Four editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup have produced some intriguing statistics, and three weeks of action will enrich this collection. On the eve of China 2007, FIFA.com takes a look at some of these facts and figures.

• Half of the 16 teams who set out next week with the ambition of winning the FIFA Women's World Cup have taken part in all five finals competitions: Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden and USA. There are no newcomers at this tournament, a fact which has occurred at only two previous FIFA events - at the Men's Olympic Football Tournament in 1988 and 1996.

• USA are the only team to have finished in the top three of all four previous FIFA Women's World Cup events. They won the title in 1991 and 1999 and finished in third place in 1995 and 2003. USA are also the only host country to have won the competition.

• USA also lead the all-time rankings for matches played, wins and goals scored. Their record is 20 wins, two draws and two defeats, with a goal ratio of 73 scored to 18 conceded. Norway are second best with 16 victories, one draw and five losses (63 goals for, 25 against), while Germany almost match them with 15 successes, two stalemates and five defeats (63 goals scored, 27 against).

• Teams looking for their first wins are Australia (nine matches played so far), Argentina (three) and New Zealand (three).

• The best-attended tournament was USA 1999 with a total of 1,194,215 spectators, an average of 37,319 for the 32 matches. A crowd of 90,185 people watched the final between USA and China, a record not only for women's football but for women's sports in general. The 1991 edition in China was watched by 510,000 fans with an average of 19,615 for the 26 games.

• The 1999 tournament holds the record for the highest goal average per game (3.84), while in China 1991 and Sweden 1995 the average was only slightly lower at 3.81. Conversely, the four finals have seen a comparative dearth of goals with an average of two per game. With 107 goals (3.34 per game), the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup saw fewer balls hit the back of the net than ever before.

• USA's Michelle Akers is the all-time leading scorer with 12 goals between 1991 and 1999, while two players, China's Sun Wen and Germany's Bettina Wiegmann, are second with 11 each. Akers also leads the way with ten goals in a single FIFA World Cup tournament (1991) and for individual scoring feats in a single game: she scored five in a 7-0 victory over Chinese Taipei in 1991. Wiegmann's record reveals a neat symmetry: she has converted two penalties in each of the last four tournaments and has a 100 percent record from the spot. No team can match Germany's total of eight penalties.

• The 500th FIFA Women's World Cup goal could be scored before the end of the group stages with the current total standing at 428. The first was scored by China's Li Ma in the 22nd minute of their game with Norway in Guangzhou on 16 November 1991, the 250th by Sissi for Brazil against Italy in Chicago in 1999 and the 400th by Alberta Sackey in Ghana 's game with Australia in Portland in 2003.

• USA and Germany have both scored the most goals in a single competition (25), with Norway close behind on 23. The biggest winning margin is 8-0, a score achieved twice, by Sweden against Japan in 1991 and Norway against Nigeria in 1995.

• The youngest player to have participated in the finals is Ifeanyichukwu Chiejine who was just 16 years and 34 days when she played for Nigeria in 1999. Anne Smith was 40 years and 55 days old when she represented New Zealand in 1991. At 35 years and 261 days, Canada's Charmaine Hooper became the tournament's oldest scorer when she was on target against China in 2003, while Chiejine, at 16 years and 48 days, is also the youngest scorer with her goal against USA in 1999.