Marta of Brazil is the all time top scorer at the FIFA Womens World Cup with 17 goals, scored at the five tournaments from 2003 to 2019. FIFA records her 17th goal, a penalty against Italy on 18 June 2019, as the most by any player at a senior World Cup, men or women, one more than the 16 of Miroslav Klose. Birgit Prinz of Germany and Abby Wambach of the United States share second place on 14, and Michelle Akers of the United States is fourth on 12, scored in only 13 matches. Akers also holds the single tournament record, 10 goals at China 1991, and shares the single match record of five goals with Alex Morgan. The leaderboard has not changed since 2019, because no leading scorer added a goal in 2023. The next chance to move it is the 2027 tournament in Brazil, from 24 June to 25 July 2027.
The leading Womens World Cup scorers, 1991 to 2023
Nine tournaments have been played since the first Womens World Cup in China in 1991, and the top of the scoring list belongs to the players who appeared in several of them for strong teams. The table below lists 18 players with at least eight goals whose totals we confirmed with FIFA, with the data centre of the German federation (DFB), with the national federations of the United States, Canada and France, or with Opta. Seven of the 18 played for the United States and five for Germany, the two nations that have won six of the nine titles, as set out in our list of Womens World Cup title winners.
A record set in 2019 and still standing: Marta leads by three goals, and the closest player who also appeared at the 2023 tournament, Christine Sinclair, finished on 10.
| Player | Team | Goals | Matches | Goals per match | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marta | Brazil | 17 | 20 (2003 to 2019) | 0.85 | 2003 to 2023 (6) |
| Birgit Prinz | Germany | 14 | 24 | 0.58 | 1995 to 2011 (5) |
| Abby Wambach | United States | 14 | 25 | 0.56 | 2003 to 2015 (4) |
| Michelle Akers | United States | 12 | 13 | 0.92 | 1991 to 1999 (3) |
| Sun Wen | China | 11 | - | - | 1991 to 2003 (4) |
| Cristiane | Brazil | 11 | - | - | 2003 to 2019 |
| Bettina Wiegmann | Germany | 11 | 22 | 0.50 | 1991 to 2003 |
| Ann Kristin Aarones | Norway | 10 | - | - | 1995 and 1999 (2) |
| Heidi Mohr | Germany | 10 | 12 | 0.83 | 1991 and 1995 |
| Christine Sinclair | Canada | 10 | 21 (2003 to 2019) | 0.48 | 2003 to 2023 |
| Carli Lloyd | United States | 10 | 25 | 0.40 | 2007 to 2019 (4) |
| Megan Rapinoe | United States | 9 | 17 (2011 to 2019) | 0.53 | 2011 to 2023 (4) |
| Alex Morgan | United States | 9 | 22 | 0.41 | 2011 to 2023 (4) |
| Celia Sasic | Germany | 8 | 11 | 0.73 | 2011 and 2015 |
| Kerstin Garefrekes | Germany | 8 | 16 | 0.50 | 2003 to 2011 |
| Mia Hamm | United States | 8 | - | - | 1991 to 2003 |
| Kristine Lilly | United States | 8 | 30 | 0.27 | 1991 to 2007 (5) |
| Eugenie Le Sommer | France | 8 | 20 | 0.40 | 2011 to 2023 (4) |
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A dash means the figure is not published by FIFA, a national federation or Opta, so no rate is calculated. For Marta, Sinclair and Rapinoe the match count covers the tournaments up to 2019, in which all their goals were scored; each also played in 2023 without scoring. Goals per match are BusinessStats calculations.
Three features of the list stand out. First, the gap at the top. Marta passed Prinz in June 2015 with her 15th goal, a penalty against Korea Republic in Montreal, and moved three clear in 2019. Second, the age of the records. Thirteen of the 18 players made their World Cup debut before 2005, and only Le Sommer, Rapinoe, Morgan and Sasic began after 2010. Third, the concentration in a few countries: the United States, Germany and Brazil account for 14 of the 18 names. Players who reach 10 goals almost always play at least three tournaments and reach the knockout rounds each time, because the extra matches are where the goals accumulate.
The modern players near the top show how hard the climb has become. Christine Sinclair, the all time leading international scorer in football, finished her World Cup career on 10 goals. Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe each ended on nine after playing at four tournaments, including 2023, when neither scored. For a different view of the same careers, the number of matches each player appeared in, see our ranking of the most Womens World Cup appearances.
Goals per match: Akers and Marta are the most efficient of the leaders
Totals reward longevity, so a rate measure is a useful second view. Where the number of matches is published, Michelle Akers has the best record of the leading scorers: 12 goals in 13 matches, or 0.92 per match. Opta counts her playing time at 1,003 minutes across three tournaments, which works out at one goal every 84 minutes. Ten of her goals came at the 1991 tournament in six matches, according to FIFA. Marta follows at 0.85 per match over the 20 matches of the tournaments in which she scored, and Heidi Mohr of Germany, who scored 10 goals in 12 matches in 1991 and 1995, is third at 0.83.
Two early stars lead on efficiency: Akers and Mohr built their totals in the 12 team tournaments of 1991 and 1995, when the gap between the strongest and weakest teams was widest.
The rates also show the cost of playing many matches in a deep tournament run. Kristine Lilly played a record 30 World Cup matches over five tournaments, according to U.S. Soccer in 2015, and scored eight goals, a rate of 0.27. Carli Lloyd and Abby Wambach both played 25 matches; Wambach turned them into 14 goals, Lloyd into 10. Celia Sasic had the shortest route into the list, eight goals in 11 matches at 2011 and 2015, and FIFA calculated that her six goals in 2015 took 553 minutes, one every 92 minutes. The players with the most matches at the men World Cup show the same trade off between volume and rate.
- A match counts when a player appears, from the start or as a substitute, in a final tournament match.
- Goals in penalty shoot-outs are excluded; penalties scored during play or extra time count.
- Rates are shown only where FIFA, a national federation or Opta publishes the match count; we did not reconstruct counts from match reports.
- Marta (20 matches, 2003 to 2019), Sinclair (21, 2003 to 2019) and Rapinoe (17, 2011 to 2019) are measured over the tournaments in which they scored; their 2023 matches, published by no primary source we reached, would lower the rate.
Marta: 17 goals across five tournaments
Marta scored at five consecutive Womens World Cups. FIFA gives her goals as three at USA 2003, when she was 17, seven at China 2007, four at Germany 2011 and one at Canada 2015, the penalty against Korea Republic on 9 June 2015 that took her past Prinz with a 15th goal. At France 2019 she added two more, the second a penalty against Italy on 18 June 2019 that FIFA described as her 17th and the record for any player at the men or women World Cup. She played at a sixth tournament in 2023, when Brazil went out in the group stage, without scoring.
China 2007 was the peak: seven goals, the adidas Golden Boot and a place in the final, 41 percent of her career World Cup total in one tournament.
Her record sits alongside the men tournament. Miroslav Klose of Germany scored 16 goals at the men World Cup, a record covered in our list of leading scorers at the men World Cup since 1930. Marta needed 20 matches for her 17 goals. For the most recent men tournament, see our page on the Qatar 2022 top scorers. Outside the World Cup, FIFA credits Marta with 115 goals in 175 matches for Brazil and six awards as the best player in the world, and in January 2024 it named a new annual prize for the best goal in the women game, the Marta Award, after her.
| Tournament | Goals | Running total | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA 2003 | 3 | 3 | Debut aged 17; FIFA: three goals in four games |
| China 2007 | 7 | 10 | adidas Golden Boot; Brazil runner up |
| Germany 2011 | 4 | 14 | Brazil out in the quarter final |
| Canada 2015 | 1 | 15 | Penalty against Korea Republic passes Prinz on 14 |
| France 2019 | 2 | 17 | Penalty against Italy, 18 June 2019, sets the record |
| Australia and New Zealand 2023 | 0 | 17 | Sixth tournament; Brazil out in the group stage |
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Only one other player has scored at five tournaments. Opta lists Christine Sinclair of Canada alongside Marta as the two players with goals at five different Womens World Cups, both from 2003 to 2019. Prinz and Lilly also played at five tournaments each, Prinz from 1995 to 2011 and Lilly from 1991 to 2007.
Every Golden Boot winner and the winning tally, 1991 to 2023
The adidas Golden Boot goes to the top scorer of each tournament. Under the FIFA rule, if two or more players are level on goals the award goes to the player with more assists, and if that does not separate them, to the player who spent the fewest minutes on the pitch. The rule has decided two of the last three tournaments. In 2015 Celia Sasic and Carli Lloyd both scored six and FIFA gave the award to Sasic; in 2019 Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan both finished with six goals and three assists, and Rapinoe won because she reached the tally in less playing time. England forward Ellen White also scored six in 2019 and received the Bronze Boot.
| Tournament | Winner | Team | Goals | How it was decided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China 1991 | Michelle Akers | United States | 10 | Outright; in six matches |
| Sweden 1995 | Ann Kristin Aarones | Norway | - | Outright top scorer, per FIFA |
| USA 1999 | Sissi and Sun Wen | Brazil and China | 7 each | Award shared |
| USA 2003 | Birgit Prinz | Germany | 7 | Outright |
| China 2007 | Marta | Brazil | 7 | Outright |
| Germany 2011 | Homare Sawa | Japan | 5 | Outright |
| Canada 2015 | Celia Sasic | Germany | 6 | Level with Carli Lloyd on six |
| France 2019 | Megan Rapinoe | United States | 6 | Level with Alex Morgan on goals and assists; fewer minutes |
| Australia and New Zealand 2023 | Hinata Miyazawa | Japan | 5 | Outright |
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Bigger tournaments, smaller winning totals: no Golden Boot winner has passed seven goals since 1991, and the last three editions were won with five or six.
The winning tallies show how the tournament has changed. Akers needed six matches in 1991 for her 10 goals, at a tournament of 12 teams. Since the field expanded to 24 teams in 2015 and to 32 in 2023, the top scorer has played seven matches if her team reached the final, but the winning tally has fallen to five or six, because the goals are now spread across more teams and more scorers. Hinata Miyazawa won in 2023 with five goals even though Japan went out in the quarter final; FIFA noted that she was the second Japan player to win the award after Homare Sawa, who scored five in 2011 and also won the Golden Ball.
- United States: 2 (Akers 1991, Rapinoe 2019).
- Germany: 2 (Prinz 2003, Sasic 2015).
- Japan: 2 (Sawa 2011, Miyazawa 2023).
- Brazil: 2 (Sissi 1999, shared; Marta 2007).
- China: 1 (Sun Wen 1999, shared).
- Norway: 1 (Aarones 1995).
- FIFA records that Sun Wen (1999), Prinz (2003), Sawa (2011) and Rapinoe (2019) also won the Golden Ball for the best player at the tournament in which they took the Golden Boot.
Most goals in one match, one tournament and by one team
The individual records are dominated by two American forwards, 28 years apart. Michelle Akers scored five goals in the 7 to 0 win over Chinese Taipei at the 1991 tournament, the first Womens World Cup, and finished it with 10 goals in six matches, including the winning goal in the final against Norway. Alex Morgan equalled the five goal record against Thailand on 11 June 2019 in Reims, in a 13 to 0 win that U.S. Soccer and FIFA record as the largest margin of victory in the history of either the men or women World Cup. Morgan also provided three assists that day, the first player to combine five goals and three assists in one Womens World Cup match.
| Record | Holder | Figure | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most goals, all tournaments | Marta (Brazil) | 17 | 2003 to 2019 |
| Most goals in one tournament | Michelle Akers (United States) | 10 in six matches | China 1991 |
| Most goals in one match | Michelle Akers; Alex Morgan (United States) | 5 | 1991 v Chinese Taipei; 2019 v Thailand |
| Most goals by a team in one tournament | United States | 26 | France 2019 |
| Previous team record | United States; Germany | 25 | 1991; 2003 |
| Largest win | United States 13 Thailand 0 | 13 goal margin | France 2019 |
| Previous largest win | Germany 11 Argentina 0 | 11 goal margin | China 2007 |
| Most consecutive matches with a goal | Carli Lloyd (United States) | 6 | 2015 to 2019 |
| Most tournaments with a goal | Marta (Brazil); Christine Sinclair (Canada) | 5 | 2003 to 2019 |
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Several other marks belong to the same players. Carli Lloyd scored a hat trick in the first 16 minutes of the 2015 final against Japan, which the United States won 5 to 2, and FIFA lists her third minute goal in that match as the fastest in a Womens World Cup final. In June 2019 she scored in a sixth consecutive World Cup match, breaking the record of five that Birgit Prinz set in 2003, and at 36 years and 11 months became the oldest player to score more than once in a Womens World Cup match. Megan Rapinoe scored in the 2019 final two days after her 34th birthday, the oldest scorer in a final, and Homare Sawa equalised in the 117th minute of the 2011 final, the latest goal in a final.
Brazil produced the most notable hat trick of the modern era. Cristiane scored all three goals in a 3 to 0 win over Jamaica at France 2019, the first hat trick by a Brazil player at the tournament since 1999, and she finished her World Cup career on 11 goals, level with Sun Wen and Bettina Wiegmann. In the same tournament Sam Kerr scored four times in a 4 to 1 win over Jamaica. The United States team of 2019 also set records for goals in a group stage (18) and for different scorers in one match, seven, a mark it shares with Germany.
Goals per tournament and per match, 2011 to 2023
The total number of goals at each tournament depends first on the format. The first two tournaments had 12 teams and 26 matches, the next four had 16 teams and 32 matches, 2015 and 2019 had 24 teams and 52 matches, and 2023 had 32 teams and 64 matches. FIFA reported that 163 goals had been scored before the 2023 final; Spain won the final 1 to 0 against England, for a total of 164, the most at any Womens World Cup and 18 more than the previous high of 146, reached in both 2015 and 2019. Germany 2011, with 86 goals in 32 matches, is the most recent 32 match tournament, so its total is shown for comparison.
More goals, fewer per match: 2023 set a record of 164 goals, but at 2.56 per match the rate was below the 2.81 of 2015 and 2019.
| Tournament | Teams | Matches | Goals | Goals per match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China 1991 | 12 | 26 | - | - |
| Sweden 1995 | 12 | 26 | - | - |
| USA 1999 | 16 | 32 | - | - |
| USA 2003 | 16 | 32 | - | - |
| China 2007 | 16 | 32 | - | - |
| Germany 2011 | 16 | 32 | 86 | 2.69 |
| Canada 2015 | 24 | 52 | 146 | 2.81 |
| France 2019 | 24 | 52 | 146 | 2.81 |
| Australia and New Zealand 2023 | 32 | 64 | 164 | 2.56 |
| Brazil 2027 | 32 | 64 | To be played | To be played |
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Two FIFA milestones from 2023 fix the size of the record book. Barbra Banda of Zambia scored the 1,000th goal in Womens World Cup history against Costa Rica, and Colombia 2 Korea Republic 0 in Sydney was the 300th match. FIFA also reported that 34 of the 2023 goals came from set plays, 28 from corners and six from free kicks. The equivalent history for the men tournament is on our page about goals scored at every men World Cup since 1930.
The United States has scored the most goals
The United States is the leading scoring team at the Womens World Cup. Before the 2023 tournament it had scored 138 goals in 50 matches, ahead of Germany on 121 and Norway on 93, according to the International Olympic Committee summary published for the 2023 tournament. The United States was also the only country to have played the maximum possible number of matches at every edition up to then, and it holds the single tournament record of 26 goals, set at France 2019. U.S. Soccer counted 32 different American goal scorers at Womens World Cups after the Thailand match in June 2019, second to Germany on 34.
| Team | Goals scored | Matches | Titles to 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 138 | 50 | 4 (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019) |
| Germany | 121 | - | 2 (2003, 2007) |
| Norway | 93 | - | 1 (1995) |
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Those team totals explain the national make up of the scorers table. Seven of the 18 confirmed leaders are American, five are German and one is Norwegian, and between them the three countries won seven of the first eight titles. In the 24 and 32 team formats, a team that reaches the semi finals plays seven matches, against three for a team that leaves in the group stage, and that extra playing time is where career totals of 10 or more goals come from. The current strength of these teams is tracked in our FIFA world ranking of women national teams.
What the 2027 tournament means for the record book
The 10th Womens World Cup will be played in Brazil from 24 June to 25 July 2027, the first in South America. FIFA confirmed 32 teams, 29 through direct qualification and three through a play-off tournament, and in August 2026 published a 64 match schedule across eight host cities: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte and Fortaleza. Both the opening match and the final are at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.
The arithmetic of the record is simple. A player needs 18 goals to pass Marta, and the Golden Boot has not been won with more than seven goals since 1991. Even a forward who matched the best tournament of the last three editions, six goals, would need three such tournaments to reach Marta. The single match and single tournament records are more exposed: in a 32 team field with large gaps in strength, such as the 13 to 0 win in 2019, a five goal game is possible. The money that comes with a deep run in 2027 is covered on our page about Womens World Cup prize money, and the 2023 payouts by team on our 2023 prize money breakdown.
How the figures on this page were compiled
- Scope: goals at FIFA Womens World Cup final tournaments from 1991 to 2023. Qualifying matches, Olympic tournaments and goals in penalty shoot-outs are excluded.
- Player totals come from FIFA, from the DFB data centre for German players, from U.S. Soccer, Canada Soccer and the French federation (FFF) for their players, and from Opta (Stats Perform) for Sun Wen and Cristiane. Each total was confirmed in at least one of these sources in November 2026.
- Several players listed on eight or nine goals in some secondary compilations are not in the table, because FIFA, a national federation or Opta does not publish their totals in the pages we reached. They will be added when confirmed.
- Match counts are shown only where a primary source publishes them; otherwise the cell shows a dash. Goals per match, running totals and shares are BusinessStats calculations.
- Tournament goal totals are shown for 2011 to 2023 only. The 2011 total is our sum of the DFB data centre fixture list; 2015, 2019 and 2023 come from FIFA. Totals for 1991 to 2007 were left out because no primary source we reached publishes them; the table shows a dash.
- Team totals are the pre 2023 figures published by the International Olympic Committee (Olympics.com). The previous version of this page included confederation and nationality counts for a top 50 list and an estimate of the number of different scorers; these could not be verified and have been removed.
Womens World Cup top scorers in eight numbers
Questions about Womens World Cup top scorers
Marta of Brazil, with 17 goals scored at the five tournaments from 2003 to 2019. Birgit Prinz of Germany and Abby Wambach of the United States share second place with 14 goals each, and Michelle Akers of the United States is fourth with 12.
No. FIFA records her 17 goals as the most by any player at a senior World Cup. The men record is 16 goals, held by Miroslav Klose of Germany, which Marta passed with her penalty against Italy on 18 June 2019.
Michelle Akers of the United States, with 10 goals in six matches at the first tournament in China in 1991. No Golden Boot winner since has scored more than seven.
Five goals. Michelle Akers scored five against Chinese Taipei in a 7 to 0 win in 1991, and Alex Morgan equalled the record against Thailand on 11 June 2019, when the United States won 13 to 0.
Hinata Miyazawa of Japan, with five goals at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand. She was the second Japan player to win the award, after Homare Sawa, who also scored five in 2011.
Among players with a published match count, Michelle Akers, with 12 goals in 13 matches, or 0.92 per match. Marta scored 17 goals in the 20 matches of the five tournaments in which she scored, or 0.85 per match.
The award goes to the player with more assists, and if they are still level, to the player who played fewer minutes. In 2019 Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan both had six goals and three assists, and Rapinoe won on playing time.
The United States, with 138 goals in 50 matches before the 2023 tournament, ahead of Germany on 121 and Norway on 93. The United States also scored a record 26 goals at the 2019 tournament.
Brazil hosts the 2027 tournament from 24 June to 25 July 2027, with 32 teams and 64 matches in eight host cities. The final will be played at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.
FIFA: Magnificent Marta makes history, 9 June 2015 (Marta goals by tournament 2003 to 2015, 15th goal).
FIFA: Stars step up as Australia and Brazil march through, 17 June 2019 (Marta 17th goal, Sam Kerr four goals).
FIFA: France 2019 group stage facts and figures (Marta record, five editions, 13 to 0).
FIFA: Michelle Akers (USA) profile (10 goals in six matches in 1991, five goals against Chinese Taipei).
FIFA: Birgit Prinz (GER) profile, 15 September 2017.
FIFA: Sun Wen (CHN) profile (seven goals at USA 1999, shared Golden Shoe).
FIFA: When Aarones and Norway ruled the world, 8 March 2019 (10 World Cup goals, 1995 Golden Boot).
FIFA: adidas Golden Boot Award, list of winners 1991 to 2019 and tie break rule.
FIFA: Sensational Rapinoe showered with gold, 6 July 2019 (2019 Golden Boot tie break, Ellen White).
FIFA: The nominees in numbers, 2015 (Sasic six goals in 553 minutes, Lloyd six goals).
FIFA: Homare Sawa (JPN) profile (five goals and Golden Boot at Germany 2011).
FIFA: The 19ers in numbers (United States team and scoring records at France 2019).
FIFA: Highlights, heroines and stats from the first seven finals, 3 July 2019.
FIFA: Figures in focus, August 2023 (163 goals before the final, 1,000th goal, 300th match).
FIFA: FIFA Womens World Cup 2023 tournament recap (goals per match, set play goals).
FIFA: Marta: I have got a dream, 17 January 2024 (six tournaments, 115 goals in 175 matches).
FIFA: FIFA Womens World Cup Brazil 2027 dates confirmed, 10 December 2024.
FIFA: 2027 champions to lift trophy at Maracana as match schedule unveiled, 20 August 2026.
Asian Football Confederation: Japan Miyazawa claims Golden Boot, 20 August 2023 (five goals; 2023 final 1 to 0).
UEFA: Germany win by a head, 12 October 2003 (Prinz seven goals, Germany 25 goals).
DFB data centre: Player profiles of Birgit Prinz, Bettina Wiegmann, Heidi Mohr, Kerstin Garefrekes and Celia Sasic (World Cup matches and goals), and the 2011 Womens World Cup fixture list.
U.S. Soccer: Abby Wambach announces retirement, October 2015 (14 goals in 25 World Cup matches).
U.S. Soccer: Carli Lloyd announces retirement, August 2021 (10 goals in 25 matches at four World Cups).
U.S. Soccer: USA surges to World Cup record 13 to 0 win, 11 June 2019 (Morgan five goals, Hamm and Lilly eight goals).
U.S. Soccer: USA through to World Cup knockout rounds, 16 June 2019 (Lloyd six consecutive matches with a goal).
U.S. Soccer: USWNT vs Netherlands preview, July 2023 (Morgan and Rapinoe nine World Cup goals each).
U.S. Soccer: USA vs Germany semi final preview, 30 June 2015 (Lilly 30 matches at five World Cups).
Canada Soccer: Sinclair to leave international football at the end of 2023 (10 World Cup goals).
Canada Soccer: Squad for Australia and New Zealand 2023 (Sinclair 21 matches and 10 goals at five World Cups, 2003 to 2019).
U.S. Soccer: Megan Rapinoe to retire, July 2023 (17 World Cup matches and nine goals before 2023).
U.S. Soccer: Alex Morgan announces retirement, September 2024 (22 World Cup matches, nine goals).
FFF: Eugenie Le Sommer player record (20 World Cup matches, eight goals).
Opta (Stats Perform): All Time Top Scorers at the Womens World Cup, 21 August 2023 (Akers 13 matches and 1,003 minutes; Sun Wen and Cristiane 11 goals; Marta and Sinclair five scoring tournaments).
International Olympic Committee: USWNT at the FIFA Womens World Cup 2023: stats and records (team goals before 2023).