Women's football celebrated its true coming of age in November of 1991 when the first Women's World Championship was brought to life.

The first competition kicked off in the People's Republic of China to large and enthusiastic crowds. With twelve nations competing, it proved to be a resounding success.

The American team, led by a dominating forward line dubbed -The Triple-Edged Sword- by the Chinese media, tore through the tournament to win the first-ever world championship for women's football.

Michelle Akers, Carin Jennings and April Heinrichs combined to score 20 of the 25 goals for the U.S., including all five (Jennings 3, Heinrichs 2) in a 5-2 semi final victory over Germany and both goals (Akers) in a 2-0 win over Norway to win the title.

Sweden in 1995 was the consecration of women's football at the highest level.

Players from the best dozen teams in the world came together in the quest for two prizes: the World Cup itself, but also qualification for the first women's Olympic Football Tournament the following year in the United States.

The Americans, as Olympic hosts, had already qualified and were eventually joined by the new World Champions from Norway, runners-up Germany and fourth-placed China, together with Sweden, Denmark, Brazil and Japan.

In front of more than 17,000 fans, Norway got goals from Hege Riise and Marianne Pettersen to beat Germany 2-0 and capture the second Women's World Cup title.

The final Women's World Cup of the century in 1999 launched the beginning of a new era of success for women's football.

For three weeks, 320 of the best female football players in the world gathered across the United States, with the tournament played in huge stadiums and new heights reached for attendance, media coverage and television audiences.

Spectator figures topped 660,000, the media numbered near 2,500. All 32 games were broadcast live on national television, and an estimated 40 million viewers in the U.S. alone watched the American hosts capture their second World Cup title.

On 10 July 1999, a world women's sporting record attendance of 90,185 sun-baked fans, including former President Bill Clinton, squeezed into the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, to witness the home side pull out a breathtaking 5:4 penalty kick victory over China in the finals.

In 2003, the final match was a celebration of all that is right about football, women's or otherwise.

The match was fast, thrilling, skilful and dramatic. In the end, a golden goal scored by Nia Kuenzer gave the reigning European Champions, Germany, their first World Championship, after Hannah Ljungberg of Sweden and Maren Meinert had scored earlier in the game.

England's record:

This will be only the second time that the Three Lions have competed at the Women's World Cup, having previously qualified for Sweden in 1995, and in the 12 intervening years there have been mixed attempts to make it back.

In seeking to qualify for USA 1999 England suffered from being grouped with Norway, Germany and Holland, picking up just three points with victory over the Dutch at Upton Park.

Four years later it was a much more heartbreaking failure for England as they missed out on the finals, due to be held in China but rearranged for USA after the SARS outbreak, following a playoff.

Following wins over Holland, Iceland and Portugal in another tough group that again included Germany, England faced France in a two-legged playoff to decide who would make it to the World Cup.

Losing both games by the slender margin of a solitary French goal, England would have to wait another four years until they had another chance - and this time it was at the expense of France that they made it.

Click here for the full details of England's qualifying campaign for China 2007