The FIFA Women’s World Cup is getting closer each day. In order to prepare for the tournament, it is important to know the best current players and the best female soccer players of all time. This article will provide a list of the best women’s soccer players from across the globe. Subscribe to Fubo and don’t miss out on watching any of these current players.
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Top 15 Women’s Soccer Players in 2023
15. Keira Walsh, Barcelona and England
The 25-year-old playmaker secured a move to Barcelona in the 2022 summer transfer window. She is one of the best midfielders in women’s soccer. She was a key member of the England team that won the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 and was even named Player of the Match in the final. She also finished third in England’s Women’s Player of the Year and sixth in UEFA’s Women’s Player of the Year awards in 2022.
14. Sam Kerr, Chelsea and Australia
Sam Kerr has been one of the best female soccer players for many years now. The captain of the Australia women’s national team, she joined Chelsea in 2020 and has won eight trophies with the club. This includes back-to-back-to-back Women’s Super League titles, as well as helping the team reach the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in 2021. She has also scored a remarkable 81 goals in 99 league appearances for Chelsea.
13. Bia Zaneratto, Palmeiras and Brazil
Beatriz “Bia” Zaneratto João is one the most lethal strikers in the world. At 29 years old During the 2022-23 season, Zaneratto has experienced success at club and international level. She played a key role in Brazil’s Copa America Femenina victory and scored for club side Palmeiras, as they beat Boca Juniors 4-1 to win the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina.
12. Fran Kirby, Chelsea and England
Fran Kirby is Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer despite being an attacking midfielder.
The midfielder scored twice for the Lionesses in their emphatic Euros triumph, while also providing three assists in the tournament. Kirby has also been terrific at the club level in the 2022-23 season, with nine goals in all competitions.
11. Ella Toone, Manchester United and England
Ella Toone currently plays as a forward for Women’s Super League club Manchester United and England. At just 23 years old, she has a bright future. Toone, who recently signed a contract extension until June 2026 to remain at Manchester United, has been impressive for them. Her goal in the final of the European Championship gave England the lead against Germany in the 62nd minute. England won 2–1 in extra time to win the title.
10. Vivianne Miedema, Arsenal and Netherlands
Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema is a one-in-a-generation talent for the Netherlands. The country won the 2017 Women’s Euros championship and Miedema won the silver boot in the competition, helping the team to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She was also named as part of the tournament team. The 26-year-old plays for Arsenal women in the Women’s Super League in England and has four goals and an assist this season in eight league games.
9. Asisat Oshoala, Barcelona and Nigeria
Asisat Oshoala is considered as one of the top strikers in women’s soccer in the world. Last season Oshoala played a huge role as Barcelona went on to win the La Liga femenina and the UEFA women’s Champions League. The Nigerian striker scored 20 goals in 19 La Liga games and also managed a handful in the UEFA Champions League, scoring four goals in nine matches.
This season she already has four in five years for Women’s Champions League and 18 goals in 18 La Liga feminine matches, which includes an astonishing three hat tricks in the last four games.
8. Ada Hegerberg, Lyon and Norway
Former female Ballon d’Or winner and Norwegian forward Ada Hegerberg is incredibly important to the sport. She was part of the Olympic Lyon side that lost in the UEFA women’s Champions League final in Turin last season against Barcelona. She won the French League title with Olympic Lyon last season, which is her 15th league title in 16 seasons.
7. Lucy Bronze, Barcelona and England
Lucy Bronze is regarded as one of the best defenders in women’s soccer at the moment. She continues to stay at the top level of the game, having won the UEFA women’s championship with the Lionesses’ European Championship-winning side. Bronze joined Barcelona in the summer of 2022 and is expected to continue at the Catalonia club.
6. Caroline Graham, Barcelona and Norway
Caroline Hansen scored six goals and 14 assists last season as Barcelona again went on to win La Liga. Her performance was more remarkable given she was coming back from a health problem. The 27-year-old has had 44 goals in 97 matches since 2011 for the national team.
5. Fridolina Rolfo, Barcelona and Sweden
29-year-old Fridolina Rolfo has managed to put some big teams on her back, including Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, before joining Barcelona in 2021. The Swedish forward already has three goals and three assists in Liga femenina this season and was part of the Swedish side that got to the semifinals of the UEFA Women’s Euro Championship. She also scored nine times as Barcelona went on to win Liga femenina last season.
4. Beth Mead, Arsenal and England
Beth Mead was instrumental in England winning UEFA Women’s Euros championship in 2022, as she finished the competition as the top scorer and the tournament player. She finished second in the Ballon d’Or award in 2022 and is expected to do more as the English Women’s national team hopes to win their first FIFA Women’s World Cup. At 27 years old, she is the all-time assists and has the second-most goal contributions all-time in the WSL.
3. Alex Morgan, San Diego Wave, USA
Alex Morgan may be 33 years old, but she still has it, scoring 16 goals in 19 NWSL matches this year and winning the 2022 CONCACAF women’s championship this year with the US women’s national team. The joint top scorer at the CONCACAF women’s championship in 2022 has over 200 appearances for the US women’s national team, scoring 119 times.
She is expected to play her final FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023, and should the US win it, it will be her third World Cup medal.
2. Aitana Bonmati, Barcelona and Spain
Spanish female soccer is on the rise thanks in part to Aitana Bonmati. Bonmati was a nominee for the 2022 Ballon d’Or award and also made the official team of the tournament for UEFA Women’s EURO 2022. In the current season, she has scored five goals in six UEFA Women’s Champions League games. She’ll be one to keep an eye on at the next women’s World Cup.
- Alexia Putellas, Barcelona and Spain Alexia Putellas is the Barcelona women’s team captain and the first female player to win two consecutive Ballon d’Or. In addition to that, she won the FIFA Best Women’s Player in 2022. The forward suffered an ACL injury just before Spain’s opening game at the UEFA Women’s Euros in 2022. However, she is trying to be fit enough for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in the summer of 2023.
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Top 10 Female Soccer Players of All Time
While plenty of current players could go down in history as some of the best ever, history tells us that it doesn’t matter the generation, greatness is greatness.
10. Nadine Angerer
Germany’s Nadine Angerer was a backup on the German national team for over a decade before being put in goal during the 2007 Women’s World Cup. Angerer didn’t give up a single goal the entire tournament, as Germany won its second straight World Cup.
In 2013, she became the first goalkeeper — male or female — to be named FIFA World Player of the Year.
9. Hege Riise
Hege Riise is one of the great winners in the history of sports, not just women’s soccer, and is one of only three women to win a World Cup, UEFA championship and Olympic gold medal. The Norwegian midfielder won two WUSA championships with the Carolina Courage and was named the team’s MVP both years.
8. Carli Lloyd
Playing soccer for parts of four decades, the decorated American midfielder can stake a claim to being one of the most clutch players in women’s soccer history. Carli Lloyd scored the gold medal-winning goals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics and was the first woman to score a hat trick in a Women’s World Cup final in a 5-2 win over Japan in 2005.
7. Christine Sinclair
Christine Sinclair is first on the international career goals list with 186 goals, ahead of Abby Wambach’s 184 goals. The Canadian midfielder made her mark on American soccer in college, winning two national titles at the University of Portland. Her biggest achievement came when she won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
6. Sun Wen
Sun Wen went on to play in four Women’s World Cups and two Olympics, scoring 106 goals in 156 international matches. At the 1999 Women’s World Cup, the Chinese forward won the Golden Ball for being the tournament’s top player, as well as the Golden Boot for being the top scorer. The top overall pick in the inaugural 2001 WUSA Draft, Wen also is the first woman to be nominated for the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year Award.
5. Abby Wambach
Abby Wambach joined the United States national team in 2001, but wouldn’t win a Women’s World Cup until her final international competition in 2015. The forward finished her career as the world’s leading goal scorer in international competition with 184, and her last-minute goal off a header (her signature shot) to defeat Brazil in the 2004 Olympic finals is considered one of the greatest goals ever.
4. Homare Sawa
Homare Sawa took the field in international competition for Japan at 15 years old. The midfielder would go on to have one of the most decorated careers in international history, playing in six World Cups and four Olympic games over 22 seasons. She was named the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2012 after leading Japan past the U.S. for the Women’s World Cup title and winning the Golden Ball and Golden Boot.
3. Brigit Prinz
Birgit Prinz made her international debut at just 16 years old and scored a game-winner for Germany in the 89th minute. The greatest women’s soccer player in Germany won two World Cups and scored 128 goals in international competition. The striker scored another 282 goals in club play and was named FIFA World Player of the Year three times.
2. Mia Hamm
The greatest and most popular female soccer player in United States history, Mia Hamm started out as the youngest player in the history of the U.S. women’s national team when she took the field in 1987 at just 15 years old. The forward retired in 2004 as the world’s leading goal scorer in international competition with 158 goals. She was a two-time FIFA World Player of the Year, two-time women’s World Cup champion and an Olympic gold medalist.
- Marta Marta Vieiera da Silva is the only soccer player, male or female, to be named the World Player of the Year six times, with five straight wins from 2006 to 2010. She is the Women’s World Cup career scoring leader with 17, having scored in five different World Cups. She also won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
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How to Watch Soccer Without Cable?
Want to watch all of women’s soccer in the months to come, especially the women’s World Cup? Then make sure you’re subscribed to Fubo, which gives you access to all nationally televised games, as well as regional and international coverage during the season.
Fubo is the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform, offering 100+ live TV channels and regional sports networks. The service includes a DVR as well as on-demand content and focuses on sports programming. Fubo is the only live TV streaming platform with every Nielsen-rated sports channel. Leveraging Fubo’s proprietary data and technology platform optimized for live TV and sports viewership, subscribers can engage with the content they are watching through interactive product features like FanView, an in-video experience showcasing live game, team and player stats and scores in real-time. Fubo was also the first virtual MVPD to enable simultaneous viewing on up to four screens (Multiview on Apple TV) and the first to stream in 4K HDR. The service was ranked #1 in Customer Satisfaction among Live TV Streaming Providers by J.D. Power (2022).
FAQs
Who is the most famous woman soccer player?
Depending on what country you live in that answer can vary. However, the answer for most is Mia Hamm. During her career, she was one of the most marketable female athletes in history and had endorsement deals with Gatorade, Nike, PowerBar and more.
Who is the best female soccer player?
Given her accolades and longevity, Marta is the best female soccer player. She is the only soccer player, male or female, to be named the World Player of the Year six times, with five straight wins from 2006 to 2010. She is the Women’s World Cup career scoring leader with 17, having scored in five different World Cups.
Who is the best female footballer in the world 2023?
Alexia Putellas is considered by many to be the best female player in 2023. She is the first female player to win two consecutive Ballon d’Or. In addition to that, she won the FIFA Best Women’s player in 2022.
