1995 FIFA Women's World Cup

The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in Sweden and won by Norway, who became the first European nation to win the Women's World Cup.[1][2][3] The tournament featured 12 women's national teams from six continental confederations. The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four and each group played a round-robin tournament. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams and two best third-ranked teams advanced to the knockout stage, beginning with the quarter-finals and culminating with the final at Råsunda Stadium on 18 June 1995.

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup
Världsmästerskapet i fotboll för damer 1995
Official logo
Tournament details
Host countrySweden
Dates5–18 June
Teams12 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)5 (in 5 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Norway (1st title)
Runners-up Germany
Third place United States
Fourth place China
Tournament statistics
Matches played26
Goals scored99 (3.81 per match)
Attendance112,213 (4,316 per match)
Top scorer(s)Norway Ann Kristin Aarønes (6 goals)
Best player(s)Norway Hege Riise
Fair play award Sweden
1991
1999

Sweden became the first country to host both men's and women's World Cup, having hosted the men's in 1958.

Australia, Canada, and England made their debuts in the competition. The tournament also hosted as qualification for the 1996 Summer Olympics, with the eight quarter-finalists being invited to the Olympics. In the second edition of the Women's World Cup, matches were lengthened to the standard 90 minutes, and three points were awarded for a win.[4]

Summary edit

Bulgaria was originally awarded hosting rights for the tournament, but had to relinquish the rights and FIFA ended up awarding the tournament to Sweden.[5] About 112,000 tickets were sold for the entire tournament.[6]

As a FIFA rules experiment, each team was allowed a two-minute time out each half.[7]

Norway won the 1995 title, with one in four Norwegians watching the game on television. Norway's team plane was escorted back to Oslo by two F-16s on their way to a victory celebration.[1]

Venues edit

Teams edit

 
Qualifying countries and their results of the 1995 Women's World Cup

As in the previous edition of the FIFA Women's World cup, held in 1991, 12 teams participated in the final tournament. The teams were:

Squads edit

For a list of the squads that competed in the final tournament, see 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup squads.

Match officials edit

Notes

  1. ^ Also served as an assistant referee for one match.

Draw edit

The draw for the group stage was held on 18 February 1995 in a public ceremony at the Elite Hotel Marina Plaza in Helsingborg, Sweden. The draw was conducted by Sepp Blatter, then the FIFA General Secretary, and assisted by Swedish internationals Tomas Brolin and Kristin Bengtsson, winners of the 1994 Guldbollen and Diamantbollen, respectively. There was no television coverage of the draw.[8]

Group stage edit

Group A edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Germany 3 2 0 1 9 4 +5 6 Advance to knockout stage
2   Sweden (H) 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
3   Japan 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3
4   Brazil 3 1 0 2 3 8 −5 3
Source: FIFA
(H) Hosts
Germany  1–0  Japan
  • Neid   23'
Report
Sweden  0–1  Brazil
Report
Attendance: 14,500

Sweden  3–2  Germany
Report
Attendance: 5,855
Brazil  1–2  Japan
Report

Sweden  2–0  Japan
Report
Brazil  1–6  Germany
Report
Attendance: 3,203

Group B edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Norway 3 3 0 0 17 0 +17 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   England 3 2 0 1 6 6 0 6
3   Canada 3 0 1 2 5 13 −8 1
4   Nigeria 3 0 1 2 5 14 −9 1
Source: FIFA
Norway  8–0  Nigeria
Report
Attendance: 4,344
England  3–2  Canada
Report
Attendance: 655
Referee: Eva Ödlund (Sweden)

Norway  2–0  England
Report
Attendance: 5,520
Nigeria  3–3  Canada
Report
Attendance: 250

Norway  7–0  Canada
Report
Attendance: 2,715
Nigeria  2–3  England
Report
Attendance: 1,843

Group C edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   United States 3 2 1 0 9 4 +5 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   China 3 2 1 0 10 6 +4 7
3   Denmark 3 1 0 2 6 5 +1 3
4   Australia 3 0 0 3 3 13 −10 0
Source: FIFA

Group C started with back-and-forth 3–3 draw between the United States and China with the Chinese coming back from a 3–1 deficit. Denmark's opening 5–0 win over Australia, in which Sonia Gegenhuber was sent off in the 45th minute for the Aussies, ultimately led to their securing one of the best third place runner up spots as they would lose their next two matches.[10]

United States goalkeeper Brianna Scurry was sent off in the 88th minute of the second group game against Denmark. With all three substitutions used, U.S. manager Tony DiCicco called upon striker Mia Hamm to play goalkeeper. Hamm made two saves over eight minutes of stoppage time to secure the 2–0 win.[11] In the other game, Angela Iannotta scored Australia's first-ever World Cup goal, but China defeated the Matildas 4–2.[10]

United States  3–3  China
Report
Attendance: 4,635
Denmark  5–0  Australia
Report
Attendance: 1,500

United States  2–0  Denmark
Report
Attendance: 2,704
China  4–2  Australia
Report

United States  4–1  Australia
Report
Attendance: 1,105
China  3–1  Denmark
Report
Attendance: 1,619

Ranking of third-placed teams edit

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 C   Denmark 3 1 0 2 6 5 +1 3 Advance to knockout stage
2 A   Japan 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3
3 B   Canada 3 0 1 2 5 13 −8 1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.

Knockout stage edit

Bracket edit

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
13 June – Västerås
 
 
  Germany3
 
15 June – Helsingborg
 
  England0
 
  Germany1
 
13 June – Helsingborg
 
  China0
 
  Sweden1 (3)
 
18 June – Solna
 
  China (p)1 (4)
 
  Germany0
 
13 June – Gävle
 
  Norway2
 
  Japan0
 
15 June – Västerås
 
  United States4
 
  United States0
 
13 June – Karlstad
 
  Norway1 Third place play-off
 
  Norway3
 
17 June – Gävle
 
  Denmark1
 
  China0
 
 
  United States2
 

Quarter-finals edit

Japan  0–4  United States
Report
Attendance: 3,756

Norway  3–1  Denmark
Report
Attendance: 4,655

Germany  3–0  England
Report
Attendance: 2,317

Sweden  1–1 (a.e.t.)  China
Report
Penalties
3–4
Attendance: 7,537

Semi-finals edit

United States  0–1  Norway
Report
Attendance: 2,893

Germany  1–0  China
Report
Attendance: 3,693

Third place play-off edit

China  0–2  United States
Report
Attendance: 4,335

Final edit

Germany  0–2  Norway
Report
Attendance: 17,158

Awards edit

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:[12]

Golden Ball Silver Ball Bronze Ball
  Hege Riise   Gro Espeseth   Ann Kristin Aarønes
Golden Shoe Silver Shoe Bronze Shoe
  Ann Kristin Aarønes   Hege Riise   Shi Guihong
6 goals, 0 assists 5 goals, 5 assists 3 goals, 2 assists
FIFA Fair Play Award
  Sweden

Statistics edit

Goalscorers edit

There were 99 goals scored in 26 matches, for an average of 3.81 goals per match. Ann Kristin Aarønes of Norway won the Golden Shoe award for scoring six goals.

6 goals

5 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Assists edit

6 assists

5 assists

3 assists

2 assists

1 assist

Source: FIFA Technical Report[13]

Tournament ranking edit

Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws. Teams eliminated in the quarter-finals are ranked by their quarter-final goal differential.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Final result
1 B   Norway 6 6 0 0 23 1 +22 18 Champions
2 A   Germany 6 4 0 2 13 6 +7 12 Runners-up
3 C   United States 6 4 1 1 15 5 +10 13 Third place
4 C   China 6 2 2 2 11 10 +1 8 Fourth place
5 A   Sweden (H) 4 2 1 1 6 4 +2 7 Eliminated in
quarter-finals
6 B   England 4 2 0 2 6 9 −3 6
7 C   Denmark 4 1 0 3 7 8 −1 3
8 A   Japan 4 1 0 3 2 8 −6 3
9 A   Brazil 3 1 0 2 3 8 −5 3 Eliminated in
group stage
10 B   Canada 3 0 1 2 5 13 −8 1
11 B   Nigeria 3 0 1 2 5 14 −9 1
12 C   Australia 3 0 0 3 3 13 −10 0
Source: FIFA Technical Report[14]
(H) Hosts

References edit

  1. ^ a b "WOMEN'S WORLD CUP; Norway's Rivalry With U.S. Is Intense". The New York Times. 13 June 1999. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Norway Women Win World Cup – Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. 19 June 1995. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Raising Their Game: Enjoying it in 1995". YouTube. 14 June 2012. Archived from the original on 28 September 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  4. ^ Williams, Jean (1 November 2007). A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football. Berg Publishers. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-84788-345-2. Some of the terms and conditions had been changed this time: 90 minutes of play instead of 80 in China, a full group of 20 players instead of 18, three points for a win, and the experiment with time out.
  5. ^ Russo, Anthony (12 April 2015). "1995 Women's World Cup".
  6. ^ "WOMEN'S WORLD CUP: Soccer's biggest event a week away". Kitsap Sun. 13 June 1999.
  7. ^ Goff, Steven (4 June 1995). "Women's World Cup '95 Sweden". The Washington Post.
  8. ^ "Statistical Kit – The Draw for the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 6 December 2018. p. 39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  9. ^ Regulations of the 2nd FIFA World Championship for Women's Football 1995. FIFA. 1995. p. 18.
  10. ^ a b Peter Georgaras; Steve Darby; Andre Kruger; Thomas Esamie. "Matildas Internationals for 1995". OzFootball.
  11. ^ Yoesting, Travis (4 April 2019). "TBT: Remember When Mia Hamm Played Goalie at the Women's World Cup?". the18.com.
  12. ^ Awards 1995
  13. ^ Statistics – 2nd FIFA Women's World Cup Sweden 1995. Zürich. 1995. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup 1995 – Technical Report, Part 1: Table" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. p. 14 (15 of PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2019.

External links edit