The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be kicking off in just a few weeks. Soccer fans around the world are gearing up to see their favorite athletes take the pitch and battle it out on the biggest football stage.
This year's tournament will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand, which is the first FIFA Women's World Cup to have more than one host nation. It will also be the first senior World Cup to be held across multiple confederations, with Australia being in the Asian Confederation and New Zealand in the Oceanian Confederation.
Entering its ninth edition, the Women's World Cup has been filled with many monumental and historic moments throughout the years. One of the biggest things used to measure success in the FIFA World Cup is the number of goals that are scored by a specific player over the course of history and during a game.
This year's World Cup is on track to be the most attended and the most anticipated Women’s World Cup in history with more than a million tickets already sold online. But before we dive into the Women's World Cup this year, let's take a look back in history at some Women's World Cup scorers:
Who has the most goals in Women's World Cup history?
No player scored as many goals at the Women’s World Cup as Brazilian striker Marta, who found the net 17 times in just 20 appearances across five tournaments.
American forward Abby Wambach and German striker Birgit Prinz hold the No. 2 spot after scoring 14 goals at the Women’s World Cup. And USA legend Michelle Akers scored 12 goals in just 13 matches at the World Cup, with eight of those coming in her first four games.
Who scored the most goals in a women's World Cup soccer tournament?
Michelle Akers holds the record for the most goals scored in a tournament with 10. The red-headed striker scored 10 goals in the inaugural tournament, including two goals in the final, to win the first-ever women's Golden Boot.
Germany's Heidi Mohr follows behind Akers with seven goals at a single World Cup, which she also did so in 1991.
Who scored the most goals in a single Women's World Cup soccer match?
The most goals scored by an individual in a FIFA Women's World Cup match is five and was achieved by Akers in Foshan, China in 1991. USA's Alex Morgan tied Akers' record set in the USA's 13-0 win over Thailand.
Which team has scored the most goals in a Women's World Cup game?
Team USA soared to a 13-0 win over Thailand, breaking the record for the largest margin of victory ever in a Women’s World Cup match in 2019.