| | Event type

Football, Women

Date	21 July – 1 August 1996
Status	Olympic
Location	Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida / Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama / Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida / Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, District of Columbia / Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia
Participants	124 from 8 countries
Format	Round-robin pools advance teams to single-elimination tournament of four teams.

After 96 years, women footballers were finally allowed to compete at the Olympics. With no restrictions on entry, the tournament effectively became a second World Cup. That tournament had only been established in 1991, with the US winning the first edition and Norway taking the title in 1995. With only the English team failing to qualify from the World Cup’s quarter-finalists, the tournament had a high standard of play. As expected, Norway won its pool, but the other favourite, the US, was held to a draw by China and placed second on goal difference.

This pitted the two strongest women’s teams against each other in the semi-finals. After 90 minutes, both had scored once, and the match went into golden goal overtime. After just five minutes, Shannon MacMillan sent her team to the final. The China-USA rematch was a close affair watch by a record 76,000 crowd. Tiffeny Milbrett sealed the match with a second half goal. One of the most remarkable names in the tournament was the shirt name of Marileia dos Santos: Michael Jackson. She picked the name not only because she liked his music, but because she claimed her )dancing) abilities on the field matched Jackson’s.

Pos	Number	Team	NOC	Goals	Yellow Cards	Red Cards	Penalty Kicks	Shots	Shots on Goal	Corner Kicks	Free Kicks	Offsides	Fouls Committed
1	–	United States	USA	9	5	0	–	113	–	40	4	16	62	Gold
	1	Briana Scurry		0	1	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	1
	3	Cindy Parlow		0	0	0	–	2	–	–	–	–	2
	4	Carla Overbeck		0	0	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	1
	5	Tiffany Roberts		0	1	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	5
	6	Brandi Chastain		0	0	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	2
	8	Shannon MacMillan		3	0	0	–	16	–	–	–	–	9
	9	Mia Hamm		1	0	0	–	20	–	–	–	–	5
	10	Michelle Akers		1	0	0	–	17	–	–	–	–	7
	11	Julie Foudy		0	0	0	–	8	–	–	–	–	8
	12	Carin Gabarra		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	1
	13	Kristine Lilly		0	2	0	–	16	–	–	–	–	6
	14	Joy Fawcett		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	2
	15	Tisha Venturini		2	0	0	–	17	–	–	–	–	4
	16	Tiffeny Milbrett		2	1	0	–	13	–	–	–	–	9
	7	Staci Wilson		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	17	Amanda Cromwell DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	2	Mary Harvey DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	18	Thori Staples DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	20	Saskia Webber DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Coach		Tony DiCicco
2	–	People's Republic of China	CHN	11	5	1	–	73	–	25	1	14	51	Silver
	2	Wang Liping		0	0	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	3
	3	Fan Yunjie		1	0	0	–	4	–	–	–	–	11
	4	Yu Hongqi		0	1	0	–	2	–	–	–	–	3
	14	Chen Yufeng		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	2
	7	Wei Haiying		2	0	0	–	5	–	–	–	–	0
	6	Zhao Lihong		1	1	0	–	6	–	–	–	–	4
	15	Shi Guihong		2	0	0	–	15	–	–	–	–	5
	8	Shui Qingxia		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	8
	9	Sun Wen		1	0	0	–	9	–	–	–	–	1
	5	Xie Huilin		0	1	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	3
	12	Wen Lirong		0	0	1	–	1	–	–	–	–	4
	16	Gao Hong		0	1	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	11	Sun Qingmei		3	0	0	–	10	–	–	–	–	3
	13	Liu Ying		0	0	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	1
	10	Liu Ailing		1	1	0	–	14	–	–	–	–	3
	20	Niu Lijie DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	18	Zhang Yan DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	1	Zhong Honglian DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Coach		Ma Yuanan
3	–	Norway	NOR	12	8	1	–	96	–	42	3	3	58	Bronze
	1	Bente Nordby		0	1	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	2
	2	Agnete Carlsen		0	2	1	–	5	–	–	–	–	8
	3	Gro Espeseth		0	3	0	–	4	–	–	–	–	8
	4	Nina Nymark Andersen		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	2
	5	Merete Myklebust		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	4
	6	Hege Riise		1	0	0	–	16	–	–	–	–	2
	7	Anne Nymark Andersen		0	0	0	–	5	–	–	–	–	3
	9	Marianne Pettersen		2	0	0	–	14	–	–	–	–	2
	10	Linda Medalen		4	1	0	–	24	–	–	–	–	4
	11	Brit Sandaune		0	0	0	–	4	–	–	–	–	6
	13	Tina Svensson		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	2
	14	Tone Haugen		0	0	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	2
	8	Heidi Støre		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	15	Trine Tangeraas		1	0	0	–	5	–	–	–	–	2
	16	Ann Kristin Aarønes		4	1	0	–	16	–	–	–	–	11
	17	Tone Gunn Frustøl		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	12	Reidun Seth DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	19	Ingrid Sternhoff DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	18	Kjersti Thun DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Coach		Even Pellerud
4	–	Brazil	BRA	7	5	1	–	73	–	11	3	22	54
	2	Nenê		0	0	0	–	4	–	–	–	–	2
	12	Didi		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	6	Elane		0	0	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	3
	5	Márcia Taffarel		0	0	0	–	6	–	–	–	–	0
	13	Marisa Nogueira		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	11	Roseli		1	0	0	–	18	–	–	–	–	8
	10	Sissi		1	0	0	–	17	–	–	–	–	3
	16	Sônia		0	1	0	–	2	–	–	–	–	4
	3	Suzy		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	14	Tânia Maranhão		0	3	1	–	0	–	–	–	–	9
	1	Meg		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	7	Pretinha		4	0	0	–	15	–	–	–	–	4
	9	Michael Jackson		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	8	Formiga		0	0	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	8
	19	Kátia Cilene		1	0	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	4
	4	Fanta		0	1	0	–	2	–	–	–	–	9
	18	Leda Maria DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	15	Nildinha DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Coach		José Duarte
5	–	Germany	GER	6	1	0	–	64	–	20	0	6	37
	1	Manuela Goller		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	2	Jutta Nardenbach		0	0	0	–	2	–	–	–	–	4
	3	Birgitt Austermühl		0	0	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	6
	4	Kerstin Stegemann		0	0	0	–	4	–	–	–	–	1
	5	Doris Fitschen		0	0	0	–	5	–	–	–	–	1
	6	Dagmar Pohlmann		0	0	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	0
	7	Martina Voss		0	0	0	–	2	–	–	–	–	0
	8	Bettina Wiegmann		2	0	0	–	14	–	–	–	–	5
	9	Heidi Mohr		1	0	0	–	9	–	–	–	–	3
	10	Silvia Neid		0	0	0	–	2	–	–	–	–	5
	11	Patricia Brocker		0	0	0	–	4	–	–	–	–	3
	13	Sandra Minnert		0	0	0	–	2	–	–	–	–	5
	14	Pia Wunderlich		1	0	0	–	12	–	–	–	–	1
	15	Birgit Prinz		1	1	0	–	6	–	–	–	–	3
	16	Renate Lingor		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	17	Tina Wunderlich DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	18	Katja Bornschein DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	20	Christine Francke DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	12	Katja Kraus DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	19	Sandra Smisek DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Coach		Gero Bisanz
6	–	Sweden	SWE	4	5	1	–	31	–	9	1	6	37
	1	Annelie Nilsson		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	1
	2	Cecilia Sandell		0	1	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	3
	3	Åsa Jakobsson		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	3
	4	Annika Nessvold		0	1	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	4
	5	Kristin Bengtsson		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	7
	6	Anna Pohjanen		0	2	1	–	1	–	–	–	–	2
	7	Pia Sundhage		0	0	0	–	7	–	–	–	–	3
	8	Malin Swedberg		2	1	0	–	6	–	–	–	–	5
	9	Malin Andersson		0	0	0	–	6	–	–	–	–	1
	10	Ulrika Kalte		0	0	0	–	2	–	–	–	–	4
	11	Lena Videkull		1	0	0	–	9	–	–	–	–	1
	12	Ulrika Karlsson		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	13	Camilla Svensson		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	1
	14	Maria Kun		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	2
	15	Julia Carlsson		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	16	Hanna Ljungberg		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	19	Pernilla Bowall DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	17	Eva Larsson DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	20	Anneli Wahlgren DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	18	Åsa Lönnqvist DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Coach		Bengt Simonsson
7	–	Japan	JPN	2	2	0	–	17	–	6	1	9	18
	1	Junko Ozawa		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	2	Yumi Tomei		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	2
	3	Rie Yamaki		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	1
	4	Maki Haneta		0	1	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	1
	5	Yumi Obe		0	1	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	3
	6	Kae Nishina		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	1
	7	Homare Sawa		0	0	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	2
	8	Asako Takakura		0	0	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	4
	9	Futaba Kioka		1	0	0	–	4	–	–	–	–	0
	10	Akemi Noda		1	0	0	–	7	–	–	–	–	2
	11	Etsuko Handa		0	0	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	1
	12	Tamaki Uchiyama		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	1
	13	Nami Otake		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	14	Kaoru Kadohara		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	15	Miyuki Izumi		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	16	Shiho Onodera		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	18	Kaori Nagamine DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	19	Megumi Sakata DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	20	Ryoko Uno DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Coach		Tamotsu Suzuki
8	–	Denmark	DEN	2	3	0	–	19	–	4	1	6	30
	1	Dorthe Larsen		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	2	Annette Laursen		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	5
	3	Bonny Madsen		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	2
	4	Kamma Flæng		0	1	0	–	2	–	–	–	–	4
	5	Rikke Holm		0	1	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	5
	6	Christina Petersen		0	0	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	1
	7	Birgit Christensen		0	0	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	8
	8	Lisbet Kolding		0	0	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	0
	9	Helle Jensen		1	0	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	0
	10	Gitte Krogh		0	1	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	2
	11	Lene Madsen		1	0	0	–	3	–	–	–	–	1
	12	Lene Terp		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	2
	13	Anne Nielsen		0	0	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	0
	14	Merete Pedersen		0	0	0	–	1	–	–	–	–	0
	15	Christina Bonde		0	0	0	–	0	–	–	–	–	0
	16	Helle Bjerregaard DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	18	Louise Hansen DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	17	Christina Jensen DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	19	Irene Stelling DNS		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Coach		Keld Gantzhorn

Preliminary Round

Date	21 – 25 July 1996

Group E

Pos	Team	NOC	Wins	Ties	Losses	Points	Goals
1	People's Republic of China	CHN	2	1	0	7	7-1	Q
2	United States	USA	2	1	0	7	5-1	Q
3	Sweden	SWE	1	0	2	3	4-5
4	Denmark	DEN	0	0	3	0	2-11

Match	Date/Time	Team	NOC	Result	Team	NOC
Match #1	21 Jul 16:00	People's Republic of China	CHN	2 – 0	Sweden	SWE
Match #2	21 Jul 16:00	United States	USA	3 – 0	Denmark	DEN
Match #3	23 Jul 18:00	People's Republic of China	CHN	5 – 1	Denmark	DEN
Match #4	23 Jul 18:00	United States	USA	2 – 1	Sweden	SWE
Match #5	25 Jul 18:30	Sweden	SWE	3 – 1	Denmark	DEN
Match #6	25 Jul 18:30	People's Republic of China	CHN	0 – 0	United States	USA

Group F

Pos	Team	NOC	Wins	Ties	Losses	Points	Goals
1	Norway	NOR	2	1	0	7	9-4	Q
2	Brazil	BRA	1	2	0	5	5-3	Q
3	Germany	GER	1	1	1	4	6-6
4	Japan	JPN	0	0	3	0	2-9

Match	Date/Time	Team	NOC	Result	Team	NOC
Match #1	21 Jul 14:30	Germany	GER	3 – 2	Japan	JPN
Match #2	21 Jul 15:00	Brazil	BRA	2 – 2	Norway	NOR
Match #3	23 Jul 17:30	Brazil	BRA	2 – 0	Japan	JPN
Match #4	23 Jul 18:30	Norway	NOR	3 – 2	Germany	GER
Match #5	25 Jul 18:30	Brazil	BRA	1 – 1	Germany	GER
Match #6	25 Jul 18:30	Norway	NOR	4 – 0	Japan	JPN

Semi-Finals

Date	28 July 1996
Format	Single-elimination.

Match	Date/Time	Competitors	NOC	Result	Competitors	NOC
Match #1	28 Jul 15:00	People's Republic of China	CHN	3 – 2	Brazil	BRA
Match #2	28 Jul 17:30	United States	USA	2 – 1	Norway	NOR	ASDET

Final Round

Date	1 August 1996
Format	Medal round.

Match	Date/Time	Competitors	NOC	Result	Competitors	NOC
Match 1/2	01 Aug 20:30	United States	USA	2 – 1	People's Republic of China	CHN
Match 3/4	01 Aug 18:00	Norway	NOR	2 – 0	Brazil	BRA