2011 FIFA Women's World Cup facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup

Tournament details
Host country	Germany
Dates	26 June – 17 July
Teams	16 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)	9 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Japan (1st title)
Runners-up	United States
Third place	Sweden
Fourth place	France
Tournament statistics
Matches played	32
Goals scored	86 (2.69 per match)
Attendance	845,751 (26,430 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Homare Sawa (5 goals)
Best player	Homare Sawa
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The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was a big international football tournament for women's national teams. It was the sixth time this exciting event took place. The tournament happened in Germany from June 26 to July 17, 2011.

The champions were Japan. They won against the United States in a thrilling final match. The score was 2-2 after extra time, so the winner was decided by penalty kicks. Japan won the shootout 3-1. This victory was super special because Japan became the first team from Asia to ever win a FIFA World Cup!

The final game was played at the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, Germany. The team that won the previous World Cup, Germany, was the host country. But they were knocked out by Japan in the quarter-finals.

Teams That Played

Sixteen teams from all over the world qualified to play in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. These teams came from different football regions, called confederations.

Teams from Asia (AFC)

• Australia
• Japan (They were the champions!)
• North Korea

Teams from Africa (CAF)

• Equatorial Guinea
• Nigeria

Teams from North & Central America (CONCACAF)

• Canada
• Mexico
• United States

Teams from South America (CONMEBOL)

• Brazil
• Colombia

Teams from Oceania (OFC)

• New Zealand

Teams from Europe (UEFA)

• England
• France
• Germany (They were the hosts!)
• Norway
• Sweden

Group Stage Matches

The 16 teams were divided into four groups: Group A, B, C, and D. Each team played against the other teams in their group. The top two teams from each group moved on to the next stage, called the knockout stage.

Group A Standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Germany	3	3	0	0	7	3	+4	9
France	3	2	0	1	7	4	+3	6
Nigeria	3	1	0	2	1	2	−1	3
Canada	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0

Group B Standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
England	3	2	1	0	5	2	+3	7
Japan	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6
Mexico	3	0	2	1	3	7	−4	2
New Zealand	3	0	1	2	4	6	−2	1

Group C Standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Sweden	3	3	0	0	4	1	+3	9
United States	3	2	0	1	6	2	+4	6
North Korea	3	0	1	2	0	3	−3	1
Colombia	3	0	1	2	0	4	−4	1

Group D Standings

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Brazil	3	3	0	0	7	0	+7	9
Australia	3	2	0	1	5	4	+1	6
Norway	3	1	0	2	2	5	−3	3
Equatorial Guinea	3	0	0	3	2	7	−5	0

Knockout Stage: The Road to the Final

After the group stage, the tournament became a knockout competition. This means if a team lost a match, they were out! Teams played in quarter-finals, then semi-finals, and finally the big final match.

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	9 July
	Germany	0
					13 July
	Japan (aet)	1
					Japan	3
	10 July
					Sweden	1
	Sweden	3
									17 July
	Australia	1
									Japan (pen)	2 (3)
	9 July
									United States	2 (1)
	England	1 (3)
					13 July
	France (pen)	1 (4)
					France	1
	10 July
					United States	3
	Brazil	2 (3)
	United States (pen)	2 (5)

• Quarter-finals: Some big teams were knocked out here! Japan beat host Germany, and the USA won against Brazil in a penalty shootout.
• Semi-finals: Japan continued their amazing run by beating Sweden. The USA also won their semi-final match against France.
• Final: Japan and the USA played in the final. Japan won after a penalty shootout, making history!

Player Awards

After the tournament, special awards were given to the best players.

Best Players (Golden, Silver, Bronze Ball)

These awards are for the best overall players in the tournament.

Golden Ball	Silver Ball	Bronze Ball
Homare Sawa	Abby Wambach	Hope Solo

Top Goalscorers (Golden, Silver, Bronze Boot)

These awards are for the players who scored the most goals.

Golden Boot	Silver Boot	Bronze Boot
Homare Sawa	Marta	Abby Wambach

Other Special Awards

Other awards recognized great goalkeeping, young talent, and fair play.

Best Goalkeeper	Best Young Player	FIFA Fair Play Trophy
Hope Solo	Caitlin Foord	Japan

All-Star Team

The All-Star Team is a group of the best players from the tournament, chosen for their amazing skills.

Images for kids

• 

  Six original candidates

• 

  Qualified      Failed to qualify

  Did not enter      Not a FIFA member

• 

  President of Organising Committee, Steffi Jones

• 

  The tournament's mascot, "Karla Kick"

• 

  Map showing qualified countries' results

• 

  The opening ceremony

See also

In Spanish: Copa Mundial Femenina de Fútbol de 2011 para niños