FIFA Women's World Cup Records: The 10 That Matter Most

The United States has won more Women’s World Cups than any other nation, with four titles (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019). That’s the single biggest record in the tournament’s history, but it’s far from the only one worth knowing. Brazil’s Marta has scored more World Cup goals than anyone, male or female, in the sport’s history. The USA once won a match 13-0. And a crowd of over 90,000 packed the Rose Bowl in 1999 for a final that changed women’s sport. Below are the 10 records that best define the FIFA Women’s World Cup, ranked and verified against FIFA’s own data as of 2026.

The 10 biggest records, at a glance

How we ranked these records

We prioritized records by two factors: how hard they are to break, and how much they define the tournament’s identity. Title counts and career-goal totals sit at the top because they compound over decades and reward sustained dominance rather than a single great tournament. Single-match and single-tournament marks (the 13-0 win, Akers’ 10 goals in 1991) rank just behind, since they’re spectacular but tied to one result. Attendance and “first/youngest/oldest” records close out the list - they say more about the sport’s growth and depth than about any one team’s supremacy. Every figure below is cross-checked against FIFA’s official records and at least one independent source.

The USA’s dynasty, and the challengers closing in

No nation has dominated the Women’s World Cup like the United States. Their four titles are more than any other country has managed, and for most of the tournament’s history the USA set the standard everyone else chased. Germany, with two titles (2003, 2007), is the only other multiple winner. Norway (1995) and Japan (2011) each broke through once, and Spain became the newest name on the trophy in 2023, beating England 1-0 in the final in Sydney behind a golden generation led by Ballon d’Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas - a pair worth knowing alongside the most Ballon d’Or-winning players in the men’s game.

Marta’s goal record may stand for a generation

Brazil’s Marta is the defining individual record-holder of Women’s World Cup history. Her 17 goals, scored across six tournaments between 2003 and 2023, put her ahead of Germany’s Birgit Prinz and the USA’s Abby Wambach, who are tied for second on 14 apiece. What separates Marta further is longevity: teammate Formiga holds the record for tournament appearances, having played in seven straight editions from 1995 to 2019 - a run of 24 years that is unmatched by any player in World Cup history, men’s or women’s. Between them, two Brazilians own the two hardest individual records in the sport to break.

The 13-0 that rewrote the record book

At the 2019 tournament, the United States beat Thailand 13-0, the largest margin of victory in Women’s World Cup history. It broke Germany’s previous record, an 11-0 win over Argentina at the 2007 tournament, and remains the most one-sided result the competition has ever produced. Michelle Akers’ 10-goal haul at the inaugural 1991 tournament is the closest thing to a rival record: no player has come within three goals of it since, across more than three decades and eight editions.

A tournament that keeps growing

Some of the most important Women’s World Cup records are about scale rather than scorelines. The 1999 final between the USA and China drew 90,185 fans to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena - still the largest crowd ever recorded for a standalone women’s sporting event, decided (fittingly) by a penalty shootout. The 2023 tournament, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, set the all-time record for total attendance instead: 1,978,274 fans across 64 matches, more than 600,000 above the previous high from 2015. For more on how that measures up across sports generally, see our list of the highest-attendance sporting events ever recorded.

Where the record book stands in 2026

As of August 2026, every record on this list still belongs to its 2023-or-earlier holder - the next Women’s World Cup, hosted by Brazil in 2027, hasn’t been played yet. The most likely record to fall is attendance: a home tournament for Brazil, one of the sport’s most passionate fan bases, has a real shot at topping 2023’s 1.98 million. Marta’s goal record and the USA’s title count look safer, though Spain’s rise since 2023 suggests the “most titles” conversation may not stay a two-team race between the USA and Germany forever. For a broader look at the players behind these marks, see our ranked list of the greatest female soccer players of all time.