2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
Coupe du monde féminine de la FIFA 2015
United States celebrating with the Cup
Tournament details
Host country	Canada
Dates	6 June – 5 July
Teams	24 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)	6 (in 6 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	United States (3rd title)
Runners-up	Japan
Third place	England
Fourth place	Germany
Tournament statistics
Matches played	52
Goals scored	146 (2.81 per match)
Attendance	53,341 (1,026 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Carli Lloyd Célia Šašić (6 goals each)
Best player	Carli Lloyd
Best young player	Kadeisha Buchanan
Best goalkeeper	Hope Solo
Fair play award	France
← 2011 2019 →

The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was a big international football (soccer) tournament for women's national teams. It was the seventh time this event was held. Canada hosted the tournament from June 6 to July 5, 2015.

In the final match, Japan played against the United States. This was a repeat of the 2011 final. The USA team started very strong, scoring four goals in the first 16 minutes! Three of these goals were scored by Carli Lloyd. The United States won the game 5–2, earning their third Women's World Cup title.

Teams in the Tournament

Qualified Did not qualify Did not enter Country does not have a women's team

Twenty-four teams from all over the world qualified to play in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Canada, as the host country, automatically qualified.

Here are the teams that played:

Host Cities and Stadiums

Six cities in Canada hosted the matches for the tournament. These cities were Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, and Moncton.

City	Stadium	Capacity	Image
Vancouver	BC Place	54,500	BC Place in Vancouver
Edmonton	Commonwealth Stadium	53,058	Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton
Winnipeg	Winnipeg Stadium	33,422	Winnipeg Stadium
Ottawa	Lansdowne Stadium	24,000	Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa
Montreal	Olympic Stadium	61,004	Olympic Stadium in Montreal
Moncton	Moncton Stadium	13,000	Moncton Stadium

Artificial Turf Debate

Some players and experts believed that playing on artificial turf (fake grass) could cause more injuries than playing on natural grass. Over 50 players spoke out against using artificial turf for the tournament. They felt it was unfair to women players, as men's tournaments usually play on real grass. They even tried to take legal action against FIFA, but they decided to stop the lawsuit in January 2015.

Group Stage

Semi-finals Quarter-finals Round of 16 Group stage

The tournament started with a group stage. The 24 teams were divided into six groups (A, B, C, D, E, F) with four teams in each. Each team played every other team in their group once.

Key to colours in group tables
Team advanced to the Round of 16

The top two teams from each group moved on to the next round, called the Round of 16. Also, the four best third-place teams from all the groups advanced.

Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Canada	3	1	2	0	2	1	+1	5
China	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
Netherlands	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
New Zealand	3	0	2	1	2	3	–1	2

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Germany	3	2	1	0	15	1	+14	7
Norway	3	2	1	0	8	2	+6	7
Thailand	3	1	0	2	3	10	–7	3
Ivory Coast	3	0	0	3	3	16	–13	0

Group C

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Japan	3	3	0	4	1	+2	9
Cameroon	3	2	1	9	3	+5	6
Switzerland	3	1	2	11	4	+8	3
Ecuador	3	0	3	1	17	–15	0

Group D

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
United States	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7
Australia	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
Sweden	3	0	3	0	4	4	0	3
Nigeria	3	0	1	2	3	6	–3	1

Group E

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Brazil	3	3	0	0	4	0	+4	9
South Korea	3	1	1	1	4	5	–1	4
Costa Rica	3	0	2	1	3	4	–1	2
Spain	3	0	1	2	2	4	–2	1

Group F

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
France	3	2	0	1	6	2	+4	6
England	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
Colombia	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4
Mexico	3	0	1	2	2	8	–6	1

Third-Placed Teams

The four best third-placed teams also moved on to the knockout stage.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Colombia	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4
Netherlands	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
Switzerland	3	1	0	2	11	4	+7	3
Sweden	3	0	3	0	4	4	0	3
Thailand	3	1	0	2	3	10	–7	3
Costa Rica	3	0	2	1	3	4	–1	2

Knockout Stage

The knockout stage was where teams played single-elimination matches. If a team lost, they were out of the tournament. This stage included the Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, a Third Place Play-off, and the Final.

Bracket

20 June – Edmonton

China

26 June – Ottawa

Cameroon

China

22 June – Edmonton

United States

30 June – Montreal

Colombia

United States

20 June – Ottawa

Germany

Germany

26 June – Montreal

Sweden

Germany (pen.)

1 (5)

21 June – Montreal

France

1 (4)

France

5 July – Vancouver

South Korea

United States

21 June – Moncton

Japan

Brazil

27 June – Edmonton

Australia

Australia

23 June – Vancouver

Japan

1 July – Edmonton

Netherlands

Japan

22 June – Ottawa

England

Third place play-off

Norway

27 June – Vancouver

4 July – Edmonton

England

Germany

21 June – Vancouver

Canada

England (aet)

Canada

Switzerland

Round of 16

The Round of 16 saw 16 teams compete for a spot in the Quarter-finals.

Germany beat Sweden 4–1.
China won against Cameroon 1–0.
Australia defeated Brazil 1–0.
France won 3–0 against South Korea.
Host nation Canada beat Switzerland 1–0.
England came from behind to win 2–1 against Norway.
The United States won 2–0 against Colombia.
Japan beat the Netherlands 2–1.

Quarter-finals

Eight teams played in the Quarter-finals.

Germany and France played a very close game, ending 1–1 after extra time. Germany won 5–4 in a penalty shootout.
The United States beat China 1–0.
Japan won 1–0 against Australia.
England defeated Canada 2–1, ending the host nation's run.

Semi-finals

The four remaining teams battled it out in the Semi-finals.

The United States beat Germany 2–0.
Japan won a tight match against England 2–1.

Third Place Play-off

The teams that lost in the Semi-finals played for third place.

England beat Germany 1–0 after extra time, securing third place.

Final

The final match was played on July 5, 2015, in Vancouver.

The United States played Japan. The USA won convincingly 5–2, becoming the champions of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Tournament Statistics

Top Scorers

The Golden Boot award goes to the player who scores the most goals.

6 goals

3 goals

Anja Mittag
Kyah Simon
Gaëlle Enganamouit
Fara Williams
Marie-Laure Delie
Eugénie Le Sommer
Ada Hegerberg
Ramona Bachmann
Fabienne Humm

Many other players scored 1 or 2 goals during the tournament.

Team Rankings

Here's how the teams ranked at the end of the tournament:

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	United States	7	6	1	0	14	3	+11	19
2	Japan	7	6	0	1	11	8	+3	18
3	England	7	5	0	2	10	7	+3	15
4	Germany	7	3	2	2	20	6	+14	11
Eliminated in the Quarter-finals
5	France	5	3	1	1	10	3	+7	10
6	Canada	5	2	2	1	4	3	+1	8
7	Australia	5	2	1	2	5	5	0	7
8	China	5	2	1	2	4	4	0	7
Eliminated in the Round of 16
9	Brazil	4	3	0	1	4	1	+3	9
10	Norway	4	2	1	1	9	4	+5	7
11	Cameroon	4	2	0	2	9	4	+5	6
12	Colombia	4	1	1	2	4	5	–1	4
13	Netherlands	4	1	1	2	3	4	–1	4
14	South Korea	4	1	1	2	4	8	–4	4
15	Switzerland	4	1	0	3	11	5	+6	3
16	Sweden	4	0	3	1	5	8	–3	3
Eliminated at the Group stage
17	Thailand	3	1	0	2	3	10	–9	3
18	Costa Rica	3	0	2	1	3	4	–1	2
19	New Zealand	3	0	2	1	2	3	–1	2
20	Spain	3	0	1	2	2	4	–2	1
21	Nigeria	3	0	1	2	3	6	–3	1
22	Mexico	3	0	1	2	2	8	–6	1
23	Ivory Coast	3	0	0	3	3	16	–13	0
24	Ecuador	3	0	0	3	1	17	–16	0

Images for kids

Fox Sports' studio for the Women's World Cup at Jack Poole Plaza. This tournament was one of their first under a new agreement for FIFA events.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup facts for kids

Contents

Teams in the Tournament

Host Cities and Stadiums

Artificial Turf Debate

Group Stage

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Third-Placed Teams

Knockout Stage

Bracket

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Third Place Play-off

Final

Tournament Statistics

Top Scorers

Team Rankings

Images for kids

See also