England beaten by Spain once again after Women's World Cup heartache
Spain beat England 1-0 in Sunday's Women's World Cup final
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Spain have got the better of England again, with reports saying their kit has sold better than the Lionesses' this summer.
La Roja won 1-0 against Sarina Wiegman's side on Sunday morning, with Olga Carmona netting the only goal of the game to secure the prize.
Now, according to the Daily Mail, Spain have now beaten England off the pitch as well.
It's said sales data shows a 29 per cent sell-out rate of the Spanish kit across the world, with Adidas manufacturing it.
Spain shirts have sold better than England's after the Women's World Cup
PA
Nike fashioned together the England jersey for this summer but they've managed to sell just 15 per cent of strips made.
Overall, Adidas got the better of Nike by selling out 24 per cent of all team's shirts compared to their rivals' total of 12 per cent.
The report notes that the United States' shock second-round exit at the hands of Sweden hasn't helped matters, with the defending champions going all the way in previous years.
Nike also made a huge gaffe by refusing to make Mary Earps goalkeeper shirts, despite the Manchester United star being one of the players of the tournament.
Earps was left devastated by their decision, with fans then launching a petition.
The England goalkeeper said: “It is the young kids I am most concerned about.
"They are going to say, ‘Mum, Dad, can I have a Mary Earps shirt?’ and they say, ‘I can’t, but I can get you an Alessia Russo 23 or a Rachel Daly 9.’
"What you are saying is that goalkeeping isn’t important, but you can be a striker if you want.
"That is why the participation rate is so much lower.”
Now, only after the tournament is over, Nike have performed a U-turn.
A spokeperson said: “We recognise that during the tournament we didn’t serve those fans who wished to show their passion and support to the squad’s goalkeepers.
"We are committed to retailing women’s goalkeeping jerseys for major tournaments in the future.”
Goalkeeper shirts are often more expensive for sports manufacturers to make.
They often have a smaller fanbase, too.
However, Earps previously pointed out that her Manchester United Women's Super League shirt was sold out last season.
Speaking after the defeat to Spain, meanwhile, Earps admitted she was disappointed by the result - despite her own brilliant display, which involved the 30-year-old saving a penalty.
"The team result is the most important thing really and we couldn't get that," she stated.
"I just try to go out and do my job for the team, leave everything on the pitch.
"In a couple of weeks, when the emotion has settled down, we will probably be able to look back and feel proud - it is no small feat to get to a World Cup final.
"But we are very competitive people, we came here to win the game and get a gold medal, not a silver one.
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England star Mary Earps has got her way with Nike willing to produce kits
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"At the same time you need to try and be as present as possible. These moments don't come around very often. I will probably look back on this as up there as one of my career highlights but right now it just doesn't feel like it."
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