Women's World Cup: 51 most memorable moments

The FIFA Women's World Cup has produced some of the most iconic moments in soccer history since its establishment in 1991.

In the lead-up to this year's tournament, which will be broadcast on FOX Networks starting July 20, we're counting down the 51 most memorable moments of the Women's World Cup.

51. Wambach's final World Cup goal

No player in U.S. Soccer history has scored more goals at the World Cup than Abby Wambach. Her 14th and final goal at the tournament in 2015 secured the United States the top spot in Group D.

50. Cameroon shocks the Ferns

A goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time put Cameroon through to the knockout stage of the Women's World Cup for the second time in its history.

49. Australia stuns Brazil

Kyah Simon's goal in the 80th minute sent Brazil home from the 2015 World Cup and Australia through to the knockout stage.

48. Amandine Henry's wonder strike

Amandine Henry's reputation for scoring big goals in big games started at the 2015 World Cup, where she was awarded the Silver Ball as the tournament's second-best player.

47. Mia Hamm makes history

No keeper? No problem for the United States, which played its star forward Mia Hamm at goalkeeper for the final five minutes of its group stage match against China in the 1995 World Cup.

46. Sackey sends it in

Not only was Alberta Sackey's curler against Ghana her first-ever World Cup goal, it gave Ghana its first and only World Cup win.

45. Fast five for Switzerland

It took less than five minutes for Fabienne Humm to score a hat-trick in Swizterland's World Cup debut.

44. Dream debut for the Dutch

Not only was Lieke Martens' curler her first-ever World Cup goal, it was the Netherlands' first-ever goal at the World Cup.

43. Ri Un-uk from distance

Ri Un-uk's long-range effort wasn't the difference between a win and a loss for North Korea, but it did help its goal differential, which is what ultimately pushed it through to the knockout stage of the 2007 Women's World Cup.

42. The double-header

Cindy Parlow Cone's header was the United States' sixth goal in its 7-1 rout of Nigeria at the 1999 World Cup.

41. The inaugural tournament

The United States women's national team won the first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991.

40. USWNT makes it three

The United States lifted the Women's World Cup for the third time at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada.

39. Oh my, O'Reilly!

Heather O'Reilly opened the scoring for the U.S. in its 3-0 win over Colombia in the group stage of the 2011 World Cup in Germany.

38. Sinclair bends it with broken nose

Broken nose? No problem for Canada's Christine Sinclair.

37. Alex Morgan's first of many

Before Alex Morgan was the U.S. Soccer legend she is today, she was the youngest player on the United States' roster at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, trying to establish herself the world's biggest stage.

36. Marie Hammarstrom hammers it

It's safe to say Marie Hammarstrom will never forget her first goal for Sweden.

35. Kerr's history hat-trick

Sam Kerr became the first-ever Australian player — man or woman — to score a hat-trick when the Matildas beat Jamaica in its group stage-opener at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.

34. Colombia shocks France

No one picked No. 25-ranked Colombia to beat No. 5-ranked France at the 2015 World Cup in Canada, but that's exactly what it did.

33. Australia knocks out Canada

Australia qualified for its first Women's World Cup in 1995, but it wasn't able to advance to the knockout stage in any of its first three tries, going 0-2-7. In 2007, that changed.

32. Ellyse Perry's set piece stunner

Australia showed the important of practicing set pieces on the training ground in the quarterfinals of the 2011 World Cup in Germany.

31. Johansson from distance

It's safe to say the United States wasn't expecting Ingrid Johansson to shoot the ball from nearly 40 yards out.

30. Bronze finish for England

England earned its first-ever Women's World Cup knockout stage win in 2015 thanks to a stunner of a goal from Lucy Bronze.

29. Sun Wen's golden performance

China's Sun Wen was the star of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.

28. Hooper's heroics

Charmaine Hooper scored 71 goals during her illustrious international career with Canada — all pale in comparison to the one she scored against China at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup in the United States.

27. Kelly Smith's shoe celebration

Goal celebrations are a fun part of soccer's history, and Kelly Smith's celebration at the 2007 World Cup is up there with the best of them.

26. 99ers crash out

While the United States has experienced triumph at the Women's World Cup more than any other team, its also had its moment of failure, such as the 2003 World Cup.

25. Marta's tearful plea

Marta can add "world's greatest motivational speaker" to her long list of accolades.

24. Akers wins first Golden Boot

If the 1991 Women's World Cup belonged to anyone, it was the United States' Michelle Akers, who scored 10 goals at the inaugural tournament.

23. The Golden Girl

Birgit Prinz won the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball at the 2003 Women's World Cup.

22. Japan's magical team goal

Japan was absolutely unplayable at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, and there's no better example of that than the goal the team goal they scored against the Netherlands in the round of 16.

21. Sissi calls game

Brazil had settled its round of 16 matchup against Nigeria at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup in the United States — until it hadn't.

20. Laura Bassett's own goal

England was just seconds away from lining up for extra time against Japan in the 2015 Women's World Cup semifinal — then Laura Bassett's worst nightmare came true.

19. Marta breaks all-time goals record

As of 2019, no one has scored more goals at the World Cup than Brazil's Marta.

18. Brandi Chastain's redemption

Brandi Chastain scored two goals for the United States in the 1999 Women's World Cup quarterfinal, including an own goal that could have been costly.

17. Sweden's epic comeback

Group stage matches don't get much better than the one Sweden and Germany played at the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1995.

16. Japan shocks Germany

Japan played giant slayer against Germany in the 2011 Women's World Cup quarterfinals.

15. Hope Solo's big stop

The United States' dynasty nearly ended before it started at the 2015 Women's World Cup.

14. A rivalry is born

The rivalry between the United States and Norway started at the 1995 Women's World Cup.

13. Marta arrives

Brazil's Marta put on a show at the 2007 Women's World Cup and established herself as a global superstar.

12. Mia Hamm opens USA '99

It took just 17 minutes for Mia Hamm to put the host United States on the board at the 1999 Women's World Cup.

11. Germany goes back-to-back

Germany didn't concede a single goal during its back-to-back Women's World Cup run in 2007.

10. Alex Morgan sips her tea

Alex Morgan had a 30th birthday to remember at the 2019 Women's World Cup.

9. Kristine Lilly saves the 99ers

Kristine Lilly's clutch clearance kept China from beating the United States in the 1999 Women's World Cup final.

8. Germany's golden goal

The last golden goal ever scored at the World Cup was a meaningful one for Germany.

7. Marta's Brazil dances around the U.S.

It's hard to imagine the four-time World Cup champion United States women's national team getting out-classed on soccer's biggest stage, but that's exactly what happened at the 2007 Women's World Cup in China.

6. USA wins the first World Cup

The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup wasn't just the first World Cup the United States won; it was also the first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup.

5. USA goes back-to-back

The United States women's national team won its fourth Women's World Cup in 2019, and its first-ever back-to-back titles at the quadrennial tournament.

4. Carli Lloyd, hat-trick hero

The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup final between the United States and Japan had a lopsided score of 5-2, and Carli Lloyd was a big reason for that.

3. Japan beats USA in thrilling final

Japan made history in 2011, when it beat the United States to become the fourth-ever country to win the FIFA Women's World Cup.

2. Wambach sends it to penalties

It's hard to pick which was more impressive about the United States' goal vs. Brazil in the 2011 Women's World Cup quarterfinals: Megan Rapinoe's cross or Abby Wambach's header.

1. USA's '99ers become legends

Brandi Chastain sealed the fate of the ‘99ers in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final.

This story will be updated every day until the countdown ends on July 20.