Football at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

The women's football tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 21 July to 6 August 2021.[1] Originally, it was to be held from 22 July to 7 August 2020, but the Summer Olympics were postponed to the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the official name of the games remains the 2020 Summer Olympics.[2] It was the seventh edition of the women's Olympic football tournament. Together with the men's competition, the 2020 Summer Olympics football tournament was held at six stadiums in six cities in Japan. The final was hosted at the International Stadium in Yokohama. There were no player age restrictions for teams participating in the competition.

2020 Women's Olympic Football Tournament
Tournament details
Host countryJapan
Dates21 July – 6 August 2021
Teams12 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)6 (in 6 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Canada (1st title)
Runners-up Sweden
Third place United States
Fourth place Australia
Tournament statistics
Matches played26
Goals scored101 (3.88 per match)
Attendance13,913 (535 per match)
Top scorer(s)Netherlands Vivianne Miedema (10 goals)
2016
2024

Germany, the winners of the previous edition, failed to qualify for the tournament after being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Canada won their first gold medal by defeating Sweden 3–2 in the penalty shoot-out after both teams drew 1–1 after extra time in the final.[3] The United States won bronze, defeating Australia 4–3 in the bronze medal game.[4]

Schedule

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Legend
G Group stage ¼ Quarter-finals ½ Semi-finals B Bronze medal match F Gold medal match
Wed 21 Thu 22 Fri 23 Sat 24 Sun 25 Mon 26 Tue 27 Wed 28 Thu 29 Fri 30 Sat 31 Sun 1 Mon 2 Tue 3 Wed 4 Thu 5 Fri 6
G G G ¼ ½ B F

Qualification

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In addition to host nation Japan, eleven women's national teams qualified from six separate continental confederations. The Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions ratified the distribution of spots at their meeting on 14 September 2017.[5]

For the first time, per the agreement between the four British football associations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) for the women's team, Great Britain attempted to qualify for the Olympics through England's performance in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup (a procedure already successfully employed by Team GB in field hockey and rugby sevens). The team's only previous appearance was in the 2012 tournament in which they qualified automatically as hosts. Great Britain succeeded in qualifying as England were among the three best European teams.[6] Scotland also qualified for the World Cup but under the agreement whereby the highest ranked home nation was nominated to compete for the purposes of Olympic qualification, their performance was not taken into account (Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish players are eligible to be part of the Great Britain team at the Olympics).[7][8][9]

Means of qualification Dates2 Venue(s)2 Berth(s) Qualified
Host nation 1   Japan
2018 Copa América 4–22 April 2018   Chile 1   Brazil
2018 OFC Nations Cup 18 November – 1 December 2018   New Caledonia 1   New Zealand
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
(as UEFA qualifying)
7 June – 7 July 2019   France 3   Netherlands
  Sweden
  Great Britain
2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship 28 January – 9 February 2020   United States 2   United States
  Canada
2020 CAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament 5–10 March 2020 Multiple 1   Zambia
2020 AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament 6–11 March 2020 & 8–13 April 2021 Multiple 2   Australia
  China
CAF–CONMEBOL play-off 10–13 April 2021   Turkey 1   Chile
Total   12  
  • ^2 Dates and venues are those of final tournaments (or final round of qualification tournaments), various qualification stages may precede matches at these specific venues.

Venues

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The tournament was held in six venues across six cities:

The gold medal match was originally scheduled to be played at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. Both finalists requested a later kick-off time due to concerns about excessive heat; as the National Stadium was already booked for athletics events in the evening, the game was moved to the International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama.[10][11][12] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, most matches were played behind closed doors without any spectators. However, Miyagi Stadium allowed a limited audience to attend matches and Kashima Stadium permitted local schoolchildren as part of the school program but Olympic spectators were still not allowed.[13][14]

Squads

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The tournament was a full international tournament with no restrictions on age. Traditionally the roster rules required each team to submit a squad of 18 players, two of whom must be goalkeepers. Each team also named a list of four alternate players who could replace any player in the squad in case of injury during the tournament.[15] In late June 2021, the International Olympic Committee and FIFA announced that all 22 players of each team would be available for selection before each match. Prior to each match, the teams chose from their total of 22 players, a roster of 18 players to be available for play in that match.[16] The IOC also confirmed that a player must appear on at least one 18-player matchday roster to be considered an Olympian and to receive a medal.[17] The rule change was made in regards to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

Match officials

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In June 2020, FIFA approved the use of the video assistant referee (VAR) system for the tournament.[19] The match officials were announced on 23 April 2021.[20][21]

Draw

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The draw for the tournament was held on 21 April 2021, 10:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.[22] It was conducted by Sarai Bareman, FIFA chief women's football officer, while Samantha Johnson presented the ceremony. Lindsay Tarpley and Ryan Nelsen acted as the draw assistants.[23]

The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four teams.[24] The hosts Japan were automatically seeded into Pot 1 and assigned to position E1 while the remaining teams were seeded into their respective pots based on the FIFA Women's World Rankings released on 16 April 2021 (shown in parentheses below).[25] As Great Britain are not a FIFA member and therefore do not have a ranking, they were seeded based on the FIFA ranking of England who qualified on behalf of Great Britain. However, all Great Britain matches were officially recognized by FIFA. No group could contain more than one team from each confederation.[26]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

Group stage

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The competing countries were divided into three groups of four teams, denoted as groups E, F and G to avoid confusion with the groups of the men's tournament (which use designations A to D). Teams in each group played one another in a round-robin basis, with the top two teams of each group and the two best third-placed teams advancing to the quarter-finals.

All times are local, JST (UTC+9).[27]

Tiebreakers

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The ranking of teams in the group stage was determined as follows:[15]

  1. Points obtained in all group matches (three points for a win, one for a draw, none for a defeat);
  2. Goal difference in all group matches;
  3. Number of goals scored in all group matches;
  4. Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
  5. Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question;
  6. Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question;
  7. Fair play points in all group matches (only one deduction could be applied to a player in a single match):
    • Yellow card: −1 point;
    • Indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
    • Direct red card: −4 points;
    • Yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
  8. Drawing of lots.

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Great Britain 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Canada 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
3   Japan (H) 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
4   Chile 3 0 0 3 1 5 −4 0
Source: TOCOG and FIFA
(H) Hosts
Great Britain  2–0  Chile
  • White   18', 73'
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Japan  1–1  Canada
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

Chile  1–2  Canada
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Japan  0–1  Great Britain
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

Chile  0–1  Japan
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Attendance: 1,326[14]
Canada  1–1  Great Britain
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Netherlands 3 2 1 0 21 8 +13 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Brazil 3 2 1 0 9 3 +6 7
3   Zambia 3 0 1 2 7 15 −8 1
4   China 3 0 1 2 6 17 −11 1
Source: TOCOG and FIFA
China  0–5  Brazil
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Attendance: 1,645[14]
Zambia  3–10  Netherlands
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Attendance: 1,822[14]

China  4–4  Zambia
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Attendance: 2,212[14]
Netherlands  3–3  Brazil
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Attendance: 2,621[14]

Netherlands  8–2  China
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Brazil  1–0  Zambia
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Sweden 3 3 0 0 9 2 +7 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   United States 3 1 1 1 6 4 +2 4
3   Australia 3 1 1 1 4 5 −1 4
4   New Zealand 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8 0
Source: TOCOG and FIFA
Sweden  3–0  United States
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Australia  2–1  New Zealand
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

Sweden  4–2  Australia
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
New Zealand  1–6  United States
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

New Zealand  0–2  Sweden
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
United States  0–0  Australia
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

Ranking of third-placed teams

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Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 E   Japan 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4 Advance to knockout stage
2 G   Australia 3 1 1 1 4 5 −1 4
3 F   Zambia 3 0 1 2 7 15 −8 1
Source: TOCOG and FIFA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Fair play points in all group matches; 5) Drawing of lots.

Knockout stage

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In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.[15]

Bracket

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Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsGold medal match
 
          
 
30 July – Kashima
 
 
  Great Britain3
 
2 August – Yokohama
 
  Australia (a.e.t.)4
 
  Australia0
 
30 July – Saitama
 
  Sweden1
 
  Sweden3
 
6 August – Yokohama
 
  Japan1
 
  Sweden1 (2)
 
30 July – Yokohama
 
  Canada (p)1 (3)
 
  Netherlands2 (2)
 
2 August – Kashima
 
  United States (p)2 (4)
 
  United States0
 
30 July – Rifu
 
  Canada1 Bronze medal match
 
  Canada (p)0 (4)
 
5 August – Kashima
 
  Brazil0 (3)
 
  Australia3
 
 
  United States4
 

Quarter-finals

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Canada  0–0 (a.e.t.)  Brazil
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Penalties
4–3

Great Britain  3–4 (a.e.t.)  Australia
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

Sweden  3–1  Japan
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

Semi-finals

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United States  0–1  Canada
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

Australia  0–1  Sweden
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)
Rolfö   46'

Bronze medal match

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Australia  3–4  United States
Report (TOCOG)
Report (FIFA)

Gold medal match

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Statistics

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Goalscorers

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There were 101 goals scored in 26 matches, for an average of 3.88 goals per match.

10 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Source: TOCOG

Discipline

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A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[15]

  • Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences)
  • Receiving two yellow cards in two matches; yellow cards expired after the completion of the quarter-finals (yellow card suspensions were not carried forward to any other future international matches)

The following offences warranted a suspension during the tournament:

Player Offence(s) Suspension
  Martha Tembo   in qualifying vs Cameroon (10 March 2020)[28] Group F vs Netherlands (matchday 1; 21 July 2021)[29]
  Li Qingtong   in Group F vs Zambia (matchday 2; 24 July 2021) Group F vs Netherlands (matchday 3; 27 July 2021)[30]
  Lushomo Mweemba   in Group F vs Brazil (matchday 3; 27 July 2021) Suspension served outside tournament
  Ludmila   in Group F vs Netherlands (matchday 2; 24 July 2021)
  in Quarter-finals vs Canada (30 July 2021)
Team eliminated from tournament
  Jayde Riviere   in Group E vs Great Britain (matchday 3; 27 July 2021)
  in Quarter-finals vs Brazil (30 July 2021)
Semi-finals vs United States (2 August 2021)
  Ellie Carpenter   in Semi-finals vs Sweden (2 August 2021) Bronze medal match vs United States (5 August 2021)

Tournament ranking

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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.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Final result
1 E   Canada 6 2 4 0 6 4 +2 10 Gold medal
2 G   Sweden 6 5 1 0 14 4 +10 16 Silver medal
3 G   United States 6 2 2 2 12 10 +2 8 Bronze medal
4 G   Australia 6 2 1 3 11 13 −2 7 Fourth place
5 F   Netherlands 4 2 2 0 23 10 +13 8 Eliminated in
quarter-finals
6 F   Brazil 4 2 2 0 9 3 +6 8
7 E   Great Britain 4 2 1 1 7 5 +2 7
8 E   Japan (H) 4 1 1 2 3 5 −2 4
9 F   Zambia 3 0 1 2 7 15 −8 1 Eliminated in
group stage
10 F   China 3 0 1 2 6 17 −11 1
11 E   Chile 3 0 0 3 1 5 −4 0
12 G   New Zealand 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8 0
Source: TOCOG
(H) Hosts

References

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  1. ^ "Women's International Match Calendar 2020–2023" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 August 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Canada win Olympic title after Julia Grosso sinks Sweden in shootout". Guardian. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Rapinoe and Lloyd doubles grab bronze for USA in thriller against Australia". Guardian. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  5. ^ "OC for FIFA Competitions approves procedures for the Final Draw of the 2018 FIFA World Cup". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 September 2017. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Team GB qualify for women's football tournament". BBC Sport. 28 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Organising Committee takes important decisions on FIFA Women's World Cup". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 1 October 2018. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Home nations agree to GB women's football team". BBC Sport. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Football at Tokyo Olympics 2021: Live Stream Coverage". Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Statement on 6 August Olympic football medal matches". Olympics.com. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Statement on 6 August Olympic medal matches". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  12. ^ Heroux, Devin (5 August 2021). "Canada-Sweden Olympic soccer final pushed back due to concerns about heat". CBC.ca. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  13. ^ "宮スタの観衆は約2000人 21日のサッカー女子" [The crowd at Miyagi Stadium was about 2,000 on the 21st for women's football]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 23 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "Attendance Summary" (PDF). Olympics.com. 24 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  15. ^ a b c d "Regulations for the Olympic Football Tournaments Tokyo 2020" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association.
  16. ^ Creditor, Avi (30 June 2021). "Report: IOC Approves Expansion of Olympic Soccer Rosters to 22 Players". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  17. ^ "2020 Tokyo Olympics: Bronze Medal Match: USA vs. Australia - Preview, Schedule, TV Channels & Start Time". US Soccer. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021. The IOC also ruled that a player must be on an 18-player game day roster in order to be considered an Olympian and receive a medal if her team does win one.
  18. ^ Harris, Rob; Peterson, Anne M. (1 July 2021). "FIFA confirms roster changes for Olympic soccer". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  19. ^ "FIFA Council unanimously approves COVID-19 Relief Plan". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Match officials appointed for Olympic Football Tournaments Tokyo 2020". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Olympic Football Tournaments Tokyo 2020: List of appointed Match Officials (International Technical Officials – ITO)" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Olympic draws to be held at the Home of FIFA". FIFA. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Teams ranked and allocated for Tokyo 2020 Olympic football draws". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Draws set path to Tokyo 2020 gold". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  25. ^ "The FIFA Women's World Ranking – Ranking Table (16 April 2021)". FIFA. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Draw Procedures – Olympic Football Tournaments Tokyo 2020: Women's tournament" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  27. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Football Tournament: Match Schedule" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  28. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Qualifiers: Copper Queens qualify As Lionesses wait for Chile". Kick442. 10 March 2020. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  29. ^ "Football, Women: Disciplinary Preview (As of Tue 20 Jul 2021)" (PDF). Olympics.com. 20 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  30. ^ "Football, Women: Disciplinary Preview (As of Sun 25 Jul 2021)" (PDF). Olympics.com. 25 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
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