ABU DHABI, 18th July, 2020 (WAM) — As the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off, the Women’s World Cup will take place tomorrow, Thursday, with a host of highlights. Some of them have been achieved in past versions or are expected to be achieved by the upcoming version.
This report tracks some of these numbers and statistics:

Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the proceedings of this edition will begin from July 20 to August 20, with a record participation of teams as this is the first edition to see 32 teams in the finals. Two successive editions, each saw the participation of 24 teams.
For the second time in the history of the Women’s World Cup, 8 new teams will be participating – Portugal, Morocco, Zambia, Vietnam, Philippines, Ireland, Haiti and Panama.
The previous time the tournament saw the participation of 8 new faces in one edition, the 2015 edition saw the number of teams participating in the finals increase from 16 to 24 teams.
Brazil’s Marta, Canada’s Christine Sinclair and Nigeria’s Onomi Ibe are all set to compete in the tournament for the sixth time each and become the second most-capped players at the Women’s World Cup.
Former Brazil’s Formica holds the record for most World Cup appearances, having participated in 7 consecutive editions from 1995 to 2019.
Although they have each played in the tournament 5 times before, Marta, Sinclair and Ibe reached the final of this edition, but no player in the history of the tournament can match the record number of appearances. Her country.
American Christine Lilly holds the record with 30 matches, followed by Formica (27 matches), with Sinclair playing 21 matches compared to 20 matches for Marta.
The 37-year-old Marta holds the distinction of being another tournament winner as she tops the list with 17 goals, the most goals scored by any player in the history of her participation in the Women’s World Cup. Having won the title of the best player in the world 6 times before, this record balance can be increased. Via the highly anticipated edition in Australia and New Zealand.
Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Sekini is the youngest player ever to play in the Women’s World Cup. He featured in his country’s national team match against North Korea in the 1999 edition at the age of 16 years and 34 days.
South Korean player Cassie Fehr could break the mark if she plays in either of her country’s matches against Colombia or Morocco in the group stages of the new edition, as she will be 16 years and 26 days old when the Colombia match is scheduled for July 25.
And among the 736 players registered in the list of 32 teams participating in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Philippines national team goalkeeper Kaya Jota is the tallest player, according to the International Sports Federation (FIFA).
The 17-year-old Jota, who stands 1.90 meters tall, has surpassed the tallest ever Frenchwoman Wendy Renard (1.87 meters) in 4 consecutive World Cups, and Irina Yamani shared that height with her during the 2015 edition.
Quoting the player’s account on “Instagram”, Jota said in statements released by FIFA: “Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have this opportunity to represent my beautiful country, the Philippines, in this great event. Participating in the World Cup is something I have dreamed of all my life.”
On the other hand, Zambian striker Awil Chitondo will be the short man in the upcoming tournament. She is 1.4 meters tall, and she and her teammate Margaret Belimo (1.45 meters) are the only players under 1.5 meters tall among all the players in the competition.
Two players, each in their 40s, will take part in the upcoming tournament, Sinclair and IP, with the Canadian noting that he is 3 years older than his coach, Bev Priestman.
Only two players have crossed the 40-year-old barrier to compete in a Women’s World Cup before, and they are American defender Christy Ramboni and Brazilian Formica, who became the tournament’s oldest player at 41 and 112, respectively. in days.