With all 32 nations having now played three times the group stage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup is over, leaving just 16 knockout phase clashes to go before a winner is crowned.
The World Cup group stage produced an impressive total of 126 goals scored in 48 matches, with only two teams failing to find the net during the opening phase: Haiti and Vietnam.
At the other end of the spectrum, Japan are the top-scoring nation at the tournament entering the knockout phase and are also the only side to have already reached double figures in Australia and New Zealand, registering 11 goals in their opening three fixtures.
Furthermore, Japan star Hinata Miyazawa is leading the Golden Boot race at the 2023 Women’s World Cup with four goals to her name so far. The 23-year-old midfielder is top of the goal-scoring charts after registering twice in her country’s opening 5-0 thrashing of Zambia and then repeating the feat with a brace in the 4-0 win over Spain in Japan’s final group stage outing.
Germany captain Alexandra Popp is level with Miyazawa after scoring her fourth goal of the tournament in Friday’s Group H match against South Korea. The Wolfsburg striker then thought she had scored her fifth to give her country a crucial 2-1 lead in Friday’s match, only to have it ruled out by a marginal VAR call. That condemned Germany to a shock group-stage exit, and denied Popp the opportunity to further enhance her bid for the Golden Boot.
However, no fewer than five players still active at the tournament have scored three goals. That quintet are all within striking distance of equalling Miyazawa and Popp’s tally as we head into the knockout rounds.
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How Golden Boot award is decided
As always, the Golden Boot award will be bestowed upon the individual player who scores the most goals at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Should multiple players finish level at the top of the standings, the award will be decided using tie-breakers.
Should two or more players finish with the same number of goals scored, the Golden Boot will go to the player with the most assists. If that still isn’t enough to separate them then the award will go to the player with the lowest total minutes on the pitch (ergo, the highest goals-per-minute rate).
Any goals scored in penalty shootouts will not count towards the total.
