 View of the match from the stands | |||||||
| Event | 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| After golden goal extra time | |||||||
| Date | October 12, 2003 | ||||||
| Venue | Home Depot Center, Carson | ||||||
| Player of the Match | Bettina Wiegmann (Germany) | ||||||
| Referee | Cristina Ionescu (Romania) | ||||||
| Attendance | 26,137[1] | ||||||
The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup final was an association football match which determined the winner of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was played on October 12, 2003, and won by Germany, who defeated Sweden 2–1 in extra time.
The tournament was hosted on short notice by the United States, following the withdrawal of China due to an outbreak of SARS, and the final was hosted at the Home Depot Center, a small soccer-specific stadium in Carson, California, near Los Angeles. Both finalists had finished at the top of their groups in European qualification and met at the final of the 2001 UEFA Women's Championship, which Germany won. Germany entered the match as favorites, having finished atop Group C and achieving an upset victory against defending champions United States in the semi-finals. Sweden had emerged from the "group of death" by finishing second behind the United States and defeated Brazil and Canada in the earlier knockout stages.
Sweden went into half-time with a 1–0 lead after a goal by Hanna Ljungberg, but conceded an equalizing goal to Germany early in the second half that was scored by Maren Meinert. The match remained tied at 1–1 and was decided by Nia Künzer's golden goal header in the eighth minute of extra time. Künzer's header was the last golden goal to be scored in an official international match. Germany went on to win a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics by defeating Sweden and repeated as World Cup champions in 2007 against Brazil.