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2011 FIFA Women's World Cup facts for kids

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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 Flag of Japan.svg Japan (1st title)
Runners-up Flag of the United States.svg United States
Third place Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden
Fourth place Flag of France.svg France
Tournament statistics
Matches played 32
Goals scored 86 (2.69 per match)
Attendance 845,751 (26,430 per match)
Top scorer(s) Japan Homare Sawa
(5 goals)
Best player Japan Homare Sawa
2007
2015

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

Teams from Africa (CAF)

  • Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea
  • Nigeria Nigeria

Teams from North & Central America (CONCACAF)

  • Canada Canada
  • Mexico Mexico
  • United States United States

Teams from South America (CONMEBOL)

  • Brazil Brazil
  • Colombia Colombia

Teams from Oceania (OFC)

  • New Zealand New Zealand

Teams from Europe (UEFA)

  • England England
  • France France
  • Germany Germany (They were the hosts!)
  • Norway Norway
  • Sweden 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
Flag of Germany.svg Germany 3 3 0 0 7 3 +4 9
Flag of France.svg France 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 6
Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria 3 1 0 2 1 2 −1 3
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0

Group B Standings

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

Group C Standings

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

Group D Standings

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil 3 3 0 0 7 0 +7 9
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6
Flag of Norway.svg Norway 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3
Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg 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 Germany  0
13 July
 Japan Japan (aet)  1  
 Japan Japan  3
10 July
   Sweden Sweden  1  
 Sweden Sweden  3
17 July
 Australia Australia  1  
 Japan Japan (pen)  2 (3)
9 July
   United States United States  2 (1)


 England England  1 (3)
13 July
 France France (pen)  1 (4)  
 France France  1
10 July
   United States United States  3


 
 Brazil Brazil  2 (3)
 United States 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
Japan Homare Sawa United States Abby Wambach United States 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
Japan Homare Sawa Brazil Marta United States Abby Wambach

Other Special Awards

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

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

All-Star Team

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

Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards

Japan Ayumi Kaihori
United States Hope Solo

Australia Elise Kellond-Knight
Brazil Érika
England Alex Scott
France Sonia Bompastor
France Laura Georges
Germany Saskia Bartusiak

England Jill Scott
Equatorial Guinea Genoveva Añonma
France Louisa Necib
Japan Aya Miyama
Japan Shinobu Ohno
Japan Homare Sawa
Germany Kerstin Garefrekes
Sweden Caroline Seger
United States Shannon Boxx
United States Lauren Cheney

Brazil Marta
Sweden Lotta Schelin
United States Abby Wambach

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Copa Mundial Femenina de Fútbol de 2011 para niños

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