The ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup finished on Sunday as Spain were crowned champions.

They earned a maiden World Cup win after beating England 1-0 in Sydney thanks to Olga Carmona’s first-half goal.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what we learned from this tournament.

USA dominance over

Our time Down Under comes to an end. x

— U.S. Women s National Soccer Team (@USWNT)

The USA have been the leading force in women’s football for the past few decades, winning the previous two World Cups and claiming three gold medals at the Olympics, but they suffered a shock defeat to Sweden in the last 16 in Melbourne.

A number of other nations made early exits, including Olympic champions Canada going out in the group stage …

Everton defender Phil Jagielka has signed a contract extension at the club which will see him remain at Goodison Park until 2017.

The 30-year-old s current deal was set to expire in the 2014-15 season, so the Toffees moved quickly to retain his services for another four years due to his outstanding form this season.

Chief executive Robert Elstone told the club s official website: We are delighted Phil has agreed to commit his long term future here at Goodison Park.

Phil is a hugely important and influential player and I, like many Evertonians, look forward to seeing him play in a blue shirt for many years to come.

Discussions have been taking place for a short while and, now they are completed, I would like to thank Phil and his representatives for th…

Christian Panucci has revealed that Roma have approached him over the vacant coaching role.

Zdenek Zeman was sacked on Saturday following Roma s disappointing performances in recent months, and the club have wasted no time in lining up potential replacements.

It is true that Roma contacted me on Saturday. They asked me about my availability and whether I was open to a return to Roma. I won t go into any further details, the former Italy international told Corriere dello Sport. For me, coaching Roma would be the best. I had some amazing years at Trigoria. We ll see what happens.

The experience of having worked with someone like Fabio Capello, who is one of the best coaches in the world, is worth more than other coaching experiences. I m not afraid of starting m…

Juventus are considering a move for Aaron Ramseyon Arsenal as an alternative to Liverpool’s Emre Can, according to Talksport.

Can, who’s contract expires at the end of the season has long been linked with a move to the Serie A champions though no deal is yet in place and other targets are now being looked at.

Ramsey has been in fine form for the Gunners this season, racking up twenty-six appearances in all competitions, scoring ten goals.

In total, the Wales international has played three hundred and twenty-three times since signing from Cardiff City almost ten years ago, netting fifty-seven times while he has helped the club to FA Cup success in three of the past five campaigns and was named the club’s Player of the Year in 2014.

He has been c…

Birmingham City have appointed former West Ham and Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp as their new manager.

Redknapp replaces Gianfranco Zola, who resigned in the aftermath of Monday s 2-0 defeat to Burton Albion following just two wins in his 24 games in charge of the Championship side.

Birmingham are three points above the relegation zone in English football s second tier having been in play-off contention when Zola controversially succeeded Gary Rowett.

Redknapp has three games remaining this season in which to preserve their status, starting with Sunday s derby showdown with Aston Villa.

Birmingham have not disclosed the length of the 70-year-old s contract.

OFFICIAL: The Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Harry Redknapp as our new ma…

Gaizka Mendieta believes Barcelona should have sacked Ronald Koeman earlier to prevent negative dynamics from developing at Camp Nou.

Barca parted company with Koeman on Wednesday following a 1-0 LaLiga defeat to Rayo Vallecano, on the back of a home Clasico loss against Real Madrid.

Koeman replaced Quique Setien in August 2020 but has failed to make an impact as he battled with Barca s dire financial situation, which led to Lionel Messi departing for Paris Saint-Germain.

The Blaugrana were ninth in the table ahead of a clash with Alaves on Saturday and have lost two of their three Champions League Group E matches.

Sergi Barjuan has stepped in as caretaker head coach and club legend Xavi is expected to be named as Koeman s successor on a permanent basis…

Arsene Wenger believes Mikel Arteta s great future must be nurtured with a strong backroom team if Arsenal make the inexperienced Spaniard their new head coach.

The Gunners have held talks with their former captain and are expected to appoint him to replace Unai Emery.

Arteta, 37, spent five seasons at Emirates Stadium as a player before retiring and taking up a coaching position with Manchester City in 2016.

He is well-regarded after working as Pep Guardiola s understudy but ex-Arsenal boss Wenger said the club would have to take measures to counteract his lack of experience.

I am an Arsenal supporter and at the moment I support the manager in charge. The manager in charge is [Freddie] Ljungberg, Wenger told reporters in Doha.

When Arteta will…

Watford has told Danny Rose that he is free to leave the club in the January transfer window, according to . The Premier League club have reportedly told the former Tottenham Hotspur left-back that he will not play for them again.

Rose joined Watford in the summer of 2021 on a free transfer. The England international left-back signed a two-year contract with the Hornets. The Watford no.3 has made seven starts and one substitute appearance in the Premier League so far this season.

Watford are fighting for survival in the Premier League at the moment and are in real danger of getting relegated to the Championship at the end of the season. Claudio Ranieri’s side are 17th in the Premier League table at the moment with 13 points from 18 matches, two points above third-from…

Market: Charlton win

Odds: 7/5 @

Hoping to try and find a route back into the top-half of the League One table in midweek, Charlton will make the trip to Gresty Road on Wednesday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Crewe might have signed off 2021 with a much-needed 2-1 win against Morecambe on the road, it appears that might have just been a minor boost for the relegation scrappers. Last seen on January 4th getting hit with an action-packed 4-2 defeat against Rotherham on home soil, David Artell s men have lost three of their last four matchups across all formats. Last seen on League One duties getting hit with a 4-1 drumming against Burton, the Reds could be in for another tough test on Wednesday night. Suffering back-to-back losses at Gresty Road, the Chesh…

Hull City manager Steve Bruce admitted that his side benefitted from a series of refereeing decisions in Saturday s 1-0 win over West Ham.

A debatable penalty for a foul on Robbie Brady – which the winger duly converted by sending Jussi Jaaskelainen the wrong way – was enough to secure back-to-back Premier League victories for Steve Bruce s side for the first time since October 2008.

But the decision sparked controversy as Brady went down somewhat easily following an aerial challenge with Joey O Brien, with referee Kevin Friend deeming that there had been enough contact to award the spot-kick.

West Ham searched in vain for an equaliser, and will consider themselves unlucky not to have been awarded at least one penalty of their own, with handballs from Curtis Davies…