Sports Illustrated Devotes an Unprecedented 25 Covers to the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team

"Nothing like this has ever been produced in the history of Sports Illustrated," mag says

The U.S. Women's National Soccer team has made history becoming the first to win three Women's World Cups!

To commemorate this monumental piece of sports history, Sports Illustrated is doing something that's never been done before! The magazine has decided to devote a cover to each of the 23 individual players. The 24th cover goes to Coach Jill Ellis, and the 25th cover is a group shot.

The July 20 issue will be available on newsstands Wednesday, and SI says, "Nothing like this has ever been produced in the history of Sports Illustrated."

The issue will cover everything from a look at Carli Lloyd's incredible midfield goal against Japan in the finals as well as how she was the hero for the World Cup but "perhaps the most underappreciated player in USWNT history—until now."

The covers were shot all in one day. The decision to make history with the individual covers was made by the magazine on July 7, then shot the day of the New York City parade on July 10. "The USWNT, incredibly cool and helpful from the start, agreed to be shot both before and after the parade," the mag notes.

In a behind-the-scenes video posted by Sports Illustrated, Alex Morgan says, "I want girl's dreams to be alive. I want them to know that with hard work, with confidence, with sacrifices you can be in this position too!"

Abby Wambach, said in June that the 2015 Women's World Cup would be her last. Although Wambach told the Dan Patrick Show Monday, she's unsure of her future. "I literally—and I'm not even kidding you—I haven't even had time to consider what [retiring] would even look like, what that would even mean. I just want to soak this all in."

For now, it's about soaking up what the team has accomplished. Wambach tells SI the secret to their winning success, "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. So many people had an impact on some level, and obviously we're going to be talking about Carli Lloyd, because she deserves it. But, everybody had their own little piece to the puzzle in order for this thing to align perfectly in the way that it did for us to bring home the trophy. To come here to New York City to celebrate, a ticker tape parade, I don't know if it gets better than this!"

A historic moment, team, and cover indeed. You can find the rest of the USWNT covers on Sports Illustrated's site.