The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is primed to smash records and make memories, with 32 nations convening in Australia and New Zealand to crown global football champions in the women’s game.
As with every major tournament, new feats and milestones will be achieved, while old records are set to fall.
Legends like Christine Sinclair (Canada), Marta (Brazil), and Alex Morgan (USA), all featuring in the 2023 edition, will look to add to their legacy in Australia and New Zealand.
The Sporting News runs through all the most prominent records and high marks in Women’s World Cup history since 1991, and the ones that could be challenged in 2023.
MORE: Complete schedule of the 2023 Women’s World Cup
Most goals scored in Women’s World Cup
Most goals in a single Women’s World Cup match
Three players have scored more than three goals in a Women’s World Cup game. Two of them, Michelle Akers and Alex Morgan, both of the United States, managed five goals in a match, a Women’s World Cup record.
Sam Kerr of Australia hit for four against Jamaica in 2019, the only four-goal haul in a Women’s World Cup game in history.
| Date | Player | Country | Opponent | Score | Goals (Pen) |
| Nov. 24, 1991 | Michelle Akers | USA | China | 7-0 | 5 (1) |
| Jun. 11, 2019 | Alex Morgan | USA | Thailand | 13-0 | 5 |
| Jun. 18, 2019 | Sam Kerr | Australia | Jamaica | 4-1 | 4 |
Most goals in a single Women’s World Cup tournament
The most goals scored in one tournament is a mark that was set in the inaugural finals and has never been matched since.
Michelle Akers of the United States scored 10 goals in the 1991 Women’s World Cup, helped by her five goals in a quarterfinal match against China. That tally is far and away the most of any player at a single tournament, as no other top scorer has registered more than seven.
| Player | Country | Goals | Year |
| Michelle Akers | USA | 10 | 1991 |
| Sissi | Brazil | 7 | 1999 |
| Sun Wen | China | 7 | 1999 |
| Birgit Prinz | Germany | 7 | 2003 |
| Marta | Brazil | 7 | 2007 |
Most goals in a Women’s World Cup career
While Christine Sinclair is the leading goalscorer in the history of international football, she is not the leading goalscorer at the FIFA World Cup.
Instead, that mark goes to the legendary Marta of Brazil. She scored seven to lead the 2007 tournament, and has 17 overall World Cup strikes in her glittering international career. She could add to that total in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which is expected to be her last.
| Player | Country | Goals | Years |
| Marta | Brazil | 17 | 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 |
| Birgit Prinz | Germany | 14 | 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 |
| Abby Wambach | USA | 14 | 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 |
| Michelle Akers | USA | 12 | 1991, 1995, 1999 |
| Cristiane | Brazil | 11 | 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 |
| Sun Wen | China | 11 | 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 |
| Bettina Wiegmann | Germany | 11 | 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 |
Most Women’s World Cup wins
Most Women’s World Cup wins by a player
The leading Women’s World Cup match winner is Kristine Lilly of the USA, who played a part in 24 different U.S. World Cup victories throughout her legendary career.
Lilly has also played in the most Women’s World Cup games and most minutes of any player as well, giving her the most chances to come out on top.
She is also tied for the most Women’s World Cup medals won, alongside Christine Rampone, with both sporting five top-three finishes in their careers.
Both have two titles to boast, plus two third-place finishes, but Rampone has the slight edge given that she helped the USA achieve a runner-up finish in 2011, while Lilly has a third third-place medal to round out her five tournament appearances.
Most Women’s World Cup wins by a coach
The coach with the most Women’s World Cup match wins in the history of the tournament is Norwegian boss Even Pellerud who won 16 games in 25 matches managed at the FIFA World Cup between stints with Canada and Norway.
Both his 16 victories and his 25 total games in charge are tops in the tournament’s history, winning a title with Norway in 1995 and finishing runner-up the following year.
Former United States manager Jill Ellis is the only coach in Women’s World Cup history to win two titles. She is one of just two managers in the history of the game, across either men or women, who have won back-to-back World Cups. Ellis is second on the all-time wins list with 13 victories across her two title-winning campaigns in 2015 and 2019.
The youngest head coach to win a Women’s World Cup is Anson Dorrance of the U.S. (40 years old), having triumphed in the inaugural event in 1991. The oldest to win a title is Norio Sasaki of Japan (53 years old) who lifted the trophy in 2011.
Most Women’s World Cup wins by a team
The United States have won the most games at the Women’s World Cup throughout the event’s history, which tracks as they have also lifted the trophy twice as many times as any other nation.
The USA have also scored the most goals in the competition’s history with 138, although Germany’s total of 121 actually puts them right alongside in the goals-per-match department.
Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Brazil round out the top five winningest nations at the Women’s World Cup. Those nations are also represented in the same order in the top five highest-scoring nations at the Women’s World Cup.
All five nations will have the chance to add to their totals in the 2023 competition, having all reached the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
| Country | Tournaments | Wins | Win % | Goals |
| United States | 8 | 40 | 80% | 138 |
| Germany | 8 | 30 | 68% | 121 |
| Norway | 8 | 24 | 60% | 93 |
| Sweden | 8 | 23 | 58% | 71 |
| Brazil | 8 | 20 | 59% | 66 |
Women’s World Cup hat-tricks
There have been 24 hat-tricks in Women’s World Cup history, but only three of them have come in the knockout stage.
The first Women’s World Cup hat-trick was scored by Carolina Morace of Italy, one of two trebles scored in the inaugural 1991 tournament.
The only hat-trick in a Women’s World Cup final was by Carli Lloyd of the United States who downed Japan with her famous trio in 2015.
The only team to concede three different hat-tricks in a single Women’s World Cup to three different teams is Jamaica in 2019, when Cristiane of Brazil, Cristiana Girelli of Italy, and Sam Kerr of Australia all hit the Reggae Girlz for three goals. Ecuador also conceded three hat-tricks in 2015, but two of them came against Switzerland in the same game.
| Date | Player | Country | Opponent | Score | Goals (Pen) |
| Nov. 17, 1991 | Carolina Morace | Italy | China | 5-0 | 3 |
| Nov. 24, 1991 | Michelle Akers | USA | China | 7-0 | 5 (1) |
| Nov. 27, 1991 | Carin Jennings | USA | Germany | 5-2 | 3 |
| Jun. 6, 1995 | Kristin Sandberg | Norway | Nigeria | 8-0 | 3 |
| Jun. 10, 1995 | Ann Kristin Aarones | Norway | Canada | 7-0 | 3 |
| Jun. 19, 1999 | Sissi | Brazil | Mexico | 7-1 | 3 |
| Jun. 19, 1999 | Pretinha | Brazil | Mexico | 7-1 | 3 |
| Jun. 23, 1999 | Sun Wen | China | Ghana | 7-0 | 3 |
| Jun. 24, 1999 | Inka Grings | Germany | Mexico | 6-0 | 3 |
| Sept. 20, 2003 | Mio Otani | Japan | Argentina | 6-0 | 3 |
| Sept. 10, 2007 | Birgit Prinz | Germany | Argentina | 11-0 | 3 |
| Sept. 10, 2007 | Sandra Smisek | Germany | Argentina | 11-0 | 3 |
| Sept. 20, 2007 | Ragnhild Gulbrandsen | Norway | Ghana | 7-2 | 3 |
| July 1, 2011 | Homare Sawa | Japan | Mexico | 4-0 | 3 |
| Jun. 7, 2015 | Celia Sasic | Germany | Ivory Coast | 10-0 | 3 |
| Jun. 7, 2015 | Anja Mittag | Germany | Ivory Coast | 10-0 | 3 |
| Jun. 8, 2015 | Gaelle Enganamouit | Cameroon | Ecuador | 6-0 | 3 (1) |
| Jun. 12, 2015 | Ramona Bachmann | Switzerland | Ecuador | 10-1 | 3 (1) |
| Jun. 12, 2015 | Fabienne Humm | Switzerland | Ecuador | 10-1 | 3 |
| Jul. 5, 2015 | Carli Lloyd | USA | Japan | 5-2 | 3 |
| Jun. 9, 2019 | Cristiane | Brazil | Jamaica | 3-0 | 3 |
| Jun. 11, 2019 | Alex Morgan | USA | Thailand | 13-0 | 5 |
| Jun. 14, 2019 | Cristiana Girelli | Italy | Jamaica | 5-0 | 3 (1) |
| Jun. 18, 2019 | Sam Kerr | Australia | Jamaica | 4-1 | 4 |
Most Women’s World Cup appearances
Most Women’s World Cup tournaments
Brazilian legend Formiga stands alone atop the women’s game as the only player to play in seven World cup tournaments. In fact, she’s the only player to achieve such a feat in men’s or women’s history.
Japanese midfielder Homare Sawa is behind her with six World Cup appearances, also more than anyone on the men’s side.
Behind them are a host of players who appeared in five World Cup tournaments, with four of them active and hoping to increase that tally by one here in 2023.
| Player | Country | Tournaments | Years |
| Formiga | Brazil | 7 | 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 |
| Homare Sawa | Japan | 6 | 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 |
| Kristine Lilly | USA | 5 | 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007 |
| Birgit Prinz | Germany | 5 | 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 |
| Christine Rampone | USA | 5 | 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 |
| Marta | Brazil | 5 | 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 |
| Cristiane | Brazil | 5 | 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 |
| Christine Sinclair | Canada | 5 | 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 |
| Onome Ebi | Nigeria | 5 | 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 |
Active players noted in bold.
Most Women’s World Cup matches
U.S. legend Kristine Lilly, who is the most-capped player in the history of international football, has played in the most Women’s World Cup matches, seeing the field in 30 games across her five World Cup tournament appearances.
Lilly’s 354 international caps are the most of any player in football on either the men’s or women’s side, so it tracks that she has the most in the World Cup as well.
The active players with the most World Cup appearances are Christine Sinclair of Canada and Cristiane of Brazil, with both hoping to add to their totals at the 2023 tournament this July.
| Player | Country | Matches | Tournaments |
| Kristine Lilly | USA | 30 | 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007 |
| Formiga | Brazil | 27 | 1995, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 |
| Abby Wambach | USA | 25 | 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 |
| Carli Lloyd | USA | 25 | 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 |
| Julie Foudy | USA | 24 | 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 |
| Homare Sawa | Japan | 24 | 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 |
| Birgit Prinz | Germany | 24 | 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 |
| Joy Fawcett | USA | 23 | 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 |
| Mia Hamm | USA | 23 | 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 |
Youngest, oldest players in Women’s World Cup history
The age gaps between young guns and wily veterans can often be a fascinating study in how talent is spread across not just the globe geographically, but also across various player demographics.
The youngest player ever to appear in a Women’s World Cup match was Ifeanyi Chiejine of Nigeria, who came on against North Korea in the 1999 tournament at just 16 years, 34 days old. Chiejine would go on to a nine-year international career, collecting 15 goals in 61 caps, including three World Cup tournaments. Chiejine tragically passed away in 2019 at 36 years old due to illness.
Incredibly, the youngest player to appear in a Women’s World Cup qualifier came on the field in 2009 at just 13 years, 131 days old as Alina Litvinenko saw action for Kyrgyzstan against Jordan.
Meanwhile, the oldest player to appear in a Women’s World Cup match is Formiga of Brazil, who took the field against France in 2019 at 41 years, 112 days old.
That’s still a far cry from the oldest player to appear in a Women’s World Cup qualifying match, as Tonina Dimech of Malta played in a match against Turkey in 2010 at an incredible 49 years, 110 days old.
