Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/1999 FIFA Women's World Cup/archive1

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup

 * Nominator(s):  Sounder Bruce  01:09, 1 June 2019 (UTC)

The eighth Women's World Cup kicks off next week in France, but twenty years ago, the tournament was played before massive crowds in the United States that launched women's soccer into the national mainstream. I overhauled and expanded this article a few weeks ago and think it is worthy of FA status, pending small touches here and there. I'm hoping to have the entry make it to TFA in time for the 2019 final or the 20th anniversary of its final, both of which fall in early July. Cheers and go USWNT!  Sounder Bruce  01:09, 1 June 2019 (UTC)

Comments – Here's a first batch from the early part of the article; I'll read the rest later.
 * Venues: We say in the lead that the 1996 Olympics led to a level of expected demand that caused the usage of football stadiums, but this section doesn't really back that up in any way. It just says that the 1996 tournament was successful. We shouldn't have content in the lead that isn't repeated in the body, so this should probably be added in this section.
 * Fixed.
 * Qualification: I take it that the two berths allocated to North America included the U.S., even though they didn't have to play in the qualifier? That's the only way the second-place North American finisher could wind up in a playoff.
 * The 2003 tournament had the same allocation (2.5 for CONCACAF) prior to the change of hosts, so I assume that this was the case for 1999 as well. I'll have to tweak the wording and order to make this clearer.
 * Media and marketing: I'd remove the "also" before "cross-promoted", since that's basically a duplication of "and" right before it.
 * Fixed.
 * Group B: Was this meant to exclude the quotation marks around Group of death, which had them earlier in the article? Giants2008  ( Talk ) 21:50, 1 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Yes, and fixed. Thanks for the first round of comments, looking forward to the second (after my flight).  Sounder Bruce  01:27, 2 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Final: "and witnessed by an estimated audience of 17.9 million television viewers in the United States, which peaked at 40 million." If the 17.9 million figure is an average, that should probably be stated to avoid confusion. Otherwise it gets confusing with the two different numbers.
 * Fixed.
 * If memory serves me right, there was some controversy over Scurry taking an early start on the penalty she saved. It's not something worth dwelling on here, but do you think it's worth a sentence in the final summary?
 * I'm saving that for the article on the final, since it hasn't had the same cultural impact as Chastain's celebration or the team's achievement.
 * Seems like this was raised by another reviewer below. If they're all right with excluding it, then I will be as well. Giants2008  ( Talk ) 20:13, 12 June 2019 (UTC)
 * I have added a short sentence about the controversy, since it doesn't seem like it would be that big of a deal in retrospect.  Sounder Bruce  00:44, 15 June 2019 (UTC)
 * "Television ratings for the tournament were especially high". This should probably clarify that it refers specifically to the U.S., unless the sources say something about other countries.
 * Done.
 * The 17.9 million viewers figure is repeated here. If you want to keep this, I'd suggest a rewording t something like "—the 17.9 million U.S. viewers was the largest audience...".
 * Fixed and dropped the extra link to 2015 while we're at it.
 * We should have a link available for the 2000 Olympic tournament, which would be a nice little addition.
 * It is already linked twice in the Qualification and Quarter-finals sections.
 * I see the full Major League Soccer name given in several places, here and earlier in the article. Would it be worth abbreviating it after first usage, as is done for the WUSA?
 * I don't think abbreviating it would be worth the hassle, since it's only used a handful of times and the full name isn't a mouthful like WUSA's.
 * "and ended with a victory for Germany while the United States finished in third place." The American finish was already mentioned earlier in the section and probably doesn't need to be repeated here. If you want to keep the sentence length about the same, you could mention something about the final, which was competitive IIRC.
 * Done.
 * Statistics: Is the award called the Golden Boot or the Golden Shoe? I see both in the article. And was there an assist tiebreaker for the award?
 * Fixed.
 * Purely optional, but a link for ref 13 is available here if you're interested. Giants2008  ( Talk ) 01:45, 5 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Would rather keep it unlinked, since I think that version differs from the printed version I sourced the fact from.
 * Thanks for the comments. I believe that I have addressed your concerns; sorry about the delay—I have only just finished unpacking.  Sounder Bruce  05:49, 9 June 2019 (UTC) Courtesy ping because I forgot how the template works.  Sounder Bruce  02:07, 11 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Support – After the fixes here and elsewhere, I'm satisfied that this article meets FA standards. Giants2008  ( Talk ) 21:10, 15 June 2019 (UTC)

Thought Comment I don't know if this would look better but maybe have the group reviews above the table instead of below it. HawkAussie (talk) 00:20, 3 June 2019 (UTC)
 * I experimented with this earlier and decided that having two different template sections next to each other was awkward and less desirable.  Sounder Bruce  05:08, 4 June 2019 (UTC)

support by Lee Vilenski

 * I was surprised to see no England at the world cup, considering they finished third in 2015, then I saw 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), and it was the most confusing article I've seen. Regardless, here's a few things I saw.


 * I'd like a little more background on the competition. It's only been held twice before this time, so it's quite important in my eyes. Best Wishes,  Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 12:57, 6 June 2019 (UTC)
 * That would belong in the main FIFA Women's World Cup article, but I did add a sentence to the Host selection sentence.
 * It took place in the United States at eight venues across the country from 19 June to 10 July 1999 -> The world cup was held in eight venues across the United States from 19 June until 10 July 1999. Best Wishes,  Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 12:57, 6 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Reordered the sentence in a different way.
 * Could host selection and venues be under the same supersection, of "Host", or "Location"? Best Wishes,  Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 12:57, 6 June 2019 (UTC)
 * I'd rather keep them separated, since the host selection process was a full year before the venue bidding.
 * Is the large space in the Qualification section needed? Best Wishes,  Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 12:57, 6 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Just a quirk of the formatting used there, so I have removed it.
 * It was televised live by ESPN during the halftime of an exhibition match between the United States women's team and the FIFA Women's World Stars that was being played at the stadium. - Was this broadcast anywhere else? Eurosport, BBC, etc? Best Wishes,  Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 12:57, 6 June 2019 (UTC)
 * I only have access to a handful of non-U.S./Canadian sources, and they don't really have any coverage of the draw, let alone broadcast information.
 * List of FIFA Women's World Cup broadcasters lists a few places broadcasting the event in places like Paraguay. No idea how it is sourced though. Best Wishes,  Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 14:06, 9 June 2019 (UTC)
 * The match officials section seems a bit weird. Are they all notable? Best Wishes,  Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 12:57, 6 June 2019 (UTC)
 * It is pretty standard for football tournament entries to include a list, which I have supplemented with some appropriate prose (since this was the first time an all-female roster was used).
 * I was thinking more WP:REDLINK. Are they all notable referees? Best Wishes,  Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 14:06, 9 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Generally, top-level football referees are notable enough for their own articles, but their quality is usually limited by the lack of secondary sources. I managed to scrape together a good amount for Im Eun-ju, but others might be harder.  Sounder Bruce  03:29, 10 June 2019 (UTC)
 * The top seven quarter-finalists also qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics alongside hosts Australia, who were eliminated in the group stage.[23][117] Russia were the only quarter-finalists to not qualify for the Olympics, having the worst goal difference of the four losing teams.[118] - Why was the Olympics qualifiers the same as the world cup quarters? The wording doesn't quite make sense, as the goal difference of Sweden is actually worse (+3 in group, lost by 2 in quarter = +1 plays +7 -2=5.) I would assume this means that Russia had the worst result in the quarter-finals only (IE, they lost by 2, and didn't score.) Was there any information on what would have happened in case of a tie? 12:57, 6 June 2019 (UTC)
 * The qualification was decided by the following order of tie-breakers (according to FIFA): goal difference in the QF (Russia and Sweden were tied at -2 GD), then goals scored (Sweden scored once, Russia did not), then group stage performance (points, goal difference, goals scored), and finally Fair Play rankings and a draw of lots. I have rewritten that section to include these tie-breakers and make things clearer with a new source.
 * Are Awards not part of statistics? Similar to 2002 FIFA World Cup? Best Wishes,  Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 12:57, 6 June 2019 (UTC)
 * I prefer to have them separated.
 * Thanks for your comments. I believe I have answered all of your questions about the tournament, though the decisions of FIFA in the 1990s and 2000s usually cannot be explained. As for England not qualifying, European teams usually qualified by placing first in their group (after seeding and a draw) and the rest were just left out; the qualification article does need some cleanup, especially with coloring of teams.  Sounder Bruce  06:13, 9 June 2019 (UTC)
 * The bit about England is confusing, as they somehow finished bottom of their group, but still got a playoff? Unless I'm reading that wrong. I'll likely support this, however I'd still like more of a background to the event. As much as detail should be on the main tournament, the article should be broad enough to be readable on its own. Best Wishes,  Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 14:06, 9 June 2019 (UTC)
 * I have added a paragraph of background information on the tournament's origins, and will come back to refine it a bit more later.  Sounder Bruce  02:32, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

Support Comments by Sportsfan77777
Lead
 * FIFA needs to be spelled out as Fédération Internationale de Football Association somewhere in the lead (probably the first paragraph)
 * Few, if any, tournament articles actually spell out the full name of FIFA in the lead. I don't think it's necessary, but I am adding a link to the article.
 * "The United States won the tournament by defeating China in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw, with the winning penalty scored by Brandi Chastain in the fifth round."
 * This is the "noun plus -ing" problem.
 * It's not a scoreless draw if it ended in a penalty shootout.
 * Also, I think it's worth mentioning Chastain's moment in the lead.
 * Lastly, I think the outcome should go first before the attendance record.
 * I suggest for the whole paragraph: "The United States won the tournament by defeating China in the final in a penalty shootout. After the match remained scoreless through extra time, Brandi Chastain scored the winning penalty to give the United States their second FIFA Women's World Cup title. The image of Brandi Chastain celebrating the winning penalty was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and became one of the defining images of women's sports in the United States. The final was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and set an international record for most spectators to watch a women's sporting event with an attendance of 90,185. Overall, Chinese forward Sun Wen and Brazilian forward Sissi were the joint top goalscorers of the tournament, with seven goals each."
 * I'd rather have the attendance record first and would rather not have a sentence about Chastain's celebration (as it is not absolutely vital for the lead). The still-standing attendance record is more important in the context of this tournament's long-term legacy.
 * "and played for three seasons before folding" ===>>> "and operated for three seasons before folding"
 * It operated for longer, in a business and planning sense, so I've just dropped the "for".
 * "after China withdrew" ===>>> "after China withdrew as hosts"
 * Omitted because it's a detail that doesn't have important relevance to this tournament.
 * "playing in smaller venues and unable to repeat as world champions." ===>>> "playing in smaller venues and were unable to repeat as world champions."
 * Half done.

Host selection
 * The United States Soccer Federation announced their intention to bid for the 1999 tournament in February 1995, shortly after hosting the 1994 men's World Cup. ===>>> The United States Soccer Federation announced their intention to bid for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup in February 1995, shortly after hosting the 1994 men's tournament.
 * The tournament had been hosted previously by China in 1991. ===>>> China had hosted the first edition in 1991. (passive voice)
 * Sweden hosted the 1995 tournament whose games were played under the Women's World Cup name in small venues to little media attention. ===>>> The next edition hosted by Sweden was the first to be played under the Women's World Cup. Matches were held in small venues and attracted little media attention.
 * I'm not fond of breaking things up even further, since I wanted this to only be a single, short sentence in the first place.
 * the same day that the 2002 men's World Cup ===>>> the same day that the 2002 men's tournament
 * It's important to have a distinction between the women's and men's editions and also use their official names.

Venues
 * Eight venues were used for the tournament, located in Chicago, on the East Coast, and on the West Coast. ===>>> Eight venues were used for the tournament: three on the East Coast, four on the West Coast, and one in Chicago.
 * Done.
 * limited to a single time zone <<=== missing a period at the end.
 * Fixed.
 * announced on 19 November 1997, including five large American football venues ===>>> announced on 19 November 1997 and included five large American football venues
 * Not done. I think it's best to leave it as is.
 * 1994 men's World Cup ===>>> 1994 World Cup
 * Not done. Again, distinction is important.
 * The tournament final was awarded to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, reprising its role from the 1984 Summer Olympics and 1994 World Cup. ===>>> The tournament final was awarded to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the same venue that hosted the final at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1994 World Cup.
 * Not done, but I did make it clearer that the venue was the final venue for both of the previous tournaments.

Participating teams and officials
 * between the second-place finishers in North and South American tournaments. ===>>> between the second-place finishers in the North and South American tournaments.
 * Fixed.
 * between the United States women's team and the FIFA Women's World Stars that was being played at the stadium. ===>>> between the United States women's team and the FIFA Women's World Stars at the stadium.
 * Fixed.
 * The highest-ranked teams, China, Germany, Norway, and the United States, were placed in the seeded Pot A. ===>>> The highest-ranked teams of China, Germany, Norway, and the United States, were placed in the seeded Pot A.
 * Not done, as I don't think "of" is a proper transition.
 * because the placement of non-seeded Brazil ===>>> because of the placement of non-seeded Brazil
 * Re-did that sentence anyway.
 * The referees were staged at two facilities in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to reduce travel, working in groups during matches and training. ===>>> The referees were staged at two facilities in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to reduce travel. They worked in groups during matches and training.
 * Half done by switching the order and preventing the creation of a sentence fragment.
 * referees being unfamiliar with working in front of large crowds. ===>>> referees being inexperienced with working in front of large crowds.
 * Done.
 * FIFA stated that it had been a successful trial of all-female referees ===>>> FIFA stated that the trial of all-female referees had been successful
 * Done.
 * I don't think the referees need to be red-linked.
 * Each referee is notable to have their own article (albeit most end up as stubs, like the players). Since some referees have valid links, it would be distracting and inconsistent to de-link those that do not yet have one.

Preparations
 * 1994 men's World Cup ===>>> 1994 World Cup (twice)
 * Not done.
 * 26 were live broadcasts ===>>> Of these, 26 were live broadcasts
 * Done.

Group stage
 * The sixteen participating teams were organized into four groups, labelled A to D <<<=== "labeled" not "labelled" in American English (or is it not American English?)
 * Fixed.
 * The following day at the Rose Bowl, North Korea lost 2–1 to Nigeria after conceding a goal to Rita Nwadike in the 79th minute shortly after finding an equalizer to compensate for an earlier goal from Mercy Akide, who assisted Nwadike. <<<=== Break this up into two sentences.
 * Shortened.
 * preserved potential qualification for all four teams in the group ===>>> preserved all four teams's chances to advance into the knockout stage.
 * Partially done.
 * Nigeria became the first African team to advance to the quarter-finals of a Women's World Cup, having clinched a place with a 2–0 win against Denmark in their final match of the group stage. ===>>> Nigeria became the first African team to advance to the quarter-finals of a Women's World Cup with a 2–0 win against Denmark in their final match of the group stage.
 * Partially done.
 * Olympics semi-finalist Brazil ===>>> Olympic semi-finalist Brazil,
 * Fixed.
 * which began with a 1–1 tie in the first ten minutes of the match. ===>>> which began tied 1–1 after ten minutes of the match.
 * Partially done.
 * unable to force a save from German goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg until the 89th minute ===>>> unable to prdouce a shot on goal until the 89th minute
 * A save and a shot on goal don't necessarily happen at the same time.
 * The Germans then took a 3–2 lead on a deflected shot by Steffi Jones, but the match was tied at 3–3 by a last-minute header from substitute forward Maycon in stoppage time. ===>>> The Germans then took a 3–2 lead on a deflected shot by Steffi Jones, before substitute forward Maycon tied the match at 3–3 on a last-minute header in stoppage time.
 * Partially done.
 * Norway scored five more goals in the second half, equaling the goals conceded by Canada during their first-round match against Norway in the 1995 tournament. ===>>> Norway scored five more goals in the second half to match their goal tally against Canada from their first-round match against Norway in the 1995 tournament.
 * Partially done.
 * the final goal of the match was scored in the 61st minute by Dagny Mellgren, who headed in a cross produced by Unni Lehn, who had assisted on Isozaki's own goal. ===>>> the final goal of the match was scored in the 61st minute by Dagny Mellgren, who headed in a cross produced by Unni Lehn. Lehn had also assisted on Isozaki's own goal.
 * Partially done.
 * The Matildas took the lead in the 74th minute on a goal scored by their captain Julie Murray to beat Ghanaian goalkeeper Memunatu Sulemana, who had made 11 saves during the match to keep her team level despite the red card. Ghana equalized less than two minutes later with a finish by substitute Nana Gyamfuah following a rebound off Australian goalkeeper Tracey Wheeler's save, securing a point in the group standings. ===>>> The Matildas took the lead in the 74th minute on a goal scored by their captain Julie Murray. Ghana equalized less than two minutes later with a finish by substitute Nana Gyamfuah following a rebound off Australian goalkeeper Tracey Wheeler's save, securing a point in the group standings. Ghanaian goalkeeper Memunatu Sulemana made 11 saves to keep her team in the match despite the red card.
 * Reordered the sentence in a different manner.
 * Zhang Ouying scored a pair of goals in the 82nd minute and at the beginning stoppage time ===>>> Zhang Ouying scored a pair of goals in the 82nd minute and at the beginning of stoppage time
 * Done.
 * which remains the record for the fastest red card in Women's World Cup history ===>>> which remains the record for the fastest red card in Women's World Cup history as of 2015
 * Doesn't need to be given an "as of" and can be updated appropriately when the time comes.
 * Cheryl Salisbury reduced the lead to 2–1 with her strike in the 66th minute, ending a 253-minute shutout streak for Chinese goalkeeper Gao Hong, but Liu Ying scored in the 73rd minute to assure a Chinese victory over the Matildas. ===>>> Cheryl Salisbury reduced the lead to 2–1 with her strike in the 66th minute, ending a 253-minute shutout streak for Chinese goalkeeper Gao Hong. Nonetheless, Liu Ying scored in the 73rd minute to assure a Chinese victory over the Matildas.
 * Partially done.

Knockout stage
 * China advanced with a 2–0 victory over Russia, with a first-half goal by Pu Wei and a goal scored by Jin Yan in the 56th minute, while the Russians did not manage a shot towards goal until the 91st minute. ===>>> China advanced with a 2–0 victory over Russia, with a first-half goal by Pu Wei and a goal scored by Jin Yan in the 56th minute. The Russians did not manage a shot on goal until the 91st minute.
 * The new sentence would be too short on its own.
 * Sweden received a consolation goal ===>>> Sweden score a consolation goal
 * Done.
 * but the Americans found an equalizing goal eleven minutes later from a shot by Tiffeny Milbrett ===>>> but the Americans found an equalizing goal eleven minutes later from Tiffeny Milbrett
 * Done.
 * The Olympics qualification was determined by a series of tie-breakers, beginning with the margin of defeat in the quarter-final match, followed by goals scored in the quarter-final and group stage performance. ===>>> The Olympic qualification was determined by a series of tie-breakers, beginning with the margin of defeat in the quarter-final match followed by goals scored in the quarter-final.
 * Doesn't make sense to drop the group stage tie-breaker, which is part of the listed sequence (even if it went unused).
 * Russia and Sweden both lost by two goals, but the latter had scored in its defeat and Russia were left as the only quarter-finalist to not qualify for the Olympics. ===>>> Although Russia and Sweden both lost by two goals, Russia was ranked lower since they did not in their defeat and were left as the only quarter-finalist to not qualify for the Olympics.
 * The last part of your suggestion doesn't make much sense and omits the most important detail (that Sweden scored).
 * Norway had the majority of chances to score during the match, but their shots were saved by goalkeeper Maravilha to preserve a shutout. ===>>> Norway had the majority of chances to score during the match, but goalkeeper Maravilha saved all of their shots to preserve a shutout.
 * Not done.
 * Pretinha missed her penalty, but the remaining five taken by her teammates were all scored ===>>> Although Pretinha missed the opening penalty for Brazil, her teammates scored all of the next five.
 * Not done.
 * Did Brazil or Norway go first in the shootout?
 * It seems that Brazil did.
 * The match was scoreless after regulation time, with several attempts at the goal made by the hosts, and moved into extra time. <<<=== You could elaborate on this a little. How many shots on goal did each team have? Or state that neither team had any good chances if that was the case.
 * Not mentioned in the citations.
 * but saves by midfielder Kristine Lilly and goalkeeper Briana Scurry preserved the tie, which persisted until the end of extra time. ===>>> but saves by midfielder Kristine Lilly and goalkeeper Briana Scurry preserved the tie until the end of extra time.
 * Done.
 * You could mention that Scurry's save was controversial for her appearing to leave her line too early. See this article from the New York Times.
 * As I said above and in the peer review, that is best left to the entry on the final. We're aiming for summary style here.

Aftermath and legacy
 * 2014 men's World Cup ===>>> 2014 World Cup final. (I presume it's the final?)
 * No, it was a group stage match and it doesn't need to be elaborated on further (as that belongs in the final entry).
 * They went on to finish as silver medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics behind Norway and won three subsequent gold medals. ===>>> They went on to finish as silver medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics behind Norway. (The same team was not part of the 2004, etc. Olympic gold medals).
 * Kept the gold medals and added a transition to clarify things.
 * The United States finished third at the next two editions of the Women's World Cup before returning to the finals twice in the 2010s: losing to Japan in 2011 and defeating them in 2015 to take home their third World Cup title. ===>>> The United States did not win another World Cup title until 2015 when they defeated Japan in the final. They had finished third at the next two editions and were runners-up to Japan in 2011.
 * Done in a different way.
 * which was established after the 1994 men's World Cup ===>>> which was established after the 1994 men's tournament in the United States
 * Again, not done.
 * The league's teams continued playing in exhibition matches, but eventually folded, while another professional league was founded in 2007 and folded after three seasons. ===>>> The league's teams continued playing in exhibition matches, but eventually folded. Another professional league was founded in 2007 and also folded after three seasons. The National Women's Soccer League was launched in 2012 and has continued to operate as of 2019.
 * Added a mention NWSL, but I don't like having more sentence fragments to deal with.

Awards
 * Chinese striker Sun Wen was awarded the Golden Ball and shared the Golden Shoe with Brazilian forward Sissi, having tied her with seven goals and three assists. <<<=== They had the same number of goals and assists? It's not so clear the way it is written.
 * Cleared it up and split the sentence.
 * The first two sentences here are out of order. First should be the three Balls. Then, should be the three Shoes.
 * Generally, it would make more sense to have the MVP award come before scoring awards.
 * The sixteen members of the Women's World Cup All-Star Team were announced on 8 July 1999, including seven players from China and five from the United States. ===>>> The sixteen members of the Women's World Cup All-Star Team were announced on 8 July 1999. It included seven players from China and five from the United States.
 * Not done, as the new sentence would be too short and its content is too dependent on the existing sentence.

Overall
 * The content looks very thorough, except for the Scurry controversy that is missing.
 * The prose is pretty good, but there are some run-on sentences. Most of the comments above just point those out or are other small grammatical things.
 * I didn't put specific reasons for a lot of the comments/edits, but I'm happy to discuss them. (Hopefully, most of the reasons are obvious.)
 * Will support once the majority of the above comments are addressed. Sportsfan77777 (talk) 03:25, 10 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the review. I'll work on the match sections in a day or two, but I have had to reject quite a few of your suggestions for the reasons I gave above. Please let know if there are any problems.  Sounder Bruce  04:34, 10 June 2019 (UTC)
 * That should be about it. I tweaked many of your suggestions to fit the style and flow a bit better.  Sounder Bruce  02:05, 11 June 2019 (UTC)
 * I was WP:BOLD and made a bunch of small changes. Feel free to take a look at those. One last comment: How about going with "men's 1994 World Cup" instead of "1994 men's World Cup"? I don't like inserting "men's" in the middle since the year is a part of the official name. Sportsfan77777 (talk) 19:31, 20 June 2019 (UTC)
 * The current format is more consistent with the women's tournament's name, and it also matches the press and book sources I have used (and seems to be an informal style preferred by sportswriters). I'll be making small tweaks to your changes (which are all very good spots) at halftime of this match.  Sounder Bruce  19:42, 20 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Okay, that's fair. Supporting! Sportsfan77777 (talk) 20:09, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

Support by Kosack
Hi SounderBruce, meant to get here sooner but was unable too until now.

Lead
 * Could link match officials to Assistant referee (association football).
 * Done.
 * "which ended after Brandi Chastain scored in the fifth round", could we split this into a separate sentence perhaps and include that China missed an effort? Something along the lines of "Brandi Chastain scored the winning penalty in the fifth round after China missed their third spot kick"?
 * Added a mention of Liu.

Background
 * "the 1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&M's Cup until retroactively given the World Cup moniker, was a success", was considered a success perhaps, just to avoid making it sound like its us saying it was.
 * Fixed.

Venues
 * RFK Memorial Stadium, Jack Kent Cooke Stadium and Civic Stadium are redirects, pipe the links to avoid these.
 * Given that the names for the latter two could easily change in the near future due to their nature as corporate-sponsored venues, I don't think it's necessary to pipe (and MOS:NOPIPE also applies).
 * Link friendly to Exhibition match.
 * Done.
 * "In addition to the large football stadiums" + "including converting football locker rooms", I'm assuming these are referring to American football? I'd include the full name in each of these to avoid any possible confusion. The locker room sentence might not even need the football reference unless there were other types of locker rooms there?
 * Done for consistency. For the locker room, Gillette Stadium actually divided one NFL locker room in half to accommodate two teams, since they needed four locker rooms to handle the four teams each matchday while preserving the soccer locker rooms for the MLS teams.

Group B
 * In the opening Sissi is listed as a forward but here she is listed as a midfielder?
 * She was positioned as a midfielder during the tournament but played most of her career as a forward, so I'll have to correct all uses of forward.

Group C
 * "were both caused by Hiromi Isozaki", were both conceded perhaps?
 * Sounds good.

Group D
 * "Olympics runners-up China" > Olympic?
 * Fixed.
 * "Forward Jin Yan scored the equalizer for China in the 17th minute and broke through in the 69th minute with a goal by Liu Ailing to win 2–1." Does this sentence work? Seems to change subject from Jin Yan to China midway through if you see what I mean?
 * Fixed.
 * "Alicia Ferguson was sent off for a tackle in the second minute", foul instead of tackle perhaps?
 * Fixed.

Quarter-finals
 * Helge Risse is linked in the group stage section, no need to repeat the link here.
 * Fixed.
 * "Germany retook the lead in stoppage time just before half-time", bit of a round about way of saying it, maybe just "in first half stoppage time.."?
 * Fixed.
 * "Defender Joy Fawcett's header off a corner kick in 66th minute proved to be", there's a word missing here.
 * Fixed.
 * The Sissi forward/midfielder issue is repeated here at the end of the third paragraph.
 * Fixed per above.

Semi-finals
 * "Liu added a second goal herself in the 51st minute", given that she scored the one prior to this I don't think herself is needed here.
 * Fixed.

Final
 * "were able to convert theirs and force sudden-death rounds", I'm a bit confused by this. If China missed their third penalty and the US scored every one of theirs, how would the shootout have gone to sudden death rounds?
 * Whoops, got it mixed up with another detail. Replaced with the score.

That's all I've got I think. Kosack (talk) 20:16, 14 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks for picking this up for review once again. I have implemented all but one of your suggestions.  Sounder Bruce  00:35, 15 June 2019 (UTC)
 * No worries, nice work. I'm happy to support this. Kosack (talk) 06:44, 16 June 2019 (UTC)

Image review

 * File:FIFA Womens World Cup 1999.png: What is the source of the background map? Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 19:19, 16 June 2019 (UTC)
 * I was unable to find a source, but I have instead uploaded a new version of the map using a recognized source (which is more accurate due to including FIFA teams representing non-sovereign national entities).
 * All images are in good places and have so-so ALT text. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 19:19, 16 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Is there anything specific I need to improve with my ALT descriptions? I didn't want to get too detailed and repetitive with the stadiums, but should I have described their shapes?  Sounder Bruce  04:44, 17 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Fundamentally ALT text should describe what an image is; if an image is merely decorative it does not need ALT text, if it illustrates a certain thing in the context of the article that thing should be described. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 07:06, 17 June 2019 (UTC)

Sources review
I carried out a series of spotchecks for verifiability etc, and these were generally OK. I found one issue:
 * Spotchecks
 * Ref 6: supports text: "The United States Soccer Federation announced their intention to bid for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup in February 1995, shortly after hosting the 1994 men's World Cup". This information is not given in the cited source.


 * Links: all links to sources are working, per the extrnal links checker tool
 * Formats:
 * Ref 49: Name of newspaper missing from reference
 * Ref 139, for consistency, you should add publisher location

Brianboulton (talk) 15:36, 18 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Quality and reliability: No issues – heavily reliant on press coverage, but acceptable in an article such as this.
 * Fixed both formatting issues, and will work on finding a new citation for Ref 6's supporting text. The bid was announced in that month, but most of the coverage then were just blurbs at the end of briefs, so there's not much to go by.  Sounder Bruce  06:41, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Found a small mention of the date and connection to the 1994 World Cup in another book source.  Sounder Bruce  20:29, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

Ian Rose (talk) 12:10, 29 June 2019 (UTC)