England boss Sarina Wiegman confessed she was “hurt” after England’s World Cup final defeat to Spain, but told her Lionesses to be proud too.
Spain were 1-0 winners in Sydney on Sunday thanks to Olga Carmona’s goal midway through the first-half.
Jorge Vilda’s side dominated much of the game and, despite England hitting the crossbar, they struggled to create.
“I’m just hurt about this moment,” said Wiegman. “Losing a game and in a final, when you’re in a final you want to win it.
“I guess you mean because it’s a second final, I don’t see it [like that], this was a different game, a different team.
“I was totally convinced before the game that it would be a very tight game but we were confident that we were able to win it.
“I hope in the future I get a new moment with the team I work with, that would be amazing, because it’s very special to play finals.
“It’s very disappointing, that’s what I said [in the huddle]. Everyone was very disappointed that we didn’t win the game.
“We can be very proud of ourselves though it doesn’t feel that way at this moment, that takes a little bit of time.
“The disappointment is the way you feel. But everything we have done, how we have grown into the tournament, the challenges we had before the tournament, during the tournament and how we have adapted to situations.
“We have given everything that we could in this tournament and also in this game. I said we can still be proud.”
