US Women's World Cup members land individual Sports Illustrated covers

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The US defeated Japan 5-2 in the World Cup Final in Canada on July 5, becoming the first team in history to win three Women's World Cups
Sports Illustrated is celebrating with 25 different covers - one for each of the team’s 23 players, one for coach Jill Ellis, and a separate group shot

Published: 10:11 EST, 14 July 2015 | Updated: 13:27 EST, 14 July 2015

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In celebration of their momentous World Cup victory, Sports Illustrated is making history by honoring US women's national soccer team with 25 different covers - one for each player and their coach, as well as an additional group shot.

The US defeated Japan 5-2 in the World Cup Final in Canada on July 5, becoming the first team in history to win three Women's World Cups. In recognition of the tremendous achievement, Sports Illustrated asked all 23 members of the team and their coach Jill Ellis to star on their own covers, with the 25th cover featuring a group shot.

'The USWNT has plenty of recognizable, even famous names,' said Chris Stone, Sports Illustrated's managing editor. 'But we couldn't think of a group so thoroughly identified with a team as this one.'

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Iconic moment: Midfielder Carli Lloyd, who scored six goals during the World Cup tournament, is one of the 23 members of the US women's national soccer team who posed for her own Sports Illustrated cover

Sporting star: The 32-year-old, pictured after scoring the opening goal during the final against Japan, was also named the official Player of the Tournament

He added: 'We could go two ways: a team shot, which seemed a little conventional here, or something different and fresh: honoring not just one or two players, but all 23 of them with their own cover.'

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Hope Solo, 33, has been a goalkeeper for the US women's national soccer team since 2000 and is among those who struck a pose for the history making issue, which also features midfielder Carli Lloyd, defender Ali Krieger, and forward Alex Morgan.

'This team was a full team. I think that the depth of our roster is the reason why we were able to bring home the World Cup,' forward Abby Wambach explained in a video from their photoshoot.

She added: 'So many people had an impact on some level, and obviously we are going to talk about Carli Lloyd because she deserves it, but everybody had their own little piece of the puzzle.'

Amazing accomplishments: Two-time Olympic gold medalist Hope Solo, has been a goalkeeper for the US women's national soccer team since 2000

Kicking it up a notch: Hope, 33, was a solid presence on the field, and has been widely praised for her performance

In addition to her team's momentous win and her new Sports Illustrated cover, Carli has plenty to celebrate.

The 32-year-old soccer star, who scored scored six goals during the tournament and helped bring the US to victory for the first time since 1999, was also awarded Golden Ball as the best player of the 2015 Women's World Cup.

'The journey we that we took to get to the final was super inspiring,' Carli said. 'We are etched in that history which is awesome.

'But think we fought through everything and we came together and played our best soccer in that final.'

During the seven tournament matches, 30-year-old Ali played almost every minute, using her defensive skills to help the US team achieve five shutouts. And she also played every minute in the final against Japan.

Super star: Ali Krieger, 30, played every minute of the Women's World Cup final against Japan, in which the US won 5-2

Dynamic defense: Pictured in the final against Japan, Ali can be seen tackling the ball away from the opposition

Meanwhile, Alex, who is also an Olympic gold medalist, spent two months leading up to the Women's World Cup recovering from a knee injury.

The 26-year-old was able to overcome her injury and score one goal during the tournament, while assisting her other teammates both on and off the field.

'I want girls' dreams to be alive,' Alex explained. 'I want them to know that with hard work, with confidence, with sacrifices you can be in this position too.'

And while there are individual covers available for all 23 team members, Sports Illustrated subscribers will also receive a separate cover featuring Carli, Alex, Abby Wambach, Julie Johnston, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn.

A behind-the-scenes video of the ladies' photoshoots, which took place at City Hall in New York City, shows the women posing with their trophies and share thoughts on their momentous victory.

Major inspiration: Forward Alex Morgan, 26, noted: 'I want girls' dreams to be alive'

Overcoming obstacles: Despite suffering from a knee injury just a few months before the World Cup, Alex was determined to play in the tournament

A historic cover for a historic team. SI’s 25 covers honoring @ussoccer_wnt's World Cup champs http://t.co/VbLjDneU1h pic.twitter.com/gaN6Fy2TX2
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 13, 2015

In the clip, defender Becky Sauerbrunn admitted that was a 'little bit' nervous to have her picture take for her own magazine cover.

However, photographer Simon Bruty noted that they had a 'ton of energy', which made them fun to photograph.

Along with individual covers comes individual poses, and midfielder Megan Rapinoe said she had an interesting idea for her photo.

'I kind of want to balance it on my head,' she said of posing with her trophy. 'But I don't know if they are going to let me do that. I am going to try.'

Emotional celebration erupts in New York for Team USA

Success! The team is the first to ever win three World Cup trophies

History making celebration: On Friday morning, the US women's national soccer team was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City

Crowd goes wild: They later joined Heidi Klum (far right) on stage at Taylor Swift's concert on Friday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey

The ladies also had a chance to model their new jerseys, which features a three stars, one for each Women's World Cup win.

'It looks so nice doesn't it?' Megan said. 'We were saying this is our star forever.'

Midfielder Tobin Heath added: 'This third star is a pretty incredible feat. I mean that will be on the jersey forever and that is something we accomplished together and now putting on the jersey is going to be that much more special.'

On Friday morning, the team was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City celebrating their Women's World Cup victory.

And later that night, the ladies joined supermodel Heidi Klum hopped on stage at Taylor Swift's sold out concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where they danced to her hit Style and let the 25-year-old pop star hold their trophy.