Olga Carmona: Spain's World Cup Hero Reveals Meaning Behind Message on Her Shirt

• Spain edged England to win the 2023 Women’s World Cup
• The only goal of the final came from Olga Carmona in the first half.
• Carmona revealed a message on her inner shirt during her goal celebration, and the meaning behind the message has finally come to light

Spain’s scorer of the World Cup-winning goal Olga Carmona had a message on her shirt and Sports Brief has finally established the meaning behind it.

The Spanish full-back scored the only goal of the game in a thoroughly entertaining final on Sunday, August 20 after a powerful surge forward to drive a low shot past the England goalkeeper Mary Earps

As Carmona wheeled away in celebration, she could be seen lifting up her shirt to reveal a message in her compression top, which had the word 'Merchi'.

There have been conflicting reports on what was the meaning behind the celebration, as it was initially thought that ‘Merchi’ was a dedication to the Spaniard’s former school.

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Carmona’s school had shared a photo of her on Instagram to celebrate her achievement after Spain reached the World Cup semis, and the Real Madrid star replied in the comments with, “Thank you fam, Come on Spain.”

However, this has since been debunked, as the celebration was actually a tribute to Carmona’s friend’s mum, who recently passed away.

As reported on GOAl.com, the topic of the goal celebration came up amid wild celebrations following the World Cup triumph, and Carmona explained the meaning behind the word, saying:

"I dedicate my goal & this victory to my best friend, who recently lost her mother."

Spain get evenge on England

A minor sub plot in Spain’s World Cup victory was their rise from the ruins after England humiliated them in the Euro 2022 quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory.

Prior to the Australia edition of the tournament, Spain Women’s team had only won one World Cup game in their fairly short history.

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But it has been a remarkable comeback for manager Jorge Vilda, who survived a player revolt a year ago to stay as manager to guide the team to World Cup glory.

World Cup prize money

Sports Brief also reported on the prize money for the World Cup winners after Spain’s victory.

The prize money at the 2023 Women's World Cup has gone up from $30 million in 2019 to $110million.

Before the tournament in New Zealand and Australia, FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, said the prize money would be distributed to federations rather than directly to players and every player will get at least $30,000.