despite being ranked 1st in the world by fifa, the united states was the final team to qualify for the 2011 world cup. after finishing third in the 2010 concacaf women's gold cup, which serves as the concacaf qualifier, the united states was forced to defeat italy in a home and away playoff. japan, ranked 4th, qualified for the tournament by finishing third in the 2010 afc women's asian cup, which served as the afc qualifier.