Top 10 most memorable moments in Women’s World Cup history

We are now officially 50 days away from the 2023 Women’s World Cup and this is poised to be the biggest edition ever. The competition will expand to 32 teams, its biggest number yet, and the growth of women’s soccer around the world means we also have more viable title contenders than ever before. The U.S. has won the previous two tournaments, but it feels like the timing is right for a first-time champion, like England, France, Sweden or even hosts Australia.

This means that the 2023 tournament has all the makings to be a very memorable Women’s World Cup this summer. So, on the occasion of 50 days out, it seems fitting to look back at the most memorable moments in Women’s World Cup history so far.

You’ll notice that this list features the U.S. women’s national team a lot. There are good reasons for that — with four wins, the U.S. has claimed half of all Women’s World Cup trophies ever offered and has featured prominently over the years. But the author of this list also wrote a book about the history of the U.S. women’s national team called “The National Team,” so this list may look different than what you’d find elsewhere around the world.

With that caveat out of the way, here we go!

10. The USWNT wins the first-ever Women’s World Cup (1991)

To say that FIFA initially had low expectations for the Women’s World Cup is putting it mildly. The first Women’s World Cup wasn’t even called that at the time — FIFA was too worried about cheapening the “World Cup” brand, so they actually dubbed it the “1st FIFA World Championship for Women’s Football for the M&M’s Cup.” Rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?

As if that wasn’t enough, FIFA made the games 80 minutes instead of 90 minutes — another hint of what FIFA thought about women playing soccer. There were no big broadcast deals in place, either –…