2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Final
Encyclopedia
The final of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was played between and the . The match took place in Commerzbank-Arena
, in Frankfurt
, Germany
, on 17 July 2011. Japan won on a penalty shoot-out following a 2–2 draw after extended time, becoming the first Asian
team to win a FIFA World Cup final.
The match was the third between the two teams in World Cup play. The United States beat Japan 3–0 in pool play in 1991, and won 4–0 in a 1995 quarterfinal match. Going into the final, the USA had never lost to Japan, with 22 wins and 3 draws. Prior to the World Cup, the United States was the top-ranked team in the FIFA Women's World Rankings
, while Japan was ranked fourth.
This marked the first time that a team won the World Cup having lost a match in pool play.
Japan became only the second Asian
national team to reach the FIFA Women's World Cup Final. This was also only the second final not involving a European
team, following 's final appearance against the United States in 1999.
, the United States was the final team to qualify for the 2011 World Cup. After finishing third in the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup
, which serves as the CONCACAF
qualifier, the United States was forced to defeat in a home-and-home
playoff. Japan, ranked 4th, qualified for the tournament by finishing third in the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup
, which served as the AFC
qualifier.
Once at the finals, the United States reached the knockout stage by finishing second in Group C
behind , the only team they lost to in group play. They advanced through the quarterfinals on a penalty shootout
with , in which the United States footballer Abby Wambach
scored an equalizer in the 122nd minute of the game – in stoppage time, the latest goal ever scored in Women's World Cup play, – to tie the game 2–2 and bring the game into a penalty shootout. The United States then defeated 3–1 to reach the final.
Japan reached the knockout stage by finishing second in Group B
behind , which was the only team to defeat Japan in group play. Japan then stunned the host nation, two-time defending champions Germany, 1–0 in extra time. They then defeated Sweden 3–1 to reach the final match.
Final standing
e class="wikitable" style="text-align:center">
Team
3
3
0
0
4
1
3
9
3
2
0
1
6
2
4
6
3
0
1
2
0
3
−3
1
3
0
1
2
0
4
−4
1
Opponent
Result
Knockout stage
Opponent
Result
1–0 (a.e.t.)
Quarterfinals
2–2 (a.e.t.) (5–3 pen.)
3–1
Semifinals
3–1
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
UNITED STATES:
|
GK
1
Hope Solo
RB
11
Ali Krieger
CB
19
Rachel Buehler
CB
3
Christie Rampone
LB
6
Amy LePeilbet
RM
9
Heather O'Reilly
CM
10
Carli Lloyd
CM
7
Shannon Boxx
LM
15
Megan Rapinoe
SS
12
Lauren Cheney
CF
20
Abby Wambach
Substitutions:
FW
13
Alex Morgan
MF
17
Tobin Heath
Manager:
Pia Sundhage
Commerzbank-Arena
The Commerzbank-Arena is a sports stadium in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. Commonly known by its original name, Waldstadion , the stadium opened in 1925. The stadium has been upgraded several times since then; the most recent remodelling was its redevelopment as a football-only stadium in preparation...
, in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, on 17 July 2011. Japan won on a penalty shoot-out following a 2–2 draw after extended time, becoming the first Asian
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
team to win a FIFA World Cup final.
Finalists
The match was between the (USA), which has been a major power in women's association football since winning the inaugural World Cup championship, and , which had never won a major world title, or indeed even reached the finals of a major world competition. The United States was bidding to become the first team to win a third world championship, having won in 1991 and 1999. Japan became the fourth team to win a world championship, joining the United States, and .The match was the third between the two teams in World Cup play. The United States beat Japan 3–0 in pool play in 1991, and won 4–0 in a 1995 quarterfinal match. Going into the final, the USA had never lost to Japan, with 22 wins and 3 draws. Prior to the World Cup, the United States was the top-ranked team in the FIFA Women's World Rankings
FIFA Women's World Rankings
The FIFA Women's World Rankings for football were introduced in 2003, with the first rankings published in March of that year, as a follow-on to the existing FIFA World Rankings for men...
, while Japan was ranked fourth.
This marked the first time that a team won the World Cup having lost a match in pool play.
Japan became only the second Asian
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
national team to reach the FIFA Women's World Cup Final. This was also only the second final not involving a European
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
team, following 's final appearance against the United States in 1999.
Route to the final
Despite being ranked 1st in the world by FIFAFIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
, the United States was the final team to qualify for the 2011 World Cup. After finishing third in the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup
2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup
---------Group B:---------Knockout Map:-Semifinals:-----Third place play-off:-Final:-External links:* *...
, which serves as the CONCACAF
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is the continental governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean...
qualifier, the United States was forced to defeat in a home-and-home
2011 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA-CONCACAF play-off)
In the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification process, one spot was allocated to the winner of a two-legged play-off between the winner of the UEFA repechage play-offs and the winner of the third-place qualification match in the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup.The order of play for these matches...
playoff. Japan, ranked 4th, qualified for the tournament by finishing third in the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup
2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup
-Semi finals:-----Third place playoff:-Final:- Awards :-Goalscorers:3 goals Yoo Young-A Kozue Ando Homare Sawa Jo Yun-Mi2 goals Zhang Rui Mami Yamaguchi Samantha Kerr...
, which served as the AFC
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
qualifier.
Once at the finals, the United States reached the knockout stage by finishing second in Group C
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C
Group C of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup consisted of the teams from , , and . The games were played on 28 June, 2 July and 6 July 2011. The top two teams advanced to the knockout stage.-Standings:All times are CEST .- Colombia vs. Sweden :...
behind , the only team they lost to in group play. They advanced through the quarterfinals on a penalty shootout
Penalty shootout
The shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to penalty shots in that a single player takes one shot on goal...
with , in which the United States footballer Abby Wambach
Abby Wambach
Mary Abigail "Abby" Wambach is an American professional soccer player, coach and Olympic gold medalist. A four-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, she has been a regular on the U.S. women's national team since 2003...
scored an equalizer in the 122nd minute of the game – in stoppage time, the latest goal ever scored in Women's World Cup play, – to tie the game 2–2 and bring the game into a penalty shootout. The United States then defeated 3–1 to reach the final.
Japan reached the knockout stage by finishing second in Group B
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B
Group B of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup consisted of the teams from , , and . The games were played on 27 June, 1 July and 5 July 2011. The top two teams advanced to the knockout stage.-Standings:All times are CEST ....
behind , which was the only team to defeat Japan in group play. Japan then stunned the host nation, two-time defending champions Germany, 1–0 in extra time. They then defeated Sweden 3–1 to reach the final match.
| Japan | Round | United States | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||
| 2–1 | Match 1 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 4–0 | Match 2 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 0–2 | Match 3 | 1–2 | ||||||
| e class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"> | ||||||||
| Team | ||||||||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 2 | |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | |
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage
The knockout stage of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup consisted of the top two teams of each of the four groups. It began on July 9 and ended with the Final on July 17 2011.-Qualified teams:-Bracket:-England vs. France:-Germany vs. Japan:...
Match details
| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> |  JAPAN: |
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| GK | 21 | Ayumi Kaihori Ayumi Kaihori is a Japanese international footballer. A goalkeeper, she currently plays for INAC Kobe Leonessa.. She was also the starting goalkeeper for Japan in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, tallying 5 wins and 1 loss... |
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| RB | 2 | Yukari Kinga Yukari Kinga is a Japanese international footballer currently playing as a defender for L. League club INAC Kobe leonessa. She has played in the 2007 and 2011 FIFA Women's World Cups.-References:... |
||
| CB | 3 | Azusa Iwashimizu Azusa Iwashimizu is a Japanese footballer currently playing as a defender for L. League club NTV Beleza. She has played in the 2007 and 2011 FIFA Women's World Cups. She was sent off in the last minute of extra time in the final, but Japan still defeated the United States.... |
||
| CB | 4 | Saki Kumagai Saki Kumagai is a Japanese international footballer. A central defender, she currently plays for 1. FFC Frankfurt in Germany after signing from Urawa Red Diamonds in 2011. She was part of Japan's World Cup-winning team in 2011, scoring the winning penalty in the final against the USA.-Club career:-Honors:Club... |
||
| LB | 15 | Aya Sameshima Aya Sameshima is a Japanese international footballer. Mainly a left-sided defender, she currently plays for French club Montpellier in the Division 1 Féminine.-Domestic career:... |
||
| CM | 6 | Mizuho Sakaguchi Mizuho Sakaguchi is a Japanese international footballer currently playing as a midfielder for L. League club Albirex Niigata Ladies. She played at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.-References:... |
||
| CM | 10 | Homare Sawa Homare Sawa is a female football player from Japan. She currently plays for INAC Kobe Leonessa in the Nadeshiko League Division 1.- Career :Long considered Japan's finest female footballer, she made her debut in Japan's highest domestic league at age 12. On December 6, 1993, at age 15, she made her Japanese... |
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| RW | 11 | Shinobu Ohno Shinobu Ohno is a Japanese football player who plays as a forward. Her club team, as of 2011, is INAC Kobe Leonessa.After playing in the U-19 and U-20 teams for a short period, Ohno joined the senior Japanese national team in 2003. Her first major tournament was the 2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup, where Japan... |
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| LW | 8 | Aya Miyama Aya Miyama is a Japanese football midfielder who currently plays for Okayama Yunogō Belle of the L. League. She is also a member of the Japan's national team that won the 2011 Women's World Cup.-Early career:... |
||
| CF | 7 | Kozue Ando Kozue Ando is a Japanese international footballer. A midfielder, she currently plays for FCR 2001 Duisburg in Germany. She is a member of the Japanese national team, which defeated the United States in a penalty shoot-out in the finals to win the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.... |
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| CF | 9 | Nahomi Kawasumi Nahomi Kawasumi is a Japanese international footballer currently playing as a midfielder for L. League club INAC Kobe Leonessa. She played at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, scoring both her goals of the tournament—including a lob at 35 yards away—against Sweden in the semifinals.... |
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| Substitutions: | ||||
| FW | 17 | Yūki Nagasato Yūki Nagasato is a Japanese women's football striker.She currently plays for 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam of the Women's Bundesliga and is a member of the Japan women's national football team. She also played for Japan in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, where they defeated the US in the final.-Career... |
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| FW | 18 | Karina Maruyama Karina Maruyama is a Japanese footballer from Tokyo. In the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany, Marayama scored a goal taking Japan to its first ever semifinals of the tournament on 9 July, 2011, defeating the host country.... |
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| FW | 20 | Mana Iwabuchi Mana Iwabuchi is a female football player from Japan. She currently plays for NTV Beleza and its youth team, NTV Menina, and the Japan women's national football team.-Career:Iwabuchi started playing soccer at Sekimae S.C. in her second year of elementary school... |
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| Manager: | ||||
| Norio Sasaki Norio Sasaki is the head coach of the Japan women's national football team and a former association football player. He served as coach of the women's U-20 team starting in 2006, and was named coach of the national team in 2008... |
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UNITED STATES:
Hope Solo
Hope Amelia Solo is an American association football goalkeeper. She became a free agent after Women's Professional Soccer terminated the magicJack franchise for which she played in the 2011 season. Solo is the current starting goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer...
Ali Krieger
Alexandra Blaire "Ali" Krieger is an American soccer player currently playing for 1. FFC Frankfurt of the Frauen-Bundesliga and is a member of the United States Women's National Soccer Team.-Youth and High School:...
Rachel Buehler
Rachel Marie Buehler is an American soccer defender currently playing for the United States women's national soccer team.-College career:...
Christie Rampone
Christie Patricia Rampone is an American soccer defender currently playing for magicJack of Women's Professional Soccer. She is a member and current Captain of the United States women's national soccer team.-High school:...
Amy LePeilbet
Amy Elizabeth LePeilbet is an American soccer defender currently playing for Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer and is a member of the United States women's national soccer team.-University:...
Heather O'Reilly
Heather Ann O'Reilly , also known by her initials HAO, is a member of the United States women's national soccer team and a two-time Olympic Gold medalist...
Carli Lloyd
Carli Anne Lloyd is an American soccer midfielder currently playing for the Atlanta Beat of Women's Professional Soccer and is a member of the United States women's national soccer team.-Early life:...
Shannon Boxx
Shannon Boxx is an American soccer midfielder currently playing for magicJack of Women's Professional Soccer and is a member of the United States women's national soccer team....
Megan Rapinoe
Megan Anna Rapinoe is an American soccer midfielder who is currently a free agent in the Women's Professional Soccer League and a member of the United States women's national soccer team...
Lauren Cheney
Lauren Nicole Cheney is an American soccer player and member of the United States women's national soccer team. She is currently a forward for Women's Professional Soccer's Boston Breakers.-Career:...
Abby Wambach
Mary Abigail "Abby" Wambach is an American professional soccer player, coach and Olympic gold medalist. A four-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, she has been a regular on the U.S. women's national team since 2003...
Alex Morgan
Alexandra Patricia "Alex" Morgan is an American soccer player from Diamond Bar, California. She is a forward for the Western New York Flash of Women's Professional Soccer and member of the US Women's National Team...
Tobin Heath
Tobin Powell Heath is an American soccer player, an Olympic Gold medalist, and a FIFA Women's World Cup Finalist. According to United States Soccer Federation, Heath is "perhaps the USA's most skillful player" and is "one of the team's best and most crafty dribblers"...
Pia SundhagePia Sundhage
Pia Mariane Sundhage is a Swedish former professional football player who is currently the head coach of the United States Women's National Team. While she played most of her career as a forward, she had stints as a midfielder as well as a sweeper.- Club :...
Player of the Match: Ayumi Kaihori Ayumi Kaihori is a Japanese international footballer. A goalkeeper, she currently plays for INAC Kobe Leonessa.. She was also the starting goalkeeper for Japan in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, tallying 5 wins and 1 loss... (Japan) Assistant referees Assistant referee (association football) In association football, an assistant referee is one of several officials who assist the referee in controlling a match. Two officials, traditionally known as linesmen , stand on the touchlines, while a fourth official assists administrative or other match related tasks as directed by the referee... : Marina Wozniak (Germany German Football Association The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is... ) Katrin Rafalski (Germany German Football Association The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is... ) Fourth official: Jenny Palmqvist (Sweden Swedish Football Association The Swedish Football Association is the governing body of football in Sweden. It organises the football leagues — Allsvenskan for men and Damallsvenskan for women — and the men's and women's national teams. It is based in Solna and is a founding member of both FIFA and UEFA... ) |