The team that leads the historical record of the World Cups -with four titles- beat Norway in the final of the first edition
In 1991 the games were 80 minutes and two points were computed for victory.
The first Women’s Soccer World Cup came late but it did. Between November 16 and 30, 1991, the People’s Republic of China, selected after the successful pilot test carried out at the 1988 International Women’s Soccer Tournament, hosted the inaugural edition in five cities in Guangdong province, to the southeast of the country: Canton, Foshan, Jiangmen, Panyu and Zhongshan.
Step by Step
The competition was widely accepted by the public, reaching an average attendance of 20,000 spectators per match. That first edition had some peculiarities. Unlike men’s soccer, all the matches lasted eighty minutes -divided into two parts of forty- and two points were computed for victory.
A total of 12 teams divided into three groups of four participated with China, the United States and Germany coming out on top each. Second were Norway, Sweden and Italy and Denmark and Taipei qualified for the quarterfinals as the top two teams from the third-place table. Sweden and Germany fell in the semifinals and the Swedish team took bronze after beating the German (4-0) in the match for third place.
Norway and the United States played for the title in a very even final that was finally won by the already historic king of the competition and four times World Champion, the North American team (1-2).
Michelle Akers, a woman of record
The two goals for the United States in the final, which were worth the first World Cup, were by Michelle Akers. The Californian striker was the top scorer in the first World Cup, with 10 goals, and the footballer with the most goals in a single edition.
In addition, he scored five goals in the quarterfinal match against Chinese Taipei, setting a record that could only be matched 28 years later by his compatriot Alex Morgan at the 2019 World Cup in France.