The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Final was an association football match that took place on 17 July 2011 at Commerzbank-Arena, in Frankfurt, Germany, to determine the winner of 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. It was played between Japan and the United States. Japan won 3–1 in a penalty shoot-out following a 2–2 draw after extra time, becoming the first Asian team to win a senior—either men's or women's—World Cup final. Japan's victory was a major upset, made even more meaningful for the country as Japan was still feeling the effects of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 15,000 people prior to the tournament. The 2011 final was the last major sporting event to be broadcast in Japan prior to the country's digital switchover that took place on 24 July 2011. Background The match was between the United States, which had been a major power in women's association football since winning the inaugural World Cup championship, and Japan, which had never won a major world title, or indeed even reached the finals of a major world competition. This was also the first appearances of the United States in the final after 12 years. The United States was bidding to become the first team to win a third world championship, having won in 1991 and 1999. Japan was bidding to become the fourth team to win a world championship, joining the United States, Norway and Germany. Interestingly, before the beginning of the competition, the Japanese side had almost pulled out from the competition due to the disastrous earthquake that happened back in their home country, as the women's league in Japan was suspended and eventually cancelled. The match was the third between the two teams in World Cup play. The United States beat Japan 3–0 in pool play in 1991, and won 4–0 in a 1995 quarterfinal match. Going into the final, the United States had never lost to Japan, with 22 wins and 3 draws. Prior to the World Cup, the United States was the top-ranked team in the FIFA Women's World Rankings, while Japan was ranked fourth. Despite being ranked fourth, very few people expected Japan to reach the semi-finals, let alone win the tournament. This marked the first time that a team won the World Cup having lost a match in pool play. Japan became only the second Asian national team to reach the