FIFA Women's World Cup: The most impressive records ever at the FIFA Women's World Cup - can they be broken in 2023?
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Updated 18/07/2023 at 12:08 GMT
As the highly anticipated 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup approaches, we take a look at some remarkable records set in previous tournaments and examine whether they could be shattered this summer. From Michelle Akers' goal-scoring feat to Formiga's unprecedented consistency, we also explore a potential new youngest goal-scorer and the challenge of surpassing Nadine Angerer's clean sheet record.
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The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is fast approaching, and while the best players in the world will be focused on winning the tournament, records will naturally be broken along the way in what promises to be the biggest-ever edition of the tournament.
Here are some of the most impressive records from the Women's World Cup and whether we think they could be broken this summer.
MOST GOALS SCORED AT A FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP
Michelle Akers solidified her legacy with her remarkable performances at the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, scoring a record ten goals in the inaugural edition of the tournament, the highest tally ever recorded by a player in a single edition of the tournament.
Akers notably netted five goals in a resounding 7-0 victory over Chinese Taipei and scored a crucial brace in the thrilling 2-1 win against Norway in the final to hand the USA their first World Cup trophy. She won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer as well as the Silver Ball, recognising her as the second-best player of the competition behind team-mate Carin Jennings.
She retired in 2000 with an international record of 105 goals in 153 appearances. She was jointly awarded the FIFA Player of the Century title in the same year, sharing the honour with China's Sun Wen.
Could this record be broken at the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand? The World Cup has seen many great goalscorers come and go, but no one else has managed to hit double digits. Heidi Mohr (Germany), Sissi (Brazil), Sun Wen (China), Birgit Prinz (Germany), and Marta (Brazil) have all come closest, scoring seven goals in various editions of the tournament over the years.
Ahead of Australia and New Zealand, there are several great goalscorers, and with more teams than ever competing in the illustrious tournament, there is a slim chance that one of the likes of Sam Kerr, Alex Popp, Ada Hegerberg, or Alex Morgan could break Akers' record.
YOUNGEST GOAL SCORER AT A FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP
Russia's Elena Danilova represented her country in the 2003 World Cup, and scored her team's sole goal in a 7-1 loss to eventual champions Germany in the quarter-finals. She was only 16 years and 107 days old on the day.
Despite her clear talent from an exceptionally young age, Danilova's career was riddled with injuries, and she never managed to further make her mark, retiring from football in 2018.
Could this record be broken at the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand? Only four 16-year-olds have been called up for the upcoming tournament, and only one of them is younger than Danilova at the time she scored her goal - South Korea's Casey Phair.
South Korea's head coach Colin Bell has said that Phair “is not going as a passenger, but as a valuable member of the squad and has every chance of getting into the team”.
“We’re taking care of her, she’s taken very well to the team. She’s in the squad on merit. She deserves, on her performance, to be selected.”
OLDEST GOAL SCORER AT A FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP
It's no surprise to see Formiga as the oldest goalscorer at a FIFA Women's World Cup, who scored during Brazil's Group E opener against South Korea in 2015 at the age of 37 years and 98 days.
Seen as a trailblazer that has forged the path for future generations, Formiga has several records to her name, including being the only player in history to have participated in seven World Cups. Her remarkable dedication to representing Brazil led her to accumulate an impressive 234 appearances over a span of 26 years, setting a record for any Brazilian player, male or female.
Could this record be broken at the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand? Definitely a possibility!
Some of the game's greatest goal-scorers are older than Formiga was at the time of her last goal and could certainly pose a threat to this record. Christine Sinclair, Megan Rapinoe, and Formiga's former team mate Marta all have high chances of scoring in Australia and New Zealand this summer.
MOST CLEAN SHEETS KEPT AT A FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP
Nadine Angerer set the record by not conceding a single goal in 2007 when Germany retained their title, going 540 minutes without letting anything past her.
In the final, she even came up against Marta, who won a penalty, but somehow Angerer managed to save the legendary Brazilian's spot kick, preventing the finalists to draw level at 1-1.
Looking back on her tournament, Angerer has said: "Obviously, I’m particularly proud that I didn’t concede a single goal during the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China and was able to save that penalty from Marta during the final against Brazil. That was important for me because it was my first major tournament as first-choice goalkeeper, but let’s not forget that football is a team sport, and I also know that the awesome team we had back then were sensational.”
Could this record be broken at the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand? This is a record that would take a stunning overall performance, not just from a goalkeeper, but from an entire team to break. Just as more teams competing will mean more goals being scored, it also means that it'll be harder to maintain a high level of play and consistency throughout the tournament. You can never count out scrappy goals or unlucky penalties even if the best goalkeeper in the world is between the sticks.
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