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 2015 tournament saw the World Cup expanded to 24 teams from 16 in 2011. Canada's team received direct entry as host and a qualification tournament of 134 teams was held for the remaining 23 places. With the expanded tournament, eight teams made their Women's World Cup debut. All previous Women's World Cup finalists qualified for the tournament, with defending champions Japan and returning champions Germany (2003, 2007) and the United States (1991, 1999) among the seeded teams.
The 2015 tournament used goal-line technology for the first time with the Hawk-Eye system. It was also the first World Cup for either men or women to be played on artificial turf, with all matches played on such surfaces, even though there were some initial concerns over a possible increased risk of injuries.
Venues[]
| Stadiums | Location | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Stadium | Edmonton, Alberta | 56,302 |
| Olympic Stadium | Montreal, Quebec | 56,040 |
| BC Place | Vancouver, British Columbia | 54,320 |
| Investors Group Field (Winnipeg Stadium) |
Winnipeg, Manitoba | 33,422 |
| TD Place Stadium (Lansdowne Stadium) |
Ottawa, Ontario | 24,000 |
| Moncton Stadium | Moncton, New Brunswick | 13,000 |
Participating teams[]
| Region (confederation) | Team | FIFA ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Asia (AFC) | Australia | 10 |
| China | 16 | |
| Japan | 4 | |
| South Korea | 18 | |
| Thailand | 29 | |
| Africa (CAF) | Cameroon | 53 |
| Ivory Coast | 67 | |
| Nigeria | 33 | |
| Oceania (OFC) | New Zealand | 17 |
| North America, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) | Canada (host country) | 8 |
| Costa Rica | 37 | |
| Mexico | 25 | |
| United States | 2 | |
| South America (CONMEBOL) | Brazil | 7 |
| Colombia | 28 | |
| Ecuador | 48 | |
| Europe (UEFA) | England | 6 |
| France | 3 | |
| Germany | 1 | |
| Netherlands | 12 | |
| Norway | 11 | |
| Spain | 14 | |
| Sweden | 5 | |
| Switzerland | 19 |
List of games[]
Group stage[]
| Date | Venue | Winner | Score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A | ||||
| 6 June 2015 | Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton | Canada | 1–0 | China |
| Netherlands | 1–0 | New Zealand | ||
| 11 June 2015 | China | 1–0 | Netherlands | |
| Canada | 0–0 (draw) |
New Zealand | ||
| 15 June 2015 | Olympic Stadium, Montreal | Netherlands | 1–1 (draw) |
Canada |
| Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg | China | 2–2 (draw) |
New Zealand | |
| Group B | ||||
| 7 June 2015 | Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa | Norway | 4–0 | Thailand |
| Germany | 10–0 | Ivory Coast | ||
| 11 June 2015 | Germany | 1–1 (draw) |
Norway | |
| Thailand | 3–2 | Ivory Coast | ||
| 15 June 2015 | Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg | Germany | 4–0 | Thailand |
| Moncton Stadium, Moncton | Norway | 3–1 | Ivory Coast | |
| Group C | ||||
| 8 June 2015 | BC Place, Vancouver | Cameroon | 6–0 | Ecuador |
| Japan | 1–0 | Switzerland | ||
| 12 June 2015 | Switzerland | 10–1 | Ecuador | |
| Japan | 2–1 | Cameroon | ||
| 16 June 2015 | Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg | Japan | 1–0 | Ecuador |
| Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton | Cameroon | 2–1 | Switzerland | |
| Group D | ||||
| 8 June 2015 | Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg | Sweden | 3–3 (draw) |
Nigeria |
| United States | 3–1 | Australia | ||
| 12 June 2015 | Australia | 2–0 | Nigeria | |
| United States | 0–0 (draw) |
Sweden | ||
| 16 June 2015 | BC Place, Vancouver | United States | 1–0 | Nigeria |
| Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton | Australia | 1–1 (draw) |
Sweden | |
| Group E | ||||
| 9 June 2015 | Olympic Stadium, Montreal | Spain | 1–1 (draw) |
Costa Rica |
| Brazil | 2–0 | South Korea | ||
| 13 June 2015 | Brazil | 1–0 | Spain | |
| South Korea | 2–2 (draw) |
Costa Rica | ||
| 17 June 2015 | Moncton Stadium, Moncton | Brazil | 1–0 | Costa Rica |
| Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa | South Korea | 2–1 | Spain | |
| Group F | ||||
| 9 June 2015 | Moncton Stadium, Moncton | France | 1–0 | England |
| Colombia | 1–1 (draw) |
Mexico | ||
| 13 June 2015 | Colombia | 2–0 | France | |
| England | 2–1 | Mexico | ||
| 17 June 2015 | Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa | France | 5–0 | Mexico |
| Olympic Stadium, Montreal | England | 2–1 | Colombia | |
Knockout stage[]
| Date | Venue | Winner | Score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round of 16 | ||||
| 20 June 2015 | Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa | Germany | 4–1 | Sweden |
| Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton | China | 1–0 | Cameroon | |
| 21 June 2015 | Moncton Stadium, Moncton | Australia | 1–0 | Brazil |
| Olympic Stadium, Montreal | France | 3–0 | South Korea | |
| BC Place, Vancouver | Canada | 1–0 | Switzerland | |
| 22 June 2015 | Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa | England | 2–1 | Norway |
| Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton | United States | 2–0 | Colombia | |
| 23 June 2015 | BC Place, Vancouver | Japan | 2–1 | Netherlands |
| Quarter-finals | ||||
| 26 June 2015 | Olympic Stadium, Montreal | Germany | 1–1 (a.e.t.) 5–4 (penalties) |
France |
| Lansdowne Stadium, Ottawa | United States | 1–0 | China | |
| 27 June 2015 | Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton | Japan | 1–0 | Australia |
| BC Place, Vancouver | England | 2–1 | Canada | |
| Semi-finals | ||||
| 30 June 2015 | Olympic Stadium, Montreal | United States | 2–0 | Germany |
| 1 July 2015 | Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton | Japan | 2–1 | England |
| Third place play-off | ||||
| 4 July 2015 | Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton | England | 1–0 (a.e.t.) |
Germany |
| Final | ||||
| 5 July 2015 | BC Place, Vancouver | United States | 5–2 | Japan |
Broadcasters[]
| Country/Territory | Broadcaster(s) |
|---|---|
| Europe | Eurosport, EBU |
| Caribbean Latin America |
DirecTV Sports |
| Indian subcontinent | Multi Screen Media |
| Middle East and North Africa | beIN Media Group |
| Argentina | TyC Sports |
| Australia Pacific Islands |
SBS |
| Bolivia | Bolivisión, Tigo Sports, beIN Sports |
| Brazil | TV Brasil, SporTV |
| Brunei | MEASAT Satellite Systems |
| Canada | CTV, TSN, RDS |
| Chile | Chilevisión, CDF |
| China | CCTV |
| Colombia | Caracol Televisión, RCN Televisión |
| Costa Rica | Teletica |
| Denmark | TV 2 |
| Ecuador | CNT |
| Faroe Islands | SVT |
| France | W9 |
| Germany | ARD, ZDF |
| Greenland | SVT, TV 2 |
| Indonesia | PT Inter-Sports Marketing |
| Japan | NHK, Fuji TV, J Sports |
| Malaysia | Astro |
| Mexico | Televisa |
| New Zealand | Sky New Zealand |
| Norway | NRK, TV2 |
| Paraguay | Teledeportes |
| Puerto Rico | Fox, Telemundo |
| South Korea North Korea |
SBS |
| Sweden | TV4 |
| United Kingdom | BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Red Button, BBC Radio 5 Live |
| United States | Fox, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Telemundo, NBC Universo |
| Uruguay | Tenfield |