England have participated six times at the FIFA Women's World Cup: in 1995, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023. They have reached the quarter-finals in each of their participation and the semi-finals three times, reaching the final in 2023.
England did not qualify for the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup. The European qualification tournament was the same as the European Championship Qualification. England finished second in their bracket at the group stage and qualified for the quarter-finals. In the quarter-final they lost twice to Germany: 1–4 at home, and 0–2 away. As a result, Germany qualified for the World Cup.
For the World Cup in Sweden, England qualified as the semi-finalist of the European Championship 1995. In the Qualification, England had four wins against Belgium and Slovenia and two goalless draws against Spain. In the quarter-finals, England prevailed with two 2-1 victories against Iceland and was thus qualified for the World Cup. In the semi-finals they lost to Germany 1–4 in the first leg and 1–2 in the second leg.
They defeated Canada 3–2 in their first World Cup match. Gillian Coultard scored in the 51st minute by a converted penalty the first World Cup goal for England. After increasing to 3–0 they conceded two late goals. A 2–0 win over Norway followed by a 3–2 victory over Nigeria put England in the quarter-finals as group winners. Here they again lost to Germany 0–3. The result would have been sufficient for England to have qualified for the first women's football tournament at the 1996 Olympic Games in which only the eight best teams of the World Cup could participate. However, because England is not eligible to start at the Olympic Games, Brazil participated as the ninth-best team.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | +17 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | |
3 | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 1 | |
4 | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 1 |
For the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, for the first time, UEFA set up separate qualifiers. England met the two finalists from 1995, Norway and Germany, as well as the Netherlands. England won only the home game against the Dutch women 1–0 and lost all other games. Thus, England was eliminated at the group stage.
In the qualification for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup England again faced Germany and the Netherlands, as well as Portugal. With two wins and two draws, England qualified as a runner-up behind Germany (which qualified directly for the World Cup) for the relegation matches. There they first met Iceland and after a 2–2 in Iceland earned a 1–0 home win to make the relegation final against France. England lost both games 0–1, and thus did not qualify for the World Cup.
The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup took place for the second time in China. In the qualification England met France, the Netherlands, Austria and Hungary. With six victories – including England's largest ever victory, a 13–0 defeat of Hungary – and two draws, England reached the World Cup for the second time.
In the first game of the finals, they met Japan and had a 2–1 lead in the 5th minute of stoppage time when Japan scored a late equalizer. [1] The second game against Germany was a scoreless tie. [2] In the last match against Argentina England won 6–1 and qualified for the quarter-finals, as Japan lost to Germany in a parallel game. [3] In the quarter-finals they held the United States to a 0–0 tie for 50 minutes, but lost 3–0. [4] Thus, England were eliminated in the quarter-finals, as in 1995. However, they were the only team to not lose to the eventual champion Germany. By making the quarter-finals England had actually secured qualification for the women's football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics, in which only the three best European teams of the World Cup could participate. However, as England still could not start at the Olympics, Sweden and Denmark, who were both eliminated in the preliminary round, played for this place, and Sweden won.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | +13 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 5 | |
3 | ![]() | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 | |
4 | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 18 | −17 | 0 |
For the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany qualifying, England earned seven wins and a draw playing against Spain, Austria, Turkey and Malta for the playoffs of the group winners. In the playoffs, England defeated Switzerland 2–0 and 3–2 to earn a place in the World Cup.
In Germany, England was put into a group with Japan, New Zealand and Mexico. In the first game against Mexico, England tied 1:1. [6] England defeated New Zealand 2-1 and Japan 2–0 to take England's first ever group victory at a World Cup. [7] [8] In the quarter-finals England played France. England took the lead in the 59th minute after a scoreless first half, but France equalized two minutes before the end of regular time. In the ensuing overtime, neither team scored, leading to a penalty shoot-out. Although the first French shooter failed and the first three English women were successful, all other French women scored and the last two English women, Claire Rafferty and captain Faye White, did not. [9] England were the only team to have defeated the eventual champion Japan.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | |
3 | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 2 | |
4 | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 |
In the qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, England prevailed again. Their group included Ukraine, Wales, Turkey, Belarus and Montenegro. England won all 10 games to qualify.
England was assigned to Group F with France, Colombia and, like four years earlier, Mexico. [14] [15]
In a close game, they lost 1–0 to France, but followed that with four straight 2–1 wins. First against Mexico, then against Colombia with which they qualified as a runner-up for the knockout round, and then in the first-round playoff match against Norway, thus for the first time winning in a knockout game at the World Cup. [16] In the quarter-finals, where England had never before won, they met host Canada and prevailed 2–1. [17] They thus made the semi-finals for the first time, where they met the defending champion, Japan. [18] England lost with an own goal in injury time, but won the match for third place against Germany for their highest ever finish. [19]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | |
3 | ![]() | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
4 | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 |
In the qualification for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in Europe, England met Wales, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and, for the first time, Kazakhstan. England only earned a point in the home game against Wales in a goalless draw. Crucial for the qualification then was a 3–0 victory in front of a record 5,053 spectators against Wales on the penultimate match day.
England had started their qualifications under Mark Sampson, who led them to third place in 2015 and the semi-finals at the European Championship in 2017. In September 2017, he was released after the first game due to various allegations. Mo Marley initially coached the team until former England international Phil Neville took over as coach in January 2018.
At the World Cup, the first game was against Scotland, which England won 2–1. Argentina and Japan followed, with a 1–0 result against Argentina and 2–0 against Japan, making England group winners. In the knockout rounds, England won 3–0 against Cameroon, then won against Norway in the quarter-finals, with Ellen White scoring her sixth World Cup goal. In the semi-final White scored again, but the team lost 1–2 to the United States. [27] It was the first FIFA Women's World Cup in full shown on BBC.[ citation needed ] The previous times BBC aired the World Cup, they mostly aired England's games.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 | |
3 | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | |
4 | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 1 |
England ![]() | 1–2 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
| Report |
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup. The tournament is jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and is taking place from 20 July 2023 to 20 August 2023. [35]
England were drawn into Group D along with Haiti, Denmark and China.
England played their first group stage match against Haiti on 22 July 2023. They won the match 1–0 thanks to a 29th-minute penalty from Georgia Stanway; her original attempt was saved by the goalkeeper, but the penalty was ordered to be retaken after the VAR determined the Haiti goalkeeper had come off her line prior to the kick. [36]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | ![]() | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | |
3 | ![]() | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 3 | |
4 | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 |
World Cup finals | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GF | GA | GD | |
![]() | Did not qualify | ||||||||
![]() | Quarter-finals | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | |
![]() | Did not qualify | ||||||||
![]() | |||||||||
![]() | Quarter-finals | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | |
![]() | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | ||
![]() | Third place | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | |
![]() | Fourth place | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 5 | +8 | |
![]() ![]() | Runners-up | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | +9 | |
Total | 6/9 | 33 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 56 | 34 | +22 |
Player | Goals | 1995 | 2007 | 2011 | 2015 | 2019 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ellen White | 7 | 1 | 6 | ||||
Fara Williams | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
Kelly Smith | 4 | 4 | |||||
Jill Scott | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||
Lucy Bronze | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||
Lauren Hemp | 3 | 3 | |||||
Lauren James | 3 | 3 | |||||
Alessia Russo | 3 | 3 | |||||
Karen Carney | 2 | 2 | |||||
Gillian Coultard | 2 | 2 | |||||
Karen Farley | 2 | 2 | |||||
Jodie Taylor | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Steph Houghton | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Fran Kirby | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Jessica Clarke | 1 | 1 | |||||
Vicky Exley | 1 | 1 | |||||
Marieanne Spacey | 1 | 1 | |||||
Nikita Parris | 1 | 1 | |||||
Alex Greenwood | 1 | 1 | |||||
Karen Walker | 1 | 1 | |||||
Rachel Yankey | 1 | 1 | |||||
Georgia Stanway | 1 | 1 | |||||
Chloe Kelly | 1 | 1 | |||||
Rachel Daly | 1 | 1 | |||||
Ella Toone | 1 | 1 | |||||
Own goals | 1 | 1 | |||||
Total | 56 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 13 |
The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but the outbreak of SARS in that country forced that event to be moved to the United States. FIFA immediately granted the 2007 event to China, which meant that no new host nation was chosen competitively until the voting was held for the 2011 Women's World Cup.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in late 2010. It was the eleventh time the championships had been held in Europe, the first time they were held in Eastern Europe, and the first time they were held across two continents. At an estimated cost of over $14.2 billion, it was the most expensive World Cup ever held until it was surpassed by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the first time and by a North American country for the third time. Matches were played in six cities across Canada in five time zones. The tournament began on 6 June 2015, and finished with the final on 5 July 2015 with a United States victory over Japan.
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It took place between 7 June and 7 July 2019, with 52 matches staged in nine cities in France, which was awarded the right to host the event in March 2015, the first time the country hosted the tournament. The tournament was the first Women's World Cup to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system. This was the second and last edition with 24 teams before expanding to 32 teams for the 2023 tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The tournament was hosted by South Korea from 20 May to 11 June 2017.
The Australia women's national soccer team has represented Australia at the FIFA Women's World Cup on eight occasions in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. Australia co-hosted the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup with New Zealand. The Matildas automatically qualified as co-host, and the Matildas finished fourth overall. It was the first time that a senior national soccer team representing Australia or another Oceanian country has made it to the World Cup semi-finals. The team also participated in the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament, a precursor to the Women's World Cup.
The knockout stage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup began on 20 June and ended with the final match on 5 July 2015. A total of 16 teams competed in this knockout stage.
Italy have participated four times at the FIFA Women's World Cup: in the inaugural edition of 1991, 1999, 2019 and 2023.
The New Zealand women's national football team has represented New Zealand at the FIFA Women's World Cup on six occasions in 1991, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. New Zealand is co-hosting the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup with Australia, and automatically qualified as co-hosts. They have never advanced beyond the group stage.
The United States women's national soccer team is the most successful women's national team in the history of the Women's World Cup, having won four titles, earning second-place once and third-place finishes three times. The United States is one of five countries including Germany, Japan, Norway, and Spain to win a FIFA Women's World Cup.. The United States was also the only team that played the maximum number of matches possible in every tournament until they got eliminated in the round of 16 in 2023.
The Netherlands has qualified three times for the FIFA Women's World Cup: In 2015, in 2019, and in 2023. They reached the 2nd round in 2015 and the final in 2019.
The Japan women's national football team has represented Japan at the FIFA Women's World Cup on nine occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. They are the only Asian team to have won the tournament, as well as the only Asian team to qualify for every edition, and they are the first team that has won the trophy with a loss during the final tournament. They also were runners-up once.
The Spain women's national football team has represented Spain at the FIFA Women's World Cup on three occasions, in 2015, 2019 and 2023. Their victory at the 2023 edition of the tournament made Spain the second nation, after Germany, to have won world titles in both men's and women's football.
The Germany women's national football team has represented Germany at the FIFA Women's World Cup on nine occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. They have won the title twice and were runners-up once. They also reached the fourth place in 1991 and in 2015.
The Norway women's national football team has represented Norway at the FIFA Women's World Cup on nine occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. They were runners up in 1991. They won the following tournament in 1995. They also reached the fourth place in 1999 and in 2007.
The China women's national football team has represented China at the FIFA Women's World Cup on eight occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015, 2019 and 2023, finishing as runners up once (1999) and once in fourth place (1995).
The Brazil women's national football team has represented Brazil at the FIFA Women's World Cup on all nine occasions to date. As the most successful women's national football team in South America, Brazil is also the best-performing South American team at the FIFA Women's World Cup, reaching two podium finishes.
The Sweden women's national football team has represented Sweden at the FIFA Women's World Cup on nine occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. There were runners up once and four times bronze medalists: in 1991, in 2011, in 2019 and in 2023.
The Canada women's national soccer team has represented Canada at eight of the nine staging's of the FIFA Women's World Cup. The inaugural tournament in 1991 is currently the only edition for which they failed to qualify.
The France women's national football team has represented France at the FIFA Women's World Cup at five stagings of the tournament, in 2003, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023, they hosted in 2019.