If the 99th generation in the United States marked an era in the North American country, the 2000s in Germany did. Led by Tina Theune at the time, the team won its first World Cup in a final determined by the golden goal after ninety minutes, the last in history in an official international match.
China was initially responsible for organizing the fourth edition of the World Cup in four cities. But, The severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic that occurred between 2002 and 2004 affected the province of Canton and FIFA decided to relocate its headquarters. It was played again in the United States, which hosted the last edition, and instead China received financial compensation and retained the rights to host the 2007 World Cup in Shanghai.
Germany won all the matches in the tournament. Six wins with 25 goals and only four counter goals. Sweden, on the other hand, advanced to the final with a single defeat against the USA in the group stage.
The champion of the last edition, who started the second World Cup as a favourite, as the host, was defeated in the semi-finals by a landslide (0-3) at the hands of Germany. And in the final, Sweden took the lead with Ljungberg’s goal before the timeout.
At the restart, Meinert equalized and Künzer’s golden goal gave the Germans the title, making it the first team from the United States to top the FIFA rankings.
Farewell to Wiegmann and the first generation
after lifting the first women’s World Cup for Germany became the first country to showcase masculine (three at the time, four in total) and feminine on display., Captain Bettina Wiegmann hung up her boots. The Euskirchen midfielder had played in the first four editions of the World Cup and was a protagonist of the growth of women’s football in the country.