The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was a thrilling tournament with Australia and New Zealand taking on co-hosting duties for the first time.
Alongside the battle for team glory which saw Spain beat England 1-0 in the final, there were also a some key individual awards on offer, as the biggest stars in women's football took centre-stage in the sport's premier competition.
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 ever get close to Michelle Akers' single-tournament record?
MORE: All the Women's World Cup awards for the 2023 edition
Women's World Cup top goal scorers 2023
Updated as of Sunday, August 20 (after final)
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals (Penalties) | Assists | Matches | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hinata Miyazawa | Japan | 5 (0) | 1 | 5 | 336 |
| 2. | Kadidiatou Diani | France | 4 (2) | 3 | 5 | 449 |
| Alexandra Popp | Germany | 4 (1) | 0 | 3 | 263 | |
| Jill Roord | Netherlands | 4 (0) | 0 | 5 | 419 | |
| Amanda Ilestedt | Sweden | 4 (0) | 0 | 7 | 632 | |
| 6. | Lauren James | England | 3 (0) | 3 | 4 | 287 |
| Aita Bonmati | Spain | 3 (0) | 2 | 7 | 585 | |
| Jennifer Hermoso | Spain | 3 (0) | 2 | 6 | 527 | |
| Ary Borges | Brazil | 3 (0) | 1 | 2 | 206 | |
| Alba Redondo | Spain | 3 (0) | 1 | 6 | 333 | |
| Lauren Hemp | England | 3 (0) | 1 | 6 | 430 | |
| Sophie Roman Haug | Norway | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 253 | |
| Eugenie Le Sommer | France | 3 (0) | 0 | 4 | 356 | |
| Rebecka Blomqvist | Sweden | 3 (0) | 0 | 6 | 158 | |
| Alessia Russo | England | 3 (0) | 0 | 6 | 482 | |
| Fridolina Rolfo | Sweden | 3 (1) | 0 | 6 | 502 | |
| Hayley Raso | Australia | 3 (0) | 0 | 7 | 566 |
- 2 goals: 16 players
- 1 goal: 67 players
- Own goals: 8 players
There were a total of 160 goals scored in 64 matches at the FIFA Women's World Cup, including eight own goals.
Who won Women's World Cup Golden Boot 2023?
Japan's Hinata Miyazawa was crowned the 2023 Golden Boot winner following her five goals at the tournament.
Her victory is even more impressive given Japan were dumped out in the quarterfinals.
Heading into the tournament, USWNT veteran Alex Morgan was originally tipped, but she failed to score in the tournament and missed a penalty in the opening win over Vietnam. Australia star and Chelsea striker Sam Kerr was another favourite, but she was hampered by a pre-tournament injury and missed all the group matches.
Miyazawa scored twice in Japan's 4-0 rout of Spain in their final group match, and then added another in the Round of 16 win over Norway. Germany's Alexandra Popp and Sweden's Amanda Ilestedt finished on four while Brazil's Ary Borges ended on three before they crashed out.
The USA, Germany and Brazil have traditionally produced the Golden Boot winner in previous World Cups.
MORE: Who has played in most Women's World Cups?
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 will be used as the first tiebreaker and that will be followed by minutes played with the player compiling her goals in the fewest minutes ranking higher.
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 nine 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 in Women's World Cup history, won the Golden Boot in 2007, but Germany wound up winning the tournament that year.
Megan Rapinoe won the the Golden Boot (top scorer) and the Golden Ball (MVP) at the last World Cup in 2019, and also went on to win the Ballon d'Or as the top player in the women's game after leading her team to a World Cup trophy in that same competition.
| 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 |
| 2023 | Aus/NZ | Hinata Miyazawa | Japan | 5 |
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 |