Spain’s World Cup-winning goalscorer learned of father’s death after final

Spain’s World Cup-winning goalscorer, Olga Carmona, was told her father had died after Sunday’s final against England.

The left-back’s strike in the first half of the match earned the team its 1-0 victory over the Lionesses on Sunday. But in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, this evening, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced her father’s death.

“The soccer player learned the sad news after the World Cup final. We send our most sincere hugs to Olga and her family in a moment of deep pain,” it added. “We love you, Olga, you are the history of Spanish football.”

Spain became only the second country, after Germany, to have won the men’s and women’s tournaments after the victory at Stadium Australia, Sydney.

Carmona, 23, had earlier celebrated the goal by revealing a message on her shirt reading “Merchi”, which she said was a tribute to a friend whose mother had died.