain battle it out to lift the trophy and have a gold medal around their neck. The match kicks off at 8:00 pm on Seven, 7plus and Optus Sport.
Both teams will be eager to win their first Women’s World Cup and be the first new name on the trophy since Japan’s win in 2011.
But whatever the result in Sydney, the winner will join Germany as only the second nation to win both the women’s and men’s tournaments.
England, who won the European championship 12 months ago, last lifted the World Cup in 1966 with the men’s side.
Whereas for Spain it hasn’t been as long a wait, with their men’s side winning the tournament in 2010.
Sarina Wiegman’s side has not dropped a point during the tournament, in comparison to Jorge Vilda’s squad who lost 4-0 to Japan in the group stage.
After having only lost one match in their 38 games under Wiegman, England are the favourites heading in.
Spain however is dealing with internal issues under Vilda with twelve of the country’s star players boycotting the tournament due to his and their federation’s treatment of the team.
The semi-final clash of the Matildas v England saw record-breaking tv ratings across the country, with Seven reporting that the game reached 11.15 million Australians nationally.
The game had a national average audience on Seven and 7plus of 7.13 million, making it the most-watched TV program since the OzTAM audience measurement system started in 2001. (OzTAM does not capture out-of-home viewing at pubs, clubs, stadia, etc.)
The game’s average audience of 7.13 million included a national broadcast audience of 6.17 million viewers on Seven (4.5 million in the capital cities) and another 957,000 viewers on 7plus – breaking the record for the most streaming event ever in Australia.
Optus Sport reported similar ratings, with the semi-final being one of the most watched Optus Sport matches.
The semi-final clash became the fourth-highest audience for Optus Sport joining two other Matilda fixtures in the Optus Sport all-time top 5.
Top 5 matches ever on Optus Sport:
1. UEFA EURO 2020 ITA vs ENG 12 July 2021 (exclusive to Optus Sport)
2. UEFA EURO 2020 ENG vs DEN 8 July 2021 (exclusive to Optus Sport)
3. FIFA WWC 2023 AUS vs FRA 12 August 2023 (non-exclusive to Optus Sport)
4. FIFA WWC 2023 AUS vs ENG 16 August 2023 (non-exclusive to Optus Sport)
5. FIFA WWC 2023 AUS vs DEN 7 August 2023 (non-exclusive to Optus Sport)
Read more: Optus Sport reports Matildas semi-final reaches all-time top 5 engagement on platform
The England V Spain final kicks off at 8:00 pm on Seven, 7plus and Optus Sport.