Birgit PRINZ and Simone LAUDEHR scored in the second half to lead Germany to a 2-0 win over Brazil in the final of the 2007 Women’s World Cup. The first half was a finely balanced battle in which Brazil had the majority of possession but could not score. Seven minutes into the second half, Prinz scored on a low cross from Sandra SMISEK. Brazil had a golden opportunity to equalise in the 64th minute when CRISTIANE was fouled in the area by Linda BRESONIK, but Nadine ANGERER saved MARTA’s penalty to maintain her clean sheet for the entire tournament. Laudehr added the second in the late stages of the match. The United States won 4-1 against Norway in the third place match.

MARTA left the Hangzhou crowd chanting her name with two goals in Brazil’s stunning 4-0 semifinal win over the United States. The US started badly as Leslie OSBORNE headed past her own keeper. Briana SCURRY, a surprise to start in the US’s goal instead of Hope SOLO, then conceded a second to Marta. Late in the first half, an egregious error by referee Nicole PETIGNAT led to Shannon BOXX’s second yellow. Brazil made their player advantage count in the second half with a goal from CRISTIANE, followed by Marta’s second. The US will try to save face in the third place match against Norway, whilst the final match looks to be an epic clash between Brazil and Germany.

Despite a slow start, Germany powered past Norway for a 3-0 win in their semifinal match. In a match that viewers of the Germany-Korea DPR quarterfinal would have found familiar, Norway had much of the early attacking opportunities and were left to rue their missed chances. Late in the first half, Trine RØNNING deflected a Birgit PRINZ cross into her own net. Two more goals, from Kerstin STEGEMANN and Martina MÜLLER, sealed it midway through the second half. Germany await the winner of the other semifinal between the United States and Brazil.

Two teams were eliminated in crushing fashion on SUN 23 SEP 2007. more...

The favourites’ potential opponents may begin quaking in their boots on SAT 22 SEP 2007. more...

The typhoon-delayed matches were well worth the wait on THU 20 SEP 2007. more...

The two matches for WED 19 SEP 2007, Australia-Canada and China PR-New Zealand, have now been pushed back one day to THU 20 SEP 2007 at the same times. The Norway-Ghana and Brazil-Denmark matches had already been postponed to that date due to Typhoon Wipha. As a result, the final matches in Groups C and D are again scheduled for simultaneous kickoffs.

With Typhoon Wipha bearing down on Shanghai and Hangzhou, FIFA have decided to put back the matches of WED 19 SEP 2007 that were to be played in those cities. The Group C clash between Norway and Ghana will move from Shanghai to nearby Hangzhou, whilst the Group D match between Brazil and Denmark will remain in Hangzhou. Both matches will be played a day later, on THU 20 SEP 2007. This means that the final matches in both groups will not be played simultaneously.

O jogo bonito and a Big Red machine were on display in the matches of SAT 15 SEP 2007. more...

Denmark coach Kenneth HEINER-MØLLER, whose side is apparently at the victim’s end of a spying scandal, has himself been punished. He has been suspended for Denmark’s last two Group C matches, against New Zealand and Brazil, and will be on probation for six months, following what FIFA described as “unsporting behaviour towards a match official” at the end of his side’s 3-2 loss to China PR. The day before that match, his coaching staff had discovered two men with cameras behind a one-way mirror in the team meeting room; FIFA decided to take no action.

The other two groups began in frantic fashion on WED 12 SEP 2007. more...

Longtime Women’s World Cup fans will see one extremely familiar face at this year’s tournament: Kristine LILLY of the United States. Of the players on the sixteen team rosters, she is the only one who has appeared at every tournament to date. She will look to guide the US to a third title against such stars as Germany’s Birgit PRINZ, Brazil’s MARTA, Sweden’s Hanna LJUNGBERG, and Canada’s Christine SINCLAIR. Teams are permitted to make injury replacements until 24 hours before their first match.

For the third straight time, the United States, Korea DPR, and Nigeria were all drawn into the same Women's World Cup group. And amazingly, Sweden also landed in Group B to make the exact same list as Group A of the 2003 Women's World Cup. It is the first time in World Cup history, men's or women's, that the same four teams have been in a group together for two consecutive tournaments. Other teams who are already familiar with one another include Germany, Japan, and Argentina, all of whom were together in Group C in 2003; this time they are in Group A. Interestingly, this represents the first Women's World Cup that contains no first time qualifiers. more...

Brazil failed in their bid for a fifth straight South American women's championship with a 2-0 loss to Argentina in the last match of the CONMEBOL final round. Eva GONZÁLEZ and María Belen POTASSA scored two minutes apart for the Albiceleste, who shockingly snuck into first place after opening the final round with a draw against Paraguay. Brazil, in fact, had a perfect 22 wins in 22 matches in five South American women's tournaments before falling to their Argentine rivals. The two sides finished first and second, earning places at the 2007 Women's World Cup. CRISTIANE ROZEIRA of Brazil was the tournament's top goalscorer, with twelve in seven matches.

The 2006 Campeonato Sudamericano Femenino will be played FRI 10-SUN 26 NOV 2006 in Mar del Plata, Argentina, with each of CONMEBOL's ten member nations playing. The tournament was originally to take place at the 2006 South American Games in Buenos Aires, but both men's and women's football were struck from the Games' programme. Two teams will emerge from each group in the first round, and then the two best in the final group will qualify for the 2007 Women's World Cup. more...