The U.S. women’s national soccer team is among the best. After all, it has more World Cup and Olympic titles than any other women’s national team. The players’ achievements have put them among the most well-known figures in women’s sports.
Undoubtedly, the history of American women’s soccer is rife with many legendary figures. Here we have the cream of the crop, ranked to determine the top American female player of all time.
10. Alex Morgan
It seems like only yesterday that Morgan was the up-and-coming striker trying to make her name. Currently, she has scored 115 times for the US national team, making her a seasoned veteran.
After scoring 11 times in her first 10 league games, the US international is on pace to obliterate records in the NWSL. Morgan has scored 15 goals in 16 games, including the cup final, the same total she scored in 38 games for the Portland Thorns in 2013 and 2015.
After giving birth to her first child in May of 2020, she decided to return to the NWSL and signed with San Diego. She has been unstoppable ever since.
The 32-year-old has scored goals against the North Carolina Courage, the Chicago Red Stars, and the OL Reign, in addition to four goals against Gotham and two goals against Kansas City.
Her hot scoring streak has also boosted the record books. With her new total of 38 points, she is currently ranked ninth overall, two points behind Megan Rapinoe and one point behind Amy Rodriguez.
Eight more tallies, and she will move into fifth place in the league scoring rankings, passing Christen Press (45) and trailing only Jessica McDonald (51).
9. Julie Foudy
Embed from Getty ImagesJulie Foudy played as a midfielder for the United States national team. She unquestionably ranks among the sport’s all-time greats. Julie’s work path may be traced back to 1989 when she was a college student and discovered a liking for football.
She went the distance with the U.S. women’s national soccer team and became the first woman from the US to win a FIFA Fair Play Award. Not only did she set numerous FIFA Women’s World Cup records before retiring, she still maintains a number of those records after her retirement.
In addition to her two Olympic gold medals, Julie is a two-time winner of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. In 1991, Julia was recognized as the most valuable player in Soccer America.
Despite her accomplished career, she continues to garner respect and admiration from male professional football players. If we were to rank the top 10 female soccer players of all time, Julie Foudy would undoubtedly be on it.
8. Hope Solo
Hope Solo is a former American goalkeeper and among the greatest female footballer of all time. On top of all that, she is widely regarded as one of the sexiest female footballers of all time.
Back in 1996, she got her start teaching at Richland High School. She left her hometown of Seattle, Washington, in 1999 to play college basketball for the University of Washington Huskies, and she has never looked back since.
She turned in a series of impressive performances in her Olympic debut and was instrumental in the 2008 Olympic victory for the US. She tactfully helped keep Brazil’s famed strikers at bay in the final, which the US eventually won 1-0 in extra time.
She has won many prestigious awards, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup, two Olympic gold medals, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup Golden Glove on two separate occasions.
When the United States won the World Cup, goalkeeper Hope Solo was a key factor. She became an acknowledged leader in her field through dedication and perseverance.
7. Megan Rapinoe
American professional soccer player Megan Anna Rapinoe played as a winger and captained the OL Reign of the National Women’s Soccer League.
Megan began her professional career in 2002, spending her first three seasons with Elk Grove Pride. She then continued her career with the Portland Pilots until 2008.
She has played for more than nine different clubs throughout her career, winning trophies at each stop along the way, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Division 1 Feminine with Lyon.
Megan has played more than 150 games for her country and scored 50 goals on the international stage, making her one of the best players in the world right now.
She was co-captain of the winning team at the World Cup in France and had previously led her team to victory at the 2015 tournament and the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She broke barriers by scoring in the final of the World Cup at the age of 31 and was awarded the Golden Boot for her efforts in France this year.
Megan Rapinoe is one of the most well-known athletes in the United States. But, besides sports, she is also known as a vocal supporter of LGBT rights, a staunch opponent of President Donald Trump’s policies, and a promoter of equal pay rights for men and women in soccer.
6. Carli Lloyd
Lloyd, the USWNT co-captain, has been awarded FIFA Player of the Year twice during her illustrious career. After participating in a total of 315 games throughout his career, Lloyd is currently ranked second in the world for most-ever international appearances.
Lloyd, an Olympic hero who won in 2008 and again in 2012, scored the game-winning goals in both years. She captained her team to a World Cup victory in Canada in 2015, where she scored six goals (including a hat trick against Japan).
She won the Golden Boot, given to the tournament’s top performer. She scored in the opening two games of the 2019 World Cup for the United States, against Thailand and Chile, becoming the first woman to score in six straight World Cup games.
During her club career, she played for the Western New York Flash, the Central Jersey Splash, and the Houston Dash, all based in the United States.
She ranks third all-time in U.S. women’s team history with 134 goals. Lloyd had been dropping hints for over a year leading up to the Tokyo Olympics that this would be the last competition of her career.
5. Christie Rampone
Christie Pearce Rampone is one of the most iconic players in international soccer. She retired as a player in 2017 and is now a television commentator for FOX Sports. Recent events include her induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame as a first-ballot pick.
Christie Rampone earned 311 international appearances for the United States national team, second only to her old teammate Kristine Lilly. She appeared in four Olympic Games and World Cup finals, leading her country to gold medal victories in Beijing in 2008 and London.
She also won the World Cup in her home country in 1999 and finished second in 2011. Rampone was known for her strength and athleticism on the field, but she also had to deal with the crippling consequences of Lyme disease multiple times. Despite these issues, she continued to play until she was in her early forties.
Rampone was a rare goal scorer, with only four goals in all her international appearances. Her job on the field was to keep them from scoring, which she did admirably during her long career.
4. Kristine Lilly
Embed from Getty ImagesKristine Lilly is the only individual in women’s soccer history to have participated in five FIFA Women’s World Cups. The Wilton, Connecticut, native is also the first player to have represented the United States in four distinct decades, as well as the youngest and oldest player to score a goal for the country.
She was a midfielder and forward throughout her career, during which she participated in three Olympic Games and won three Olympic medals.
With 354 caps, Lilly holds the world record for most international appearances, giving her the moniker “Queen of Caps.” She retired at 39, concluding her career with 130 global goals, second only to Mia Hamm.
Kristine bagged the prestigious US Soccer Female Athlete of the Year award thrice in her career. She also held the American record for most straight starts and was the first player to reach 300 caps before retiring from the Boston Breakers.
She became the first player in history to appear in 200 international games throughout her career. The University of North Carolina Hall of Fame has retired her jersey number.
3. Michelle Akers
Embed from Getty ImagesAkers is underappreciated since she played from 1985 to 2000. She was, nevertheless, one of two women nominated on Pele’s list of the best 100 living players in 2004.
Michelle Akers is regarded as “the finest woman who has ever played the game” by former USA coach Tony DiCicco.
She was crowned FIFA Player of the Century in 2000 and was largely regarded as the world’s top player throughout her spectacular 15-year international career.
Akers was a player who was ahead of her time when she first joined the national team in 1985. She became the first player to acquire a shoe sponsorship after scoring the first official goal for the USWNT. She achieved the record for most goals scored in the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup with ten.
The powerful striker has always been the driving force behind women’s soccer in the United States. In 1998, she received FIFA’s highest distinction, the FIFA Order of Merit, for her worldwide contributions to the sport and became the only woman to have received this honor.
Injury caused Akers to retire from the national squad soon before the 2000 Olympics. She scored 105 goals in 153 games by the time she announced retirement.
2. Abby Wambach
Wambach finished her international career with 184 goals, ranking her among the top scorers in the world. That is more than any woman or man combined.
Despite appearing in a large number of games, Wambach averaged 0.72 goals per game. It is an incredible total for a soccer player. She has been named the United States Women’s Player of the Year six times and was named FIFA’s Women’s World Player of the Year in 2012.
Wambach became famous for her diving header, symbolizing her toughness and aggression on the pitch. She was most recognized for her time as a striker, but she was also versatile enough to play in midfield and provide support for her side.
Abby directed many legendary teams to unprecedented success, including Western New York Flash, MagicJack, and Washington Freedom. Wambach has won the Women’s FIFA World Cup twice, and she has also won an Olympic gold medal.
1. Mia Hamm
To surpass Wambach’s level of play would need exceptional skill. That is, in fact, Mia Hamm. When it came to women’s soccer in our nation, she was the poster child for years.
She represented the United States in five World Cups and won the Women’s World Cup Player of the Year award five times in a row. Hamm is second all-time in assists and third all-time in career caps. Speak of multitasking, and you just cannot match Hamm.
She made history as the youngest member of the U.S. women’s national team at the age of 15. Mia has been honored with several accolades during her soccer career, including being named FIFA World Player of the Year twice, winning the Women’s World Cup twice, and winning an Olympic gold medal.
When she finally called it quits, she had played 276 games for the national team and scored 158 goals—a record that remained until Abby Wambach surpassed it.
At the peak of her career, she was an international phenomenon. She was Michael Jordan’s co-star in TV ads, had her own video game, and was widely considered the most marketable athlete of her day. She made history by being the first female player to enter the World Hall of Fame.
