Lionesses left in tears as Earps is consoled by her team-mates

It was heartbreak for England as the Lionesses succumbed to a 1-0 defeat by Spain in the Women's World Cup final.

Spain went a goal up in the 29th minute after Olga Carmona Garcia struck a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Mary Earps from a tight angle on the left side of the penalty area.

It was the only goal of the game and the Lionesses were unable to find an equalizer, despite having several chances while hitting the the woodwork on multiple occasions.

At full-time Sarina Wiegman's team dropped to the floor heartbroken after the defeat.

Earps, who was sensational throughout the match, and the tournament, fell to her haunches and was subsequently consoled by her team-mates as she welled up on the pitch.

The Manchester United goalkeeper was awarded the golden glove award, after her brilliance during England's campaign, and it was truly deserved.

Today she showed why she was awarded the accolade with the No 1 pulling off several incredible saves while also stopping a penalty during the match.

Wiegman rallied her team in a huddle in the middle of the pitch and delivered a team-talk to her players, with several members of the group appearing to well up.

The 2022 European Championship winners have been superb throughout the tournament and while they were defeated they have made history, playing in their first ever World Cup final.

And while Spain wheeled away in celebration, the Lionesses gathered round one and other with Keira Walsh notably consoling a dejected looking Alex Greenwood who had a bandage wrapped around her head after suffering a head injury during the match.

Captain Millie Bright, who has also been a stand-out during the tournament, was also seen wrapping her arm around a devastated Lucy Bronze before consoling other players in her team.

The Chelsea defender also showed her class congratulating several Spain players on their victory.

Ahead of the trophy presentation ceremony, Spain gave their opponents a guard of honour as the Lionesses walked up to collect their runners-up medals.

'This is really hard to take. We gave it everything,' Bright said following the match.

'We had chances, we hit the bar, but we just didn't have the final edge and they got theirs in back of the net.

'We're absolutely heartbroken. We gave everything. Unfortunately we just weren't there.'

England had chances throughout the game, with Alessia Russo driving through into the Spain penalty area early on, but could not get a shot away.

Soon after Lauren Hemp would strike the bar, crashing a long-range effort into the woodwork.

Just before half-time Ella Toone missed a golden opportunity to put the Lionesses level, but just couldn't quite get a touch on a fiery ball across the Spain penalty area from Hemp.

At half-time, Wiegman opted to make two changes bringing on Chloe Kelly and Lauren James, who made her first appearance since she was sent off for a stamp during their 1-0 win against Nigeria.

After the match, the Dutch manager was asked whether she had any regrets, but claimed that she was 'proud' of her side's work in reaching the final.

'No,' she replied. 'Well, I think we gave our everything, we did everything we could. The players gave everything and we tried different tactics.

'I have to give it to Spain. That was the team of the tournament. They played the best football. So congratulations to Spain.

'Absolutely [we can be proud of reaching the final]. It doesn't feel like that now but you see how we took on every challenge even before the tournament.

'We have done great and no regrets. You just try to do everything and make the right choices all the time. Sometimes it works and today it didn't.'

Earps was called upon to make several saves throughout the game, and after a VAR review in the second-half deemed that Keira Walsh had handled the ball inside the penalty area.

Spain had the chance to go 2-0 up, with the referee subsequently awarding a penalty.

Reflecting on the loss, Wiegman added that she was disappointed, admitting England struggled to execute their chances.

'Most of all disappointment. Because when you play in a final you want to win it. That's mainly how I feel,' she said speaking on the game.

'I think we gave everything and the opponent was very strong.

'We got momentum and I thought we'd get back into the game but of course, we couldn't score.

'Then the momentum got out of the game again with the penalty that took forever. Fortunately, Mary then stopped it.

'And then the injury to Alex, that was at a stage where I thought we were gonna come up and they were struggling with it.

'At the end when were tried to force, we didn't execute that very well and they took the win.'

Jennifer Hermoso stepped up to take the spot-kick, but her shot into the bottom-right corner of the goal was saved by the England goalkeeper.

She was a stand-out throughout the match and while Wiegman's side had several chances in the second term, they unfortunately could not find a leveler.

After the match, the Dutch manager lumped praise on their opponents, claiming: 'I think Spain were a little bit better than us today and they had a great tournament, so they deserved it I think.

'What we have done, how we've played and who we've tried to be, overcoming so many challenges, I think we can be very proud of ourselves, even if it doesn't feel like that at the moment.'