As the dust settles on England's heartbreaking defeat to Spain in the World Cup final, the Lionesses should feel almightily proud of the monumental journey they have been on.
Unfortunately, Sarina Wiegman's side were unable to repeat last summer's heroics when they won the European Championships.
Spain came away 1-0 winners courtesy of Olga Carmona's first-half strike in Sydney. Jenifer Hermoso then had the chance to double her side's advantage from the penalty spot, but Mary Earps was equal to the task, providing a nail-biting end to the contest.
While winning the World Cup is seen as the ultimate achievement in a player's career, the prize money is a pleasant bonus - something the England players have unfortunately missed out on.
FIFA pledged a massive prize pool for this year's Women's World Cup, three times the £24m prize fund on offer for the 2019 World Cup.To start with, each player in the England squad received £10,000 to help their families attend the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Any extra cash is dependent on where a team finishes in the tournament, with players guaranteed at least £24,000 just for qualifying.
By finishing runners-up, each Lioness will take home £153,000 for their efforts. However, if England were to have found a way to lift the allusive trophy, then they would have pocketed £213,000 each.There has been plenty of criticism surrounding the prize money awarded at the tournament after it was confirmed England would be playing in the final.
The men's side were offered £500,000 by the FA if they won at Qatar last year, but when the women reportedly asked for just a fifth of this, they were turned down.
Many labelled the decision by FA as ridiculous, including Match of the Day pundit and former Arsenal striker Ian Wright.
Earlier today, he appeared on ITV Sport with Chelsea Women’s manager Emma Hayes and called the bonuses row ‘embarrassing’.
“Wiegman is staying, she's got a world class side there's no reason for her to go anywhere, I hope she gets paid what she deserves and I hope the players get the bonuses they deserve,” he pointedly told the coach.
The 59-year-old added: “It’s really quite embarrassing.”
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