July 10, 1999, 4 a.m. It was supposed to be the middle of the night, but there was an excited cheer.
In the women's World Cup final, China vs. the United States, 90,000 fans in the Rose Bowl Stadium cheered and cheered, and one side of the ocean was boiling.
Looking back at the last decade of the 20th century, the Chinese women's football team has successfully created a glorious history after three World Cups. The 1999 Women's World Cup was perhaps the most glorious moment on the world stage in the past three decades for Chinese football.
Back in 1991, the first Women's World Cup was held in Guangdong, China, hosted by Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhongshan and Jiangmen, with 12 women's soccer teams representing the world's highest level.
As the host team, the Chinese women's football team has started an unprecedented journey. In fact, as early as the 1980s, the Chinese women's football team was invincible in Asia, and it has won seven consecutive women's Asian Cups, which can be said to be the hegemony of Women's Football in Asia.
In group A, the strong Chinese team defeated Norway, Denmark and New Zealand, and successfully qualified for the first place. In the quarterfinals, he lost 0-1 to Sweden, stopping in the quarterfinals and ending up in fifth place.
In this tournament, the Chinese women's football team was not afraid of facing the world's strongest team for the first time, and successfully played the spirit. Players such as Sun Wen, Liu Ailing, Sun Qingmei, Shui Qingxia and Wu Weiying have demonstrated the strength of Chinese women's football players on the international stage.
In the 1995 Women's World Cup in Sweden, the strong Chinese women's football team was divided into Group C, and then drew with the United States, won against Australia, and won against Denmark, successfully qualifying for the second place in the group.
In the semi-final stage, the Chinese team lost 0-1 to Germany, and the third and fourth place finals lost 0-2 to the United States, and finally won the fourth place in the competition.
Among them, the group stage stubbornly pulled two goals in a row to draw 3-3 with the United States, and eliminated the host Sweden team in the quarterfinals penalty shootout. These two battles let fans see the tenacious struggle of Chinese female football players in the face of major teams in the world.
Every goal and every game of the Chinese women's football team on the world stage is creating their own history. Everything makes people look forward to the arrival of the 1999 Women's World Cup.
The 1999 Women's World Cup in the United States was undoubtedly the culmination of the glorious history of Chinese women's football. This tournament has created a peak in China's television ratings and the peak of ratings in the history of women's football in the world.
After two tournaments, the Chinese women's football team has played a more powerful performance. In the group stage, the women's football girl advanced with a perfect posture of winning all three games.
These include a 2-1 win over old rival Sweden, a 7-0 win over Ghana and a 3-1 win over Australia. A perfect 7-0, creating the biggest score victory of the Chinese women's football team in the World Series.
In the quarterfinals, China won 2-0 against Russia. In the semi-finals, the women's football girls made a big splash, swept the previous champion Norway team with a big score of 5-0, reached the final, and directly created the biggest point difference in the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup.
By the semi-finals, the performance of the Chinese women's football team can be said to be the highest in history, with an excellent momentum of competition for the championship, and a victorious division has been assembled.
However, the 1999 Women's World Cup, which made Chinese fans extremely excited, also made people have mixed feelings.
In the final final, china team played against host team Usa, and the Rose Bowl Stadium was filled with 90,000 spectators. The two teams played hard in 90 minutes, and the match dragged into extra time.
Liu Ying opened a corner kick, Fan Yunjie jumped high in the penalty area to head the goal, and then the ball was blocked by the American defender who was inside the goal, and the referee determined that the goal was invalid. This goal has become a huge suspense in the history of women's football in the world.
The two sides entered a penalty shootout, and the Chinese women's football team finally lost to the United States 4-5, regrettably won the runner-up and missed the World Cup champion.
Some people say that it is the women's football team that kicks out the state too early and without reservation. Others say it was American goalkeeper Scully who moved ahead of time when he made a save.
In any case, the failure to win this tournament has become a huge regret in the history of Chinese football.
This World Cup allowed Sun Wen, the top scorer of the Chinese women's football team, to successfully win the World Cup Golden Ball Award, and at the same time won the World Cup Golden Boot with 7 goals. This "Maradona in a skirt" established his position as the first woman in the world at that time with a perfect performance.
In 2000, FIFA named Sun Wen and American player Akles the Miss Football of the Century in the 20th century, leaving a mark on the history of Chinese football.
In addition to Sun Wen, the No. 10 core Liu Ailing, "Fan Dajun" Fan Yunjie, "A Cat" Zhao Lihong, Liu Ying and Gao Hong, and other Chinese women's football celebrities still exist in the memory of Chinese fans.
Terms such as "sonorous rose", "women's football spirit", and "Chinese pride" appeared in major domestic media for a time. For football and sports competition, perhaps the prickly sonorous rose is more attractive than the artificial gorgeous flower.
The 1999 Women's World Cup final was the closest Chinese football came to the World Cup. Next time, when will it be?