China PR 1991
The first FIFA Women's World Cup
In 1991, China staged the first Women’s World Cup. Matches lasted 80 minutes, and the first goal was scored by the hosts’ Ma Li. In the semi-finals, the USA beat Germany 5-2 – the start of a rivalry between the two most successful women’s teams. In the Final in Guangzhou, 63,000 fans watched the USA become the first world champions, Michelle Akers-Stahl scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Norway.
The creation is approved
At a meeting on 30 June, the day before the 1988 FIFA Congress in Zürich, the Executive Committee of FIFA officially approved the creation of a Women’s World Cup. It was given the official title of the FIFA World Championship for Women’s Football.
At the meeting, China was chosen as the first host nation. With the tournament scheduled for 1991 and run on a four-yearly cycle, the FIFA Executive Committee were taking no chances with the hosting. They decided to return not only to the same nation that had just hosted the International Women’s Football Tournament, but the same region of Guangdong, which had hosted all of the matches.
Twelve teams would be represented at the finals with five from Europe, three from Asia, including the hosts and one each from Africa, South America, Oceania and North America.
The green light for a Women's World Cup
All of the competitors at the 1988 FIFA International Women’s Football Tournament knew that they held the future of women’s football in their hands. Fail to impress and the cause could be put back years, decades perhaps; create a good impression and the revolution could begin with a World Cup at the heart of it.
As the crowd filed out of the Tianhe stadium in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou at the end of the Final between Norway and Sweden, they were probably still reflecting on an extraordinary miss by Sweden’s Anneli Gustafsson which would have levelled the match at 1-1.
But instead of being used as an excuse to put the brakes on the development of women’s football, Gustafsson’s incredible miss - she skied a rebound from the post over the crossbar in front of an empty goal - was just seen as another part of an exciting tournament which finally gave the green light for the creation of a World Cup for women.
The story of the qualifiers
Canada's Charmaine Hooper celebrates scoring her side's 0-1 goal (0-2 victory) against Haiti at the 1991 CONCACAF's Women's Championship, in Port-au Prince, Haiti. In the end the US team would win the tournament and qualify for the Women's World Cup.
The story of the qualifiers for the Women’s World Cup has mainly been the story of the championships organised by the six continental confederations. This was the case for the first World Cup in 1991 where UEFA used the 1991 UEFA Women’s Championship to determine the five places allocated to Europe.
The 1991 AFC Women’s Championship produced two finalists for Asia, in addition to hosts China, while the 1991 OFC Women’s Championship produced a single entrant for Oceania.
In the three other confederations, championships were created specifically to act as World Cup qualifiers. The 1991 South American Women’s Championship was the first as was the 1991 CAF African Women’s Championship and the 1991 CONCACAF Women’s Championship – all of which produced a single finalist for the finals in China.
Kick-off as Europe leads the way
On Saturday 9 September 1989, a small crowd of 759 gathered in the Varkauden Keskuskenttä in the small Finnish town of Varkaus to watch the first game in the history leading to the Women’s World Cup. A first half penalty by Sissel Grude settled the game in Norway’s favour as they took their first step on the road to China.
Five first round groups produced eight quarter-finalists with the four semi-finalists and the losing quarter-finalist with the best record qualifying for the World Cup. The Norwegians were the first to achieve that in November 1990 after knocking out Hungary, followed by Italy, who knocked out Sweden on away goals; Denmark beat the Netherlands while Germany comfortably saw off England. Sweden were the lucky quarter-final losers.
In July 1991, just four months before the World Cup started, the Germans, who since October 1990 had no longer been playing as West Germany, beat Norway 3-1 in the Final to ensure they went to China as European Champions.
Asia’s pioneering women footballers
Across much of the world, the media paid scant attention to women’s football before the early 1990s. There are few newspaper reports and photos are scarce. Many of the pioneers just haven’t received the recognition they deserve.
That is what make the decision of the organisers of the 1991 AFC Women’s Championship to take a photo of all of the teams so important. It means we have a lasting photographic legacy for all the players who took part in Asia’s first World Cup qualifying campaign. All that needs to be done now is to put names to the faces of a group of pioneering women from Asia who challenged cultural norms and helped establish the women’s game on the continent.
Of all the six continental confederations, Asia could actually boast the longest history of organised international competition thanks to the creation of the Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) in 1968. It was an organisation that struggled for recognition, however, but against the odds it launched a championship in 1975 which was staged on a two-year cycle. Five had been played by the time the ALFC merged with the Asian Football Confederation in 1986 the year the official AFC Asian Women’s Championship was launched.
The 1991 tournament had nine entries and was played over two weeks in the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka. As China had already qualified as World Cup hosts, the two qualifying places went to Japan, who lost 5-0 to the Chinese in the Final, and to Chinese Taipei, who beat North Korea on penalties in the play-off for third place.
Sydney calling
The Australian and New Zealand women’s teams had been the first outside of Europe to play an official international match – in 1979 – although unofficial games between them had an even longer history.
And that intense rivalry was brought to the 1991 OFC Nations Cup, the fourth time the tournament had been staged since 1983. The two previous editions had been won by the nomadic Chinese Taipei, but they had now found a home back in the Asian Football Confederation.
The Marconi Stadium in Sydney was the venue for the tournament and the outcome was ultimately determined by who scored the most goals against novices Papua New Guinea. Wendy Sharpe’s goal for New Zealand beat Australia in the first encounter between the two, while future FIFA Executive Committee member Moya Dodd returned the favour for Australia in the return. A 16-0 win over PNG proved decisive for the Kiwis to earn their place in China.
A first for the Brazilian city of Maringá
On Sunday 28 April 1991, the Brazilian city of Maringá in the southern state of Paraná, was witness to a piece of South American football history when it staged the first ever women’s international played on the continent. In the Estádio Willie Davids, Brazil beat Chile 6-1 with Roseli scoring an historic first goal.
With a squad based largely on the one that had finished third at the 1988 International Women’s Football Tournament, the highest ranked of the non-European teams, Brazil had little trouble securing their place at the first World Cup when they eased to a 6-0 victory over Venezuela in the three-team World Cup qualifying tournament.
Every South American World Cup qualifying tournament played since has doubled up as a continental championship and Brazil have totally dominated the proceedings winning seven of the eight editions played up to 2018. In the 44 matches they won 41, drew once (against Colombia in 2014) and lost just twice (against Argentina in 2006 and 2014), scoring 248 goals in the process and conceding just 19.
An African adventure
Though not the first official game to involve an African country – an experimental side from the Côte d’Ivoire had taken part in the 1988 International Women’s Football Tournament – the opening match of the 1991 CAF African Women’s Championship between Nigeria and Ghana on Saturday, 16 February 1991 was the first to be played on African soil.
An astonishing crowd of 55,000 turned up at the National Stadium in Lagos to watch a match in which the home side comfortably beat Ghana 5-1. Played on a knockout basis, home and away, there was perhaps an element of hope over experience amongst most of the entries as Senegal, Zimbabwe and Congo withdrew in the first round, followed by Zambia in the semi-finals.
In the Final the Nigerians met Cameroon and were already proving themselves to be the dominant power on the continent with a commanding 6-0 aggregate victory. The second leg in Yaoundé’s Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo on 30 June was watched by an impressive 30,000, with Nigeria’s 2-0 win confirming them as the last team to take their place in China.
Goals and fans galore in Port-au-Prince
Not even an attempted coup against newly-elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the build-up to the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, could dampen the ecstatic welcome given to the eight teams taking part. The Stade Sylvio Cator was filled to its capacity - and beyond - with a total of 340,000 fans attending the 11 games.
The USA were nervous going into the tournament. Mexico were seen as the most powerful team on the continent thanks to their pioneering role 20 years earlier in staging an unofficial world championship and reaching the Final before a world record crowd for women’s football that still stands today.
It was a young American team that was also unused to the conditions. Julie Foudy recalls revising for her exams by candlelight thanks to repeated power cuts… to say nothing of the ever-present cockroaches! What followed set the USA on the road to becoming the dominant global power in the women’s game. Mexico were beaten 12-0 and over the five games they played the USA scored 49 without reply. A hat trick by Michelle Akers-Stahl and goals from Kristine Lilly and captain April Heinrichs saw the USA beat Canada 5-0 in the Final to receive what must be one of the biggest trophies awarded in the history of world football!
Of the 49 goals scored by the US, Akers-Stahl had scored 11, Heinrichs eight and Carin Jennings five, an attacking trio quickly nicknamed the ‘Triple-Edged Sword.’ They would be just as potent in the finals in China.
The draw and trophy debut
Three months after the last of the qualifiers had been played, the names of the 12 teams went into the draw at a ceremony in the Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou.
As with the 1988 International Women’s Football Tournament, the teams were drawn into three groups of four teams, with the top two from each group progressing to the quarter-finals, along with the two third-placed teams with the best record.
The new trophy that would be presented to the winning captain had been made in Switzerland by Angelo Brogioli. Like the first trophy for the men’s World Cup, it would have a short and troubled history. Presented to Norway after they won the second Women’s World Cup in 1995 it was later stolen from the offices of the Norwegian FA while refurbishment was taking place at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo.
The tournament begins
The Chinese hosts chose the phoenix as the central motif of the opening ceremony, symbolising the rebirth of women's football after 70 long years of neglect. Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou was full to its 65,000 capacity to watch the ceremony followed by the opening match.
The group stage
Group A
Only a special game of football could match the spectacle of the elegant opening ceremony, but China's clash with Norway duly delivered. With a fourth-minute penalty save by Zhong Honglian, a mesmerising run and pinpoint 25-yard strike from Liu Ailing, and a shock 4-0 win, the hosts were on top.
Bank clerk Helle Jensen's two goals in a 3-0 win over a spirited New Zealand team put Denmark into the mix, but Norway were too, bouncing back with a 4-0 win over the haka-dancing Kiwis, whose midfielder Julia Campbell agonisingly netted the first-ever Women's World Cup own goal. Later, 27,000 spectators roared as China twice came back against Denmark in a 2-2 thriller described by Danish coach Keld Gantzhorn as their "best-ever match". China finished top with a 4-1 win over New Zealand, who joyously celebrated when postwoman and bus driver Kim Nye bagged their only goal.
Meanwhile Norway, who had beaten Denmark in the semi-finals of the European Championship earlier that year, skipped around Yingdong Stadium in their stockinged feet having beaten them again to reach the quarters, although the Danes would still go through as one of the two best third-placed teams.
Standing & Matches
Standings
Team | MP |
W | D | L | Goals | Points |
China PR | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10:3 | 5 |
Norway | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6:5 | 4 |
Denmark | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6:4 | 3 |
New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1:11 | 0 |
Matches
16 Nov | CHN | 4 - 0 | NOR |
17 Nov | DEN | 3 - 0 | NZL |
19 Nov | CHN | 2 - 2 | DEN |
19 Nov | NOR | 4 - 0 | NZL |
21 Nov | NOR | 2 - 1 | DEN |
21 Nov | CHN | 4 - 1 | NZL |
Group B
Reformed six months earlier after a three-year hiatus and missing playmaker Sissi, who was not released by her club, Brazil got off to a flyer with a victory over Japan. Having missed chance after chance, Japan ultimately lost to a fourth-minute goal that the Asian Championship runners-up struggled to accept had crossed the line. Despite their individual flair, it would be Brazil's only highlight and Japan's most effective display as Sweden, led by Gunilla Paijkull, the only female head coach in the competition, and the USA, with their own chef in tow, sizzled.
Against one another, they served up what Anson Dorrance called "a credit to women's football" – a sumptuous five-goal classic that the 1991 Concacaf champions almost let slip when Sweden hit two goals, one a 30-yard thunderbolt from Ingrid Johansson, in a whirlwind final 14 minutes. The USA's 'Triple-Edged Sword' of Carin Jennings, Michelle Akers-Stahl and April Heinrichs went on to scythe through both Brazil and Japan to finish unbeaten.
In Foshan, Lena Videkull bagged what is still the fastest goal in Women's World Cup history as Sweden battered Japan 8-0, the tournament's most emphatic victory, before a 2-0 win over Brazil saw the former European champions into the quarters.
Standing & Matches
Standings
Team | MP |
W | D | L | Goals | Points |
USA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11:2 | 6 |
Sweden | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12:3 | 4 |
Brazil | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1:7 | 2 |
Japan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0:12 | 0 |
Matches
17 Nov | JPN | 0 - 1 | BRA |
17 Nov | SWE | 2 - 3 | USA |
19 Nov | JPN | 0 - 8 | SWE |
19 Nov | BRA | 0 - 5 | USA |
21 Nov | BRA | 0 - 2 | SWE |
21 Nov | JPN | 0 - 3 | USA |
Group C
With their own supply of pasta and seemingly limitless energy, Italy kicked off with a bang, putting five goals past Chinese Taipei, with captain Carolina Morace bagging the first Women's World Cup hat-trick in a blistering 30-minute spell. Germany's skipper and most-capped player Silvia Neid also made a scoring start in a 4-0 rout of African champions Nigeria, although her delight turned to despair when the recurrence of an old injury ended her World Cup 36 minutes in.
The European champions regrouped to beat Chinese Taipei 3-0 as Bettina Wiegmann converted the first Women's World Cup penalty and the skilful Heidi Mohr hit her second brace in two games. Italy, in contrast, were reliant on Morace, and they needed her late goal to beat a defensively efficient Nigeria, who were not only the youngest but one of the newest sides in the tournament having been formed in January 1991. 'La Tigre' Morace could not prevent a subsequent 2-0 loss to Germany, but both the European sides were through.
As were Chinese Taipei, whose own star skipper Chou Tai Ying helped secure victory over Nigeria despite the loss of 18-year-old keeper Lin Hui Fang after six minutes to the first Women's World Cup red card.
Standings
Team | G |
W | D | L | Goals | Points |
Germany | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9:0 | 6 |
Italy | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6:2 | 4 |
Chinese Taipei | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2:8 | 2 |
Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0:7 | 0 |
Matches
17 Nov | TPE | 0 - 5 | ITA |
17 Nov | GER | 4 - 0 | NGA |
19 Nov | TPE | 0 - 3 | GER |
19 Nov | ITA | 1 - 0 | NGA |
21 Nov | TPE | 2 - 0 | NGA |
21 Nov | ITA | 0 - 2 | GER |
The Quarter-finals
Players and referees enter the pitch prior to the quarter-final between USA and Chinese Taipei.
Hosts fall to early Sundhage goal
A Liu Ailing bullet ricocheted off the post, Chinese keeper Zhong Honglian saved a Pia Sundhage penalty and her opposite number Elisabeth Leidinge steadfastly repelled a constant bombardment. In the end, though, this third-ever meeting between the two sides was settled by a pinpoint third-minute header from Sweden skipper Sundhage, her third goal of the tournament.
55,000 spectators watched the drama unfold at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou but this was not the result they had hoped for. Even so, head coach Shang Ruihua's relatively inexperienced and youthful side had inspired a nation on their way to the knockout stage and as Sweden's centurion Sundhage fell to her knees at the final whistle, she must have thanked her lucky stars for 34-year-old shot-stopper Leidinge. "We had the best player in Elisabeth," she admitted later. "She saved us big time."
24.11.1991, 19:45 - Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou
China 0 - 1 Sweden
55,000 spectators
Goal: Sundhage 3 (Sundhage penalty saved 35)
Referees: John Toro Rendon COL
Claudia Vasconcelos BRA & Maria Herrera Garcia MEX
China - Shang Ruihua (Coach)
Zhong Honglian
Wen Lirong, Zhou Yang, Ma Li
Zhou Hua, Liu Ailing, Li Xiufu (c), Sun Wen, Zhang Yan (Wei Haiying 45)
Wu Weiying (Niu Lijie 75), Sun Qingmei
Andelén, Videkull
H Johansson (Ewrelius 65), Sundhage (c), I Johansson, Nilsson (Hedberg 67)
Zeikfalvy, Karlsson, Lundgren
Hansson
Leidinge
Sweden - Paijkull (Coach)
Thriller in Jiangmen
With a last-minute equaliser, a penalty decider and 100 minutes of action, Norway's battle for superiority over Italy was a thriller. Twice Norway took the lead, but twice Italy replied, the first time when Raffaella Salmaso's lucky bounce on the wet pitch deceived keeper Reidun Seth and cancelled out Birthe Hegstad's 22nd-minute opener.
Then, just as midfielder Agnete Carlsen looked to have won it for Norway, super-sub Rita Guarino scored at the death to force extra time. The match was finally settled by a steely 96th-minute spot kick from 25-year-old student Tina Svensson, the defender's second converted penalty in successive matches. Italy had finished fourth in European qualifying and had arrived in China eager to make similar inroads on the world stage. Sergio Guenza's side had battled valiantly in Jiangmen, but it was Even Pellerud's 1991 European Championship silver medallists who would live to fight another day.
24.11.1991, 19:45 - Jiangmen Stadium, Jiangmen
Norway 3 - 2 Italy A.E.T.
13,000 spectators
Goals: Hegstad 22, Carlsen 67, Svensson 96p; Saimaso 31, Guarino 80
Referees: Rafael Rodriguez SLV
Linda Black NZL & James McCluskey SCO
Norway - Pellerud (Coach)
Seth
Støre (c)
Svensson, Zaborowski, Nyborg
Humlestøl (Igland 79), Haugen, Carlsen
Riise, Scheel, Hegstad
Morace (c), Fiorini
Bavagnoli, Marsiletti, Mariotti (Guarino 68), Ferraguzzi, D'Astolfo
Cordenons, Iozzelli, Salmaso (Bonato 36)
Antonini
Italy - Guenza (Coach)
Mohr to the rescue
Denmark's official World Cup song, "Going for Goals", may have been penned by midfielder Lotte Bagge, but it was Germany's prolific striker Heidi Mohr who popped up with a 98th-minute winner in Zhongshan to keep her side on track and into the semi-finals. It was the 24-year-old's sixth goal of the tournament and perhaps her most important for the two-time European champions in China.
It had certainly been a battle to the finish after laboratory worker Susan Mackensie's 25th-minute penalty had cancelled out 20-year-old Bettina Wiegmann's, and neither side could find the decisive winner in normal time. Gero Bisanz's team may have won it with a last-gasp header, but their talented opponents departed China knowing they had held their own not only in the first Women's World Cup match to go to extra time, but in the inaugural competition itself.
24.11.1991, 15:30 - Zhongshan Stadium, Zhongshan
Denmark 1 - 2 Germany A.E.T.
12,000 spectators
Goals: Mackensie 25p; Wiegmann 17p, Mohr 98
Referees: Vassilios Nikakis GRE
Zuo Xiudi CHN & Vadim Zhuk BLR
Denmark - Gantzhorn (Coach)
Bjerregaard
Madsen
Stelling, Sefron (c), Nielsen
Thychosen, Kolding, Gam-Pedersen, Mackensie
H Jensen (Rasmussen 73), Nissen (Bagge 47)
Mohr, Voss
Bindl (Wendt 89), Gottschlich (Unsleber 51), Kuhlmann, Wiegmann, Damm
Paul, Fitschen, Austermühl
Isbert (c)
Germany - Bisanz (Coach)
The Akers-Stahl show
Before the USA ran out against underdogs Chinese Taipei in Foshan, no player had ever hit five goals in a single match in any FIFA World Cup. By the time the Americans left the pitch having crushed their opponents 7-0, their striker Michelle Akers-Stahl had. "It was like wow, wow, wow, good, oh my gosh," she would later recall. "It was sort of mind-blowing."
It was also a typically ruthless display by the 25-year-old, who had scored 11 goals in five qualifying matches and was described by head coach Anson Dorrance ahead of the tournament as a "personality player" with an "insatiable scoring mentality". It was a humbling defeat, but with an average age of 20, Chinese Taipei's squad had surpassed expectations. Trickier tests lay ahead for the USA, but with powerful no. 10 Akers-Stahl spearheading their charge, they were starting to look untouchable.
24.11.1991, 19:45 - New Plaza Stadium, Foshan
USA 7 - 0 Chinese Taipei
Goals: Akers (5) 8 29 33 44p 48, Foudy 38, Biefield 79
Referees: Omer Yengo CGO
Gertrud Regus GER & Ingrid Jonsson SWE
USA - Dorrance (Coach)
Harvey - Hamilton, Werden (Henry 57), Biefeld
Higgins, Hamm, Foudy, Lilly
Heinrichs (c) (Belkin 41), Akers-Stahl, Jennings
Shieh Su Jean, Lin Meei Chun
Chou Tai Ying (c), Chen Shwu Ju, Wu Su Ching (Liu Hsiu Mei 74), Hsu Chia Cheng
Wu Min Hsun, Chen Shu Chin, Lan Lan Fen
Lo Chu Yin
Hong Li Chyn
Chinese Taipei - Chong Tsu Pin (Coach)
The Semi-finals
As half-time approached, Sweden were ahead, but then Hege Riise was felled in the penalty area, spot-kick specialist Tina Svensson stepped up, slotted home and the game was wide open. By full time, Norway had four goals to Sweden's one.
Bagging two of them, one a mere 30 seconds into the second half, was policewoman and Norwegian club football's top scorer Linda Medalen. Used as a central defender in the European Championship in July, she made her mark as a striker in China. Sweden would go on to battle Germany for third place, but Norway were set for the first-ever Women's World Cup Final.
27.11.1991, 15:30 - Yingdong Stadium, Panyu
Match info - Sweden 1 - 4 Norway
16,000 spectators
Goals: Videkull 6; Svensson 39p, Medalen (2) 41 77, Carlsen 67
Referees: James McCluskey SCO
Fathi Boucetta TUN & Rafael Rodriguez SLV
Sweden - Paijkull (Coach)
Leidinge
Hansson (Nilsson 51)
Lundgren, Karlsson, Zeikfalvy
Hedberg (Swedberg 63), Sundhage (c), I Johansson, Ewrelius
Videkull, Andelén
Hegstad, Medalen, Riise
Nyborg, Zaborowski, Haugen, Carlsen
Svensson (Igland 61), Støre (c), Espeseth
Seth
Norway - Pellerud (Coach)
The answer was, of course, a resounding yes, and the 15,000 spectators, who included the legendary Pelé, were treated not just to a Jennings hat-trick, but a back-flicked Mohr goal and a Heinrichs double. Only Akers-Stahl missed out, although the 5'10" forward certainly played her part and hit a 17th-minute rocket from 25 yards out that rattled not only the post but the two-time European champions too.
Without their injured captain Silvia Neid at the helm and with less than three days' grace since their extra-time exertions against Denmark, Germany were unable to match the athleticism and firepower of the USA.
The inspirational Mohr and rising talent Bettina Wiegmann got on the scoresheet, beating keeper Mary Harvey, an FSV Frankfurt player at the time, with two fine goals. By then though, "Crazy Legs" Jennings had done the damage and USA skipper Heinrichs coolly finished the job off.
27.11.1991, 19:45, Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium, Guangzhou
Match info - Germany 2 - 5 USA
15,000 spectators
Goals: Mohr 34, Wiegmann 63; Jennings (3) 10 22 33, Heinrichs (2) 54 75
Referees: Salvador Imperatore CHI
Gyanu Shrestha NEP & Jun Lu CHN
Germany - Bisanz (Coach)
Isbert (c)
Fitschen
Paul, Nardenbach, Austermühl (Unsleber 60)
Kuhlmann, Bindl, Wiegmann, Gottschlich (Wendt 50)
Voss, Mohr
Jennings, Akers-Stahl, Heinrichs (c)
Lilly, Foudy, Higgins, Hamm
Hamilton, Werden, Biefeld
Harvey
USA - Dorrance (Coach)
I was like, of course we're going to win. It wasn't even a question.
The Final
When it came down to it, Norway and the USA were the two best teams in the tournament. Both operated with three strikers, both boasted an array of technically brilliant players, and both had seen off some of the newest and oldest teams in the women's game to reach the Final. With so much riding on the result, neither would play with the panache that had brought them to this moment, but both were confident they could win.
Sweden 4 -0 Germany
Battle for bronze: Sweden stuns Germany
It took just seven minutes for Gunilla Paijkull's Sweden to stake their claim in the battle for bronze against the top-ranked side in Europe. Their opening goal was simple enough, unmarked Anneli Andelén letting fly with a speculative shot that beat Marion Isbert, one of the two best keepers in the competition.
The other was her opposite number Elisabeth Leidinge, but it would be the Germany keeper who would be the busier of the two on this particular night as the Germans conceded three goals in less than half an hour, with Pia Sundhage and then Lena Videkull netting to end their tournament with four and five goals respectively.
Helen Nilsson finished the Germans off and made it four on the night with a smart shot after a mistake by the defence. Having shrugged off a poor showing in the European Championship earlier that year, the World Cup bronze medal was Sweden's to wear. Germany, under Gero Bisanz and his assistant Tina Theune-Meyer, had enjoyed a faultless start but an exhausting knockout campaign and left with the Fair Play Trophy.
Overseen by Cláudia Vasconcelos, the first woman to referee in a FIFA competition, and featuring the only side in the tournament to be managed by a female head coach, the match for third place set a new benchmark for women in football. Remarkably, it brought these two opponents face to face for the first time in their histories too. They would do battle over medals again in 2003, but that is another story.
Match info
29.11.1991, 19:45 - Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium, Guangzhou
20,000 spectators
Goals: Andelén 7, Sundhage 11, Videkull 29, Nilsson 43
Referees: Claudia Guedes BRA
Linda Black NZL & Zuo Xiudi CHN
Sweden - Paijkull (Coach)
Leidinge
Ewrelius
Lundgren, Karlsson, Zeikfalvy
Swedberg, Sundhage (c), Videkull, H Johansson
Andelén, Nilsson
Mohr, Voss
Wendt, Bindl (Kubat 38), Wiegmann, Damm, Gottschlich
Unsleber, Fitschen, Nardenbach
Isbert (c) (Walther 60)
Germany - Bisanz (Coach)
Saturday 30 November 1991
Norway 1 - 2 USA
With a full complement of stars at his disposal, USA manager Anson Dorrance knew they had a chance. As did Norway forward Hege Riise, who gave a cheeky smile when the television cameras passed her in the line-up. "When we stood there ready for the Final, thinking about everything we had accomplished, we felt confident that we could perform against the USA as well," she said.
With goalkeeper Reidun Seth passing a late fitness test, coach Even Pellerud was able to send his best XI out for what was also Norway's 100th international match. Having featured in every Norway game since their debut in 1978, defender Gunn Nyborg was a centurion too and was later handed the match ball by three-time FIFA World Cup winner Pelé.
There was no time for sentiment out on the pitch though, as Akers-Stahl showed when she stormed into the penalty area to power home a header with deadly accuracy against the run of play for 1-0. Anything Akers-Stahl could do, Norway's Linda Medalen could too and with keeper Mary Harvey struggling to reach a looping free kick in the box, the 26-year-old rose to head backwards into the net for her sixth goal of the tournament.
With extra time looming, USA coach Dorrance could feel the pressure building. "I felt like I was creating diamonds in my lower intestines from the pressure," he would later admit. Then up popped cool-as-a-cucumber Akers-Stahl, who pounced on Tina Svensson's rushed backpass, dinked the ball beyond the outstretched hand of Seth with her left foot and slotted it home with her right.
It was the USA's 25th goal of the tournament, the 99th of one of the highest-scoring FIFA competitions ever, and it confirmed the Americans as worthy winners of the inaugural Women's World Cup.
From the newspaper El Dia
12' 1-0 The goal of Dorado
The Uruguayan team had started the match brilliantly, dominating the Argentine defence, which was struggling in the last positions of their half. The crowd was anxiously awaiting the first goal for the sky-blue team, which was expected to come.
It was the 13th minute when Castro led one of the many charges that had already threatened Botazzo. Blocked by De la Torre, he gave the ball to Scarone: the latter tried a shot at goal, but Paternoster deflected the ball to the feet of Dorado, who was on the run. The Uruguayan striker's powerful shot was not long in coming and the net was rattled behind Botazzo.
The Centenario Stadium was shaken by a seismic phenomenon.
From the newspaper El Dia
20' 1-1 The goal of Peucelle
The Uruguayan goal provoked a reaction from the Argentine attack which went in search of an equaliser with fast and harmonious action. A foul committed by Fernandez in the centre of the field led to a scrimmage near the Uruguayan goal, and Ferreyra took advantage of it to bring Evaristo into play, who Andrade had left unguarded; the Argentine’s cross was not long in coming; Stabile headed it on to Peucelle, who with an unguarded sky blue goal executed a shot that Ballesteros could not stop because he was badly positioned.
From the newspaper El Dia
37' 1-2 Stabile. A goal that should have been disallowed
The equaliser brought about an equilibrium in the actions of both teams, although the Argentines were the greedier and lighter on their feet. A quick Albiceleste breakthrough caught our defence off guard, Monti took advantage of it to serve a long forward pass which Ferreyra (sic) collected and beat Ballesteros with a powerful overhead kick.
The Uruguayan captain complained to the referee that Ferreyra and Stabile were in an illegal position, but Mr. Langenus, in consultation with the linesman Cristofe, confirmed the decision. Everyone was convinced that Stabile and Ferreyra were behind the backs when the ball was served to them.
From the newspaper El Dia
57' 2-2 Cea. The equaliser
The end of the first half with Argentina in the lead had brought the nervous tension of the crowd to its peak. Our champions restarted the fight ready to regain the advantage. Their attacks, carried out with a somewhat closed tactic, were countered by the Porteño defenders with a great deal of pressure.
However, after thirteen minutes, Gestido put Castro in possession of the ball; the little man advanced resolutely exerting pressure on the Argentine defence, and as he saw Scarone in a good position he served him a measured pass: Héctor in one of his moments of inspiration beat the opposing defenders and when he had them on top of him with a quick step and a lofted pass that left Cea in front of the goal and without any opponents in front.
El Vasquito finished it off with an accurate shot that left Botazzo motionless.
From the newspaper El Dia
68' 3-2 Iriarte. Going in for the kill
Having drawn level, the Uruguayan attacking quintet deployed a monumental, unstoppable union that offered the surest promise of victory. An attempt by the Argentinian centre-backs was thwarted by Mascheroni, who, with no one in front, advanced into the opposition half and, seeing Iriarte in an excellent position, served him the ball with a long, measured pass.
The Basque striker threatened the cross, which opened up the Albiceleste defence, and taking advantage of the trick headed towards goal, finishing off the move with a furious shot that Botazzo reached but could not stop, as the violence of the shot bent his hands.
From the newspaper El Dia
89' 4-2 Castro. The knockout
The third goal strengthened Uruguay's position, but the crowd was not entirely reassured, as the Argentines desperately pressed forward in search of the equaliser, causing Ballesteros to go through some difficult moments. The losing team fought on and not lacking in energy and courage, dominated for a quarter of an hour.
But then the eleven captained by Nassazi regained their composure. Hector Scarone was in those moments the formidable champion who does not bear comparison; he was virtually directing his side's attacking play, delaying to pick up the ball and advancing with overwhelming impetus to trap the entire Argentine defence in their area.
The final whistle was very close, when Scarone started one of his many attacks, getting around Monti to put Dorado in excellent position to gain an advantage. The winger ran towards the opponent's goal line and on the run served a measured cross that was disputed by De la Torre, Paternoster and Castro, with the triumph of the little man, who with a powerful header put the ball in the net leaving Botazzo on the ground.
The stadium burst into a formidable ovation. The Uruguayans were World Champions.
30.11.1991, 19:45 - Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou
Match info - Norway 1 - 2 USA
63,000 spectators
Goals: Medalen 29; Akers (2) 20 78
Referees: Vadim Zhuk BLR
Ingrid Jonsson SWE & Gertrud Regus GER
Norway - Pellerud (Coach)
Seth
Støre (c)
Svensson, Espeseth, Nyborg
Haugen, Zaborowski (Strædet 79), Carlsen
Riise, Medalen, Hegstad
Jennings, Akers-Stahl, Heinrichs (c)
Lilly, Foudy, Higgins, Hamm
Hamilton, Werden, Biefeld
Harvey
USA - Dorrance (Coach)
Scenes from the Final
The Showcase
Title IX leads to titles one, two, three, and four!
Of the four world titles won so far by the Americans, the triumph in 1991 may have received the least coverage of them all, but it was a hugely significant achievement and recognition did come when the team was invited to the White House to meet President George Bush. And the government could congratulate itself in having played an important role in creating the environment that had enabled women’s football to flourish in the country.
19 years earlier, in 1972, the federal government had enacted a ground-breaking piece of legislation that dramatically changed the prospects for women in the country and for women’s sport in particular. Title IX stated that there could be no discrimination based on gender in the funding of education. Given the huge amounts invested by colleges and universities in men’s sport, women’s sport consequently received a massive boost in funding with women’s soccer one of the major beneficiaries of this change.
Title IX had turbo charged the US Women’s National Team, or the USWNT as it is often referred to, and the 1991 squad were the pioneers in leading the charge to the world and Olympic titles that followed in their wake. Other nations have been forced to play catch up ever since.
Monday 2 December 1991
A muted reception back home
Members of the victorious American squad arrived back at JFK Airport in New York to a reception of just three journalists and one photographer. In the international arrivals hall they were applauded by a dozen or so people brandishing a rose given to them by the airline.
Also there to greet the team was the coach of the US men’s national team Bora Milutinovic, who was in New York in preparation for the draw for the 1994 FIFA World Cup the following week.
According to Michael Lewis, one of the three journalists present, officials had tried to get girls from local teams to come to the airport to greet the players on their arrival, but the schools weren’t willing to give them the time off.
The tickertape parades in New York would come in the future.