FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 Group C

Colombia were making their first appearance in the World Cup Finals after finishing as runners-up in the 2010 Sudamericano Femenino. The United States, while still a strong side, could only manage third place in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and had to meet Italy in the UEFA/CONCACAF play-off. They won both legs 1-0. North Korea had been beaten on penalties by Australia in the AFC Women's Asian Cup. Sweden completed the group.

The Colombian goalkeeper, Yineth Varón, was provisionally suspended after failing a drugs test and, when the result was confirmed in August, she was suspended for two years. She had been a late call-up to the squad and, not expecting to play over the summer, had been prescribed an anabolic steroid to overcome chronic fatigue.

Two North Korean players were also suspended after failing drug tests after their final group game. This led to the entire squad being tested and three more players were found to have taken banned steroids. The DPR Korea FA was fined $400,000 and the team banned from the 2015 tournament.

Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Knock Out Stages

2011 Overview

Colombia

Sweden

Colombia 0 Sweden 1

BayArena, Leverkusen (21,106)
28 June

Sweden had the best of the first half with two efforts cleared off the line and several more good chances squandered. In the 57th minute Sweden broke down the right wing, the Colmbian 'keeper could not reach the low cross and Jessica Landström was on hand to tap home the simplest of chances. More chances went begging as the Swedes failed to convert their dominance into goals.

United States

north korea 2011 womens world cup 1st kit

Korea DPR

United States 2 Korea DPR 0

Rudolf Harbig Stadion, Dresden (21,859)
28 June

North Korea looked strong in the first half but they faded in the second, allowing the USWNT to dominate and in the 54th minute Cheney buried Wambach's perfect cross. With 15 minutes left, Rachel Buehler made the game safe with a scrambled goal. The Korean coach, Kim Kwang-min claimed that "the strength of some of our players was not sufficient so our strategic measures could not be implemented," and that this was due to them being struck by lightning during a training game on 8 June. The reaction of the authorities in Pyongyang is not recorded.

Korea DPR

Sweden

Korea DPR 0 Sweden 1

Impuls Arena, Augsburg (23,768)
2 July

Lightning notwithstanding, North Korea were unchanged for this match. Both sides had chances in the opening exchanges and the Koreans appeared to be growing in confidence before half-time. In the 64th minute Sjogran teed up Dahlkvist who scored from close in. Korea pushed back and almost equalised but Ri Un-hyang's header was cleared off the line and a series of corners in the final moments came to nothing.

United States

Colombia

United States 3 Colombia 0

Rhein-Neckar Arena, Sinsheim (25,475)
2 July

Heather O'Reilly put the USA on top with a 12th minute goal and shortly after the half-time interval, Rapinoe (50') and Lloyd (57') settled matters.

Sweden

United States

Sweden 2 United States 1

Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg (23,468)
6 July

Since both teams were already through to the next phase this match would settle who would top the group. Sweden were 2-0 up at half-time (Dahlkvist pen 16', Fischer 35'). In the second half Wambach pulled one back for the American team.

north korea 2011 womens world cup 2nd kit

Korea DPR

Colombia

Korea DPR 0 Colombia 0

Ruhrstadion, Bochum (7,805)
6 July

There was nothing at stake here for which FIFA must have been grateful because five North Korean players failed a drugs test after the match. Had the team qualified for the next phase FIFA would have had no choice but to take the unprecedented step of disqualifying them. The coach once again cited the alleged lightning strike for which the players had been treated with musk deer gland, an ancient Chinese remedy.