World Cup heartbreak but brave Lionesses vow to bounce back

Heartbroken England captain Millie Bright vowed the Lionesses would bounce back from their World Cup final defeat.

Olga Carmona’s first-half strike earned Spain a 1-0 victory in the final in Sydney as Sarina Wiegman’s side were denied a first World Cup triumph a year after their maiden European Championship success.

But Bright, who captained the side during the tournament in the absence of Leah Williamson, does not think this is the end of the story for this team.

She said: “(There’s a) huge amount of disappointment. At first you feel you failed cos you’ve not won, but to finish second I think in a couple of weeks when we settle down we’ll be really, really proud.

“This is not it from us, well bounce back I’m sure, but for now it’s hard to take.”

England hit the bar through Lauren Hemp in the first period while goalkeeper Mary Earps saved a second-half Jennifer Hermoso penalty to keep hopes alive, but Spain held on to lift their first world title.

Bright added: “We gave everything. We can say hand on heart we gave everything.

“In the first half we weren’t at our best. Second half we bounced back, showed our fight, showed our character and we had chances, we just didn’t have that final edge today.

“We’ve been 1-0 down in a game before and we bounced back and that was the aim today. We never give in and it’s hard to take but it’s football. We’re absolutely heartbroken. Unfortunately we just weren’t there today.”