England v Spain: When and where to watch the Lionesses' first World Cup final
England have made history after making it to their first final of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
The Lionesses defeated tournament co-hosts Australia 3-1 in Sydney on Wednesday in front of a sold-out stadium.
Coach Sarina Wiegman's side will now face Spain in the final on Sunday in the hope of lifting the trophy.
England are currently fourth in FIFA's women's rankings, but their upcoming opponents are trailing close behind at sixth.
Spain secured their place in their very first final after their 3-1 victory over the world's number three team Sweden.
FIFA's number one and current World Cup champions, USA, were knocked out by Sweden on penalties in the round of 16, while number two Germany went out in the group stages.
Having won the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 tournament - their first ever major trophy - the Lionesses will be hungry to build on their successes by becoming world champions.
When and where to watch the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup final
The final on Sunday, August 20, will be broadcast on both ITV1 and BBC One, with kick-off set for 11am BST.
As well as catching the match on TV, you can also stream it online via either ITVX or BBC iPlayer.
Their chances are likely to be boosted by the return of Lauren James, who was hit with a two-match ban for stamping on Nigeria's Michelle Alozie during England's round of 16 match.
Having previously been touted as a "cheat code" for the Lionesses the 21-year-old Chelsea forward is viewed as having the potential to become the women's sport's best player in the world.
James's return to the pitch will certainly be welcome news, but the Lionesses remained focused and stood their ground without her during the knockout stages.
As Tottenham Hotspur forward Beth England put it, the Lionesses are "not defined by one player", as they demonstrated throughout the tournament.
Injured England forward Beth Mead appealed to the Lionesses critics who failed to be convinced by the side's performances despite making it to a third straight semi-final.
“You’re never going to play a perfect game every game. In the Euros, we grew into the tournament and I think it’s the same at the moment," she said. “We didn’t play our best game in the first two matches and still came away with two victories, in comparison to Germany or Brazil who got knocked out in the group stage. You don’t need to be firing on all cylinders if you’re winning games and getting momentum. “But fans have an expectation of us to be playing 10 out of 10 every time we get on the football pitch. Unfortunately that’s not football. The opposition make it hard for you.
“But the girls are in a good place. We’ve made it to a semi-final and haven’t actually played our best football. It’s exciting to know they can still get to another level against Australia.”
Spain will be just as determined, however, as they compete for their chance to reach the Women's World Cup trophy for the first time.
Their progress in this World Cup has seen them go much further than the last edition in France, where they were knocked out by the United States in the last 16.
Barcelona winger Salma Paralluelo, who put Spain against Sweden in the 81st minute before Rebecka Blomqvist's equaliser took the match to penalties, called on her country to “face the ultimate challenge”.
“It was a very tough game. It could have been difficult to recover from their goal, but we’ve shown that this team can deal with everything,” the 19-year-old told FIFA’s website. “We deserved this. We took this little step, and now we need that final push. Now it’s the final. “I think we have to do what we’ve done in every match. We’ve overcome every challenge and now we face the ultimate challenge, the big one.”
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