A tournament that broke all records

USA win third Women's World Cup

Golden Ball winner Carli Lloyd nets remarkable Final hat-trick

Records set at Canada 2015 for seventh Women's World Cup

The seventh FIFA Women’s World Cup™ began in record-breaking style, with 24 teams lining up for the very first time in the competition’s history, and ended on a similarly momentous note, as USA became the first nation to lift the Trophy three times. Just for good measure, Canada 2015 also yielded an all-time-high of 112 goals, one more than the previous best, set at Germany 2011.

The tournament ended on a suitably spectacular note, as the Stars and Stripes swamped defending champions Japan 5-2. The contest was effectively over by the 16th minute, by which time the Americans had surged into a 4-0 lead, three of those goals coming from the talismanic Carli Lloyd.

It was appropriate that the 32-year-old midfielder should prove USA’s hero. Lloyd missed a penalty in the shoot-out that decided the Germany 2011 Final between the same two sides, which ended with the Nadeshiko celebrating their first world title. She and 13 other members of the USA squad were on duty that fateful night in Frankfurt, a defeat they have now avenged in style.