SYDNEY – Sunday’s World Cup final between England and Spain is the final act of a month of drama which highlighted how far women’s football has come — and the challenges that lie ahead.
There had been fears that the biggest-ever Women’s World Cup — 32 teams, up from 24 four years ago — would dilute the spectacle in Australia and New Zealand.
Lopsided scorelines were a feature of the previous eight World Cups and critics said debutants such as Haiti, the Philippines and Morocco would be on a hiding to nothing.
But the opposite proved to be true…
