Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament facts for kids
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | United Kingdom |
| Dates | 25 July – 9 August 2012 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Venue(s) | 6 (in 6 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  United States (4th title) |
| Runners-up |  Japan |
| Third place |  Canada |
| Fourth place |  France |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 26 |
| Goals scored | 70 (2.69 per match) |
| Attendance | 568,348 (21,860 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Christine Sinclair (6 goals) |
The women's football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics was a big soccer competition for women's teams. It was part of the Olympic Games held in London and five other cities across the United Kingdom. This was the first time the UK hosted a major women's football event organized by FIFA.
Contents
Teams That Played
Twelve teams earned their spot to play in the tournament. These teams came from all over the world. Great Britain automatically qualified because they were the host nation.
Great Britain (Host nation)- Japan
North Korea
South Africa
Cameroon- United States
- Canada
Brazil
Colombia
New Zealand
Sweden- France
Group Stage Matches
In the group stage, the twelve teams were split into three groups: Group E, Group F, and Group G. Each team played every other team in their group once. Teams earned points for wins and draws. A win gave 3 points, a draw gave 1 point, and a loss gave 0 points. The top two teams from each group, plus the two best third-place teams, moved on to the next round.
Group E Results
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 9 |
| Brazil |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 |
| New Zealand |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Cameroon |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | –10 | 0 |
Group F Results
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 |
| Japan |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 |
| Canada |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 |
| South Africa |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | –6 | 1 |
In Group F, Japan played their first match against Canada in Coventry on July 25. The games between Japan and South Africa, and Japan and Sweden, both ended in a draw with no goals scored.
Group G Results
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 9 |
| France |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 |
| North Korea |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | –4 | 3 |
| Colombia |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | –6 | 0 |
The American women's team won all three of their matches in Group G.
Best Third-Place Teams
After the group stage, the two best teams that finished third in their groups also moved on. Here's how the third-place teams ranked:
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 |
| New Zealand |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| North Korea |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | –4 | 3 |
Knockout Stage: The Finals Begin
The knockout stage was like a single-elimination tournament. If a team lost a match, they were out of the competition. The teams kept playing until only one champion remained.
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 3 August – Coventry | ||||||||||
| Great Britain |
0 | |||||||||
| 6 August – Manchester | ||||||||||
| Canada |
2 | |||||||||
| Canada |
3 | |||||||||
| 3 August – Newcastle | ||||||||||
| United States |
4 | |||||||||
| New Zealand |
0 | |||||||||
| 9 August – London | ||||||||||
| United States |
2 | |||||||||
| United States |
2 | |||||||||
| 3 August – Glasgow | ||||||||||
| Japan |
1 | |||||||||
| Sweden |
1 | |||||||||
| 6 August – London | ||||||||||
| France |
2 | |||||||||
| France |
1 | |||||||||
| 3 August – Cardiff | ||||||||||
| Japan |
2
|
|||||||||
| Brazil |
0 | |||||||||
| Japan |
2
|
|||||||||
In the first match at St James Park in Newcastle, the United States beat New Zealand 2-0. This win ended New Zealand's time in the 2012 games. In the semi-final match at Old Trafford in Manchester, the US women won a thrilling 4-3 victory over Canada. They scored the winning goal in the very last minute of extra time!
In the opening match at Cardiff, Brazil was knocked out of the tournament after losing to Japan 2-0. Later, in a match at Wembley Stadium in London, the Japanese team won 2-1 against France.
Bronze Medal Match
The bronze medal match was played to decide which team would finish in third place.
| 9 August 2012 13:00 |
Canada |
1 – 0 | France |
Ricoh Arena, Coventry Referee: Jenny Palmqvist (Sweden) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Matheson  90' |
Report |
Canada won the bronze medal by beating France 1-0. The winning goal was scored by Diana Matheson in the 90th minute of the game.
Gold Medal Match: USA vs. Japan
The United States women's national soccer team and the Japan women's national football team played in the final match for the gold medal. This was an exciting rematch because these two teams had also played against each other in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup final.
The gold medal match was played at the famous Wembley Stadium in London on August 9, 2012. The American team won the match 2-1, becoming the Olympic champions!
| 9 August 2012 19:45 |
United States |
2 – 1 | Japan |
Wembley Stadium, London Referee: Bibiana Steinhaus (Germany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lloyd 8', 54' |
Report | Ōgimi 63' |
Tournament Statistics
Here are some interesting facts and figures from the tournament:
- Top Scorer: Christine Sinclair from scored the most goals with 6.
- Own Goal: Ysis Sonkeng from scored an own goal (meaning she accidentally scored for the other team).
- Red Card: Choe Mi-Gyong from received a red card, which meant she had to leave the game.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Great Britain vs New Zealand
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Torneo femenino de fútbol en los Juegos Olímpicos de Londres 2012 para niños
