1991 — LEVEL THE FIELD

The struggle for recognition bore fruit, as 1991 saw the birth of an official Women’s World Cup — although it would not come without struggle and hardships.

After growing pressures, FIFA finally conceded on organising the 1991 Women's World Cup, marking the first official Women’s World Cup edition.

The tournament was officially known as the 1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&M's Cup, with FIFA still reluctant to call it a World Cup.

Featuring 12 teams from all six continental confederations, the tournament’s games only lasted 80 minutes, rather than the more conventional 90. This particular wheeze prompted the USA captain, April Heinrichs, to joke that Fifa was “afraid our ovaries were going to fall out if we played 90”.

'That period for women's football was a time of a lot of movement for the game, a lot of talking. At the same time, every single player fought a lot to improve and progress the women's game and to achieve their objectives to play in the biggest tournaments and increase the invisibility.'

— Betty Bavagnoli, Italy

TOURNAMENT

'There were banners in the street. They knew it was a coach with a team on, they didn’t even know which country, but they were cheering. That for us was an eye-opener because it was clear so many people were aware of the tournament. There were a lot of fans in the stadium, people were lining up in the roads to get in the stadium, that was so cool.'

— Márcia Taffarel, Brazil

Group Stages

In the group stage, Germany, the USA, and the host nation, China PR, topped their respective groups, securing their positions to the knockout phase.

GROUP A

Pts

1 CHN

2 NOR

3 DEN

4 NZL

-10

GROUP B

Pts

1 USA

2 SWE

3 BRA

-6

4 JPN

-12

GROUP C

Pts

1 GER

2 ITA

3 TPE

-6

4 NGA

-7

Knockout

The knockout phase saw a series of thrilling face-offs in China.

Both Germany and Norway claimed their spots in the semifinals after triumphing in extra time against Denmark and Italy respectively. However, the German run would be halted by a resounding 5-2 defeat at the hands of the surging USA.

In the other semifinal, Norway showcased their strength with a convincing 4-1 victory over Sweden in Guangzhou.

THE FINAL

In the presence of a 60,000-strong audience, the final of the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup at Tianhe Stadium saw the two dominant teams of the tournament face off: it would be decided between the USA and Norway.

USA hadn't looked the likeliest winners beforehand, and among a series of pre-tournament defeats were two on home soil at the hands of Norway. The Scandinavians, who would win the next Women's World Cup and UEFA European championship, made for formidable final opponents.

However, Norway had grappled with their own failures as well: they remain the only team in Women's World Cup history to lose their opening match and go on to reach the final. And it wasn't just any defeat - Even Pellerud's side were thumped 4-0 by hosts China PR. But they would have to overcome a final challenge against a deeply motivated USA team, who eagerly looked to earn the status of the best team in the world.

‘We hated those damned Norwegians. I loved the Norwegians personally but we hated that team because they were so good and tough and dirty’

— Michelle Akers, USA

Michelle Akers struck first for the USWNT, but Norway responded with an equaliser from Linda Medalen. Ultimately, it was Akers' second goal that secured the United States this monumental victory.

‘I just took a breath. It’s the thing you train for your whole life, to take the last shot to win the World Cup. Who gets that chance?’

— Michelle Akers, USA

The Americans had won what would eventually be known as the first Women’s World Cup. They did so to little fanfare as minimal broadcast coverage from one cable channel with a very short reach meant few at home could have watched them, even if they had known the tournament was taking place.

Team USA arrived home to be greeted by no more than a handful of people, including two reporters. Their success, however, laid the groundwork for a subsequent surge in popularity for women’s football in the US while that of the tournament opened Fifa’s eyes to the benefits of making the Women’s World Cup a permanent and increasingly popular fixture in their calendar.

Winner

Score

Runner-up

USA

2—1

NOR