The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is set to be a thrilling tournament as Australia and New Zealand take on co-hosting duties for the first time.
Alongside the battle for team glory, there are also a some key individual awards on offer, as the biggest stars in women’s football take centre-stage Down Under.
The Golden Boot is a notable and, if recent history is anything to go by, competitive prize: recent tournaments have seen the award won by a low-key final goal tally.
The past three Golden Boots have been secured with a maximum of six goals scored. Will anyone get close to Michelle Akers’ single-tournament record this year?
MORE: Who has played in most Women’s World Cups?
Women’s World Cup top goal scorer 2023: Updated Golden Boot rankings
*Correct as of July 24
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals (Penalties) |
Assists | Matches | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sophia Smith | USA | 2 (0) | 1 | 1 | 90 |
| =. | Hinata Miyazawa | Japan | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 | 90 |
| =. | Alexandra Popp | Germany | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 | 83 |
| =. | Ary Borges | Brazil | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 | |
| 5. | Esther Gonzalez | Spain | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 63 |
| =. | Klara Buhl | Germany | 1 (0) | 1 | 1 | 64 |
| =. | Ramona Bachmann | Switzerland | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 70 |
| =. | Hannah Wilkinson | N. Zealand | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 86 |
| =. | Seraina Piubel | Switzerland | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 89 |
| =. | Steph Catley | Australia | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 90 |
| =. | Lindsey Horan | USA | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 90 |
| =. | Aitana Bonmati | Spain | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 | 90 |
| =. | Mina Tanaka | Japan | 1 (0) | 1 | 1 | 66 |
| =. | Jun Endo | Japan | 1 (0) | 1 | 1 | 77 |
| =. | Riko Ueki | Japan | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 33 |
| =. | Georgia Stanway | England | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 90 |
| =. | Amalie Vangsgaard | Denmark | 1(0) | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| =. | Hildah Magaia | South Africa | 1(0) | 0 | 1 | 56 |
| =. | Frida Rolfo | Sweden | 1(0) | 0 | 1 | 67 |
| =. | Amanda Ilestedt | Sweden | 1(0) | 0 | 1 | 90 |
| =. | Stefanie van der Gragt | Netherlands | 1(0) | 0 | 1 | 90 |
| =. | Cristiana Girelli | Italy | 1(0) | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| =. | Lea Schuller | Germany | 1(0) | 0 | 1 | 25 |
- Own goals: 3 players
Women’s World Cup Golden Boot 2023 contenders
Heading into the tournament, the most eye-catching aspect of the Golden Boot race is the battle between experience and emerging stars.
USNWT veteran Alex Morgan is tipped to fire the defending champions through the tournament and add to her nine previous World Cup goals, although she missed a penalty in the opening win over Vietnam.
Other experienced names join Morgan on the list of strong options to win the Golden Boot in 2023 with England’s Rachel Daly predicted to be the key forward for the Lionesses.
However, there is a growing sense of a new name being added to the list and a break from the traditional nations dominating the award.
The USA, Germany and Brazil have traditionally produced the winner in previous World Cups, but the list of favourites for 2023 includes star names from Spain and Australia.
Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas is a strong option, despite not playing as an outright forward, alongside Spain teammate Jenni Hermoso.
Australia star Sam Kerr could also be a bold call, but a pre-tournament injury has dented her chances on the back of a sensational 12 months for the Chelsea striker.
Women’s World Cup Golden Boot 2023 odds
*Odds correct as of July 22
| Player | Nation | SkyBet |
| Sophia Smith | USA | 3/1 |
| Alex Morgan | USA | 5/1 |
| Rachel Daly | England | 12/1 |
| Esther Gonzalez | Spain | 12/1 |
| Alexandra Popp | Germany | 16/1 |
Golden Boot tiebreakers
FIFA rules over Golden Boot tiebreakers come into play if more than one player has scored the same amount of goals at the end of the tournament.
In that instance, assists per player will be used as the first tiebreaker, followed by the player to have scored and assisted the most goals within the least amount of playing time.
Most goals scored in a single Women’s World Cup
| Year | Player | Country | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Michelle Akers | USA | 10 |
| 1991 | Heidi Mohr | Germany | 7 |
| 1999 | Sun Wen | China | 7 |
| 1999 | Sissi | Brazil | 7 |
| 2003 | Birgit Prinz | Germany | 7 |
| 2007 | Marta | Brazil | 7 |
Women’s World Cup Golden Boot winners
Across eight editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, no player has won the Golden Boot on more than one occasion.
USA’s Michelle Akers holds the record for most goals in single a tournament, scoring 10 at the inaugural 1991 World Cup.
Brazilian legend Marta, who is the all-time top scorer at Women’s World Cups, won the Golden Boot in 2007, which Germany ended up winning.
Megan Rapinoe won the award at the last World Cup in 2019.
| Year | Host | Player | Nation | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | China | Michelle Akers | USA | 10 |
| 1995 | Sweden | Ann Kristin Aarones | Norway | 6 |
| 1999 | USA | Sun Wen / Sissi | China/Brazil | 7 |
| 2003 | USA | Birgit Prinz | Germany | 7 |
| 2007 | China | Marta | Brazil | 7 |
| 2011 | Germany | Homare Sawa | Japan | 5 |
| 2015 | Canada | Celia Sasic | Germany | 6 |
| 2019 | France | Megan Rapinoe | USA | 6 |
Who has scored most Women’s World Cup goals in history?
Marta leads the way at the top of the all-time Women’s World Cup goal list with 17, and she has the chance to build on that in 2023.
| Player | Nation | World Cup goals |
| Marta | Brazil | 17 |
| Birgit Prinz | Germany | 14 |
| Abby Wambach | USA | 14 |
| Michelle Akers | USA | 12 |
| Cristiane | Brazil | 11 |
| Wen Sun | China | 11 |
| Bettina Wiegmann | Germany | 11 |
| Ann-Kristin Aarones | Norway | 10 |
| Carli Lloyd | USA | 10 |
| Heidi Mohr | Germany | 10 |
| Christine Sinclair | Canada | 10 |