World Cup Powerhouses Enthusiasm for women’s soccer in the United States continued to grow after the U.S. team’s gold-medal victory at the 2012 Olympic Games, especially after the team lost to an inspired Japanese team in the 2011 World Cup. Like winning Olympic gold, winning the World Cup is a career-capping ambition. Frequency data from the FIFA Web site (through 2011) show that some countries have far more top finishes than others. For example, West Germany/Germany had 10 first- or second-place finishes and Brazil had 8. These two teams are shown here playing each other in the 2007 Women’s World Cup.

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