![]() The first Asian to win FIFA Player of the Year honors, Sawa was unable to replicate the lightning-in-a-bottle success of 2011, though she still closed her international career in impressive fashion with runner-up finishes at the 2012 Olympics and 2015 World Cup. The smooth midfielder earned local fame after winning several club titles in the Nadeshiko League, but her popularity jumped to another level during the 2011 World Cup, beginning with a hat trick in the group stage and culminating with a late goal that propelled Japan to a surprise win over the U.S. Like Lilly, Homare Sawa was a titan of longevity for her country's team, recording a Japanese-record 205 caps over an international career that commenced with a four-goal performance in 1993. In Leverkusen, Germany on July 1, 2011."> victory that year was the icing on the cake for one of the sport's all-time great winners. A second Olympic gold and designation as the 2012 FIFA Player of the Year cemented her standing in soccer history, and while she was more of a vocal than a physical presence at the 2015 World Cup, the U.S. Many of those were as clutch as it gets like the game-winner against Brazil that gave the Americans gold in the 2004 Olympics, or the last-gasp "header heard 'round the world" that again shocked the Brazilians in the 2011 World Cup quarterfinals. ![]() Abby Wambach (U.S.)Īn overpowering force at nearly 6 feet tall, Abby Wambach used her size, strength and aggression to become the all-time leader – male or female – with 184 career international goals. Canada's exit from the 2019 World Cup left Sinclair just shy of the all-time mark for international goals, but it's only a matter of time before she claims that record and the recognition to go with it. Which isn't to say her accomplishments have all flown under the radar: Sinclair nearly toppled the mighty Americans single-handedly with her hat trick in 2012 Olympic semifinals, and she scored the game-winner in the Bronze medal match vs. Over nearly two decades with the national team and various professional clubs, Sinclair has carved out a reputation as a player with a knack for positioning herself in the right place at the right time. There's no displacing hockey as her country's national sport, but Sinclair has at least put soccer on the map in the Great White North. No matter what role she filled, Lilly's track record of two World Cup wins and two Olympic gold medals underscores her importance to American success during her years in the red, white and blue. While often ceding the attack to strikers like Michelle Akers and Mia Hamm, the midfielder was involved in the offense enough record 130 goals and 105 assists in international competition, numbers which still rank among the all-time leaders. Kristine Lilly occasionally gets overlooked on the list of all-time great American players, but there's no denying her place as the sport's Iron Lady: Over a career that stretched from 1987 to 2010, she racked up a staggering 352 caps (awarded for appearances on a national team in an international match), dwarfing the total of almost everyone else. ![]() In Shanghai, China on September 18, 2007."> The first goalkeeper to win the FIFA Player of the Year Award, Angerer remained an elite player to the very end, earning a place on the World Cup all-star team following her final tournament appearance in 2015. Six years later, she nearly matched that feat by allowing just one goal at the 2013 European championships, saving two penalty kicks in the final to seal Germany's win over Norway. Photo: Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty ImagesĪ backup for the national team that won a slew of titles in the early 2000s, goalkeeper Nadine Angerer proved her starting worth by shutting out the opposition over a record 540 minutes during Germany's World Cup-winning run in 2007. Nadine Angerer makes a save during a Germany training session at Carl-Benz-Stadion in Mannheim, Germany on April 9, 2014.
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