The Mundialito (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for "little

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

") was a global invitational tournament for national teams in

women's association football Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries and 176 national t ...

. Held on four occasions in the northern region of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

since 1984, it was one of the most prestigious women's football events, prior to the advent of the FIFA Women's World Cup and Women's Olympic Football.

History

The first edition of the tournament was played in Japan in September 1981.

drew 1–1 with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

then beat Japan 9–0, while

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

beat Japan 4–0 but lost 1–0 to Denmark. Japan–Denmark and England–Italy fixtures were not played. In 1984 and 1985, the teams first played round-robin within a single pool, then a further match to decide the winner and third place. In 1986 and 1988, the preliminary round was contested within two groups, each sending a team to participate in the final match. The most successful teams were

with three titles and

with two titles. The 1985 tournament was notable for the international debut of the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles ( 1991, 1999, 2015, an ...

. Another more recent international tournament for women's football teams, the

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious an ...

, has also been unofficially known as the ''Mundialito''.

Results

References

External links

RSSSF.com history page, with links to full results
{{International women's football International association football competitions in Europe International association football competitions hosted by Italy Women's football competitions in Italy Recurring sporting events established in 1982 International women's association football invitational tournaments