Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament facts for kids
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | China |
| Dates | 6 August - 21 August |
| Teams | 12 |
| Venue(s) | 5 (in 5 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  United States (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  Brazil |
| Third place |  Germany |
| Fourth place |  Japan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 26 |
| Goals scored | 64 (2.46 per match) |
| Attendance | 740,014 (28,462 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Cristiane |
The women's football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was a big soccer competition. It took place in Beijing, China, and four other cities. Twelve national teams from around the world played in this exciting event. The games started on August 6, just before the main Olympic opening ceremony. The United States team won the gold medal. They beat Brazil in the final match, earning their third Olympic gold in women's football.
Contents
How Teams Qualified
To play in the Olympics, teams first had to qualify. They earned their spots by doing well in special tournaments. Here are the 12 teams that made it to the 2008 Summer Olympics:
China (They qualified automatically as the host country)- Japan
North Korea
Nigeria- United States
Canada
Argentina
New Zealand- Germany
Norway
Sweden- Brazil
Group Stage Matches
The tournament started with a group stage. The 12 teams were divided into three groups: Group E, Group F, and Group G. Each team played every other team in their group once. Teams earned points for their games: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The best teams from each group moved on to the next round.
Group E Results
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 |
| Sweden |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
| Canada |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Argentina |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | –4 | 0 |
Group F Results
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 |
| Germany |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 7 |
| North Korea |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | –1 | 3 |
| Nigeria |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | –4 | 0 |
Group G Results
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 |
| Norway |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | –1 | 6 |
| Japan |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 4 |
| New Zealand |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | –5 | 1 |
Ranking of Third Place Teams
After the group stage, the two best third-place teams also moved on. This made sure more strong teams could keep playing for the medals.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 4 |
| Canada |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| North Korea |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | –1 | 3 |
Knockout Stage Games
The knockout stage was like a single-elimination bracket. If a team lost a match, they were out of the tournament. Only the winners kept playing. This continued until only two teams were left to play for the gold medal.
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 15 August – Tianjin | ||||||||||
| Brazil |
2 | |||||||||
| 18 August – Shanghai | ||||||||||
| Norway |
1 | |||||||||
| Brazil |
4 | |||||||||
| 15 August – Shenyang | ||||||||||
| Germany |
1 | |||||||||
| Sweden |
0 | |||||||||
| 21 August – Beijing | ||||||||||
| Germany |
2 | |||||||||
| Brazil |
0 | |||||||||
| 15 August – Qinhuangdao | ||||||||||
| United States |
1 | |||||||||
| China |
0 | |||||||||
| 18 August – Beijing | ||||||||||
| Japan |
2 | |||||||||
| Japan |
2 | |||||||||
| 15 August – Shanghai | ||||||||||
| United States |
4
|
|||||||||
| United States |
2 | |||||||||
| Canada |
1
|
|||||||||
The United States and Brazil teams won their semifinal matches. This meant they would play each other for the gold medal and the Olympic championship!
Bronze Medal Match
Before the final, Germany and Japan played for the bronze medal. This match decided which team would finish third in the tournament.
| 21 August 2012 18:00 |
Germany |
2 – 0 | Japan |
Workers Stadium, Beijing Attendance: 49,285 Referee: Estella Alvares (Argentina) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bajramaj  68', 87' |
Report |
Gold Medal Match
This was the big final game! The United States and Brazil played to see who would win the gold medal and become the Olympic champions.
| 21 August 2012 21:00 |
Brazil |
0 – 1 | United States |
Workers Stadium, Beijing Attendance: 51,612 Referee: Dagmar Damkova (Czech Republic) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Lloyd 96' |
Final Standings
Here's how the top teams finished in the tournament:
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | United States |
| 2 | Brazil |
| 3 | Germany |
| 4 | Japan |
Tournament Statistics
These are some interesting facts from the tournament:
- The player who scored the most goals was Cristiane.
- There was one "own goal" scored by Gunhild Følstad. An own goal is when a player accidentally scores into their own team's net.
Related Pages
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Torneo femenino de fútbol en los Juegos Olímpicos de Pekín 2008 para niños
