2022 was a landmark year for women’s football, with England’s win of the Euros on home soil catapulting the game to national attention.
More people than ever before are seeing the quality on show. From playmakers to wingers, goalkeepers to strikers, the talent is simply unbelievable.
Here are the top 30 women’s footballers in the world right now.
30. Alessia Russo
One of Sarina Wiegman’s Euro 2022 winning super subs, Alessia Russo has shown she has the ability to be an all-round striking threat. Now England’s first choice number 9, Russo is great at linking up play with her Manchester United and England team-mate Ella Toone whilst still having the knack for a poacher’s finish.
29. Klara Bühl
It is scarcely believable that the Bayern Munich left-winger is only 22 years old given how integral she is to both her club side and national team. Always a dynamic player out wide, she is now adding more goals to her game, having already equalled her total from last season this year at Christmas.
28. Guro Reiten
Guro Reiten simply cannot stop creating goals for Chelsea. With 13 assists for the club already this season, she has become an essential cog in Emma Hayes’ relentless team. Having spent the start of the year at left wing-back, Reiten’s move further forward has truly unlocked her attacking side.
27. Ella Toone
Ella Toone’s lob at Wembley to open the scoring in the Euro 2022 final was one of the most iconic goals of the year, with the 23 year old forward announcing herself on the world stage. A key part of a Manchester United team aiming to secure Champions League football for the first time eve, Toone is becoming an accomplished creative player.
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26. Ewa Pajor
Injuries have not always been kind to Ewa Pajor but there is no doubt that when she is fit, she is one of the most dominant strikers around. Pajor is currently the top scorer in the Women’s Champions League with seven goals from her six group stage games.
25. Ona Batlle
When Ona Batlle’s contract at Manchester United expires next summer, it’s unlikely there will be many players more in demand than the Spanish fullback. Able to play on the right or left side of defence, Batlle is as good defensively as she is going forward. Expect her to establish herself as one of the very best in the world in the next couple of years.
24. Vivianne Miedema
It has been a mixed year for Vivianne Miedema who shifted back from the striker role that has seen her break goal scoring records throughout her career, into a number 10 role that she says she prefers, but she perhaps does not excel in. Having suffered with COVID-19 during Euro 2022, she finally refound some of her form for Arsenal before unfortunately tearing her anterior cruciate ligament.
23. Ann-Katrin Berger
The Chelsea goalkeeper remains one of the best shot stoppers in the world with her reflexes continuing to propel her club to wins and trophies. The 32 year old suffered a recurrence of her thyroid cancer over the summer but has recovered from treatment to regularly feature for Chelsea this season.
22. Pernille Harder
Pernille Harder’s season has been disrupted by injury but when she is fit, she is a driving force for Chelsea. Her physical ability when it comes to work off the ball means she is an agent of chaos in the number 10 role as seen by her six goals in five starts. However, a hamstring injury has ruled her out for the foreseeable future.
21. Leah Williamson
The England captain who brought football home, Williamson’s ascendancy to a leadership role has been incredibly impressive this year. A technical defender who has shown she is also capable of playing in midfield, Williamson is someone both Arsenal and England have come to rely on heavily.
20. Beth Mead
Beth Mead capped off her most successful year yet by winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year having scored non-stop throughout it. She picked up the Euros Golden Boot and Best Player, and looked to be continuing into the new season with seven goal contributions in her first seven WSL matches, before an ACL injury halted her progress.
19. Kadidiatou Diani
The talented right winger stepped up to the plate when France needed her to fill in for the injured Marie-Antoinette Katoto during the Euros. She has not always been as effective as a false 9 as she is out wide but she has scored a host of important goals for France and PSG this season.
18. Mary Earps
Mary Earps has regularly said she did not see herself playing at the level she reached this year. Selected by Sarina Wiegman as her number one for England, Earps conceded only two goals during the Euros, and has continued her good form into the WSL season with Manchester United.
17. Lucy Bronze
A surprise signing for Barcelona this summer, Lucy Bronze demonstrated at the Euros that she is still one of the best footballers in the world, even if her return to Manchester City was not quite as successful as she might have hoped. Despite her age, her fitness is still impeccable, getting up and down the right hand side of the pitch with confidence.
16. Fran Kirby
There were doubts about whether Fran Kirby would make the England squad as she suffered with fatigue at the start of the season, missing a number of months for Chelsea. But she managed to get back to full fitness, and began every game for Wiegman’s side. Not as flashy as she has been in past seasons but there is no doubting her quality as she has adjusted to playing in a more central role for club and country.
15. Lauren Hemp
22 year old Lauren Hemp’s development this year has been exemplified in her goal scoring. Before she might have been a player who predominantly looked to take on defenders before crossing the ball, this year she has shown she can do it all herself, cutting in from the left to score goals.
14. Marie-Antoinette Katoto
Currently ruled out with an ACL injury, 23 year old Marie-Antoinette Katoto kickstarted the year by becoming Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time top scorer. She picked up her third Golden Boot from the French league as well as being named in the Champions League team of the season, with her solo goal against Lyon being particularly memorable.
13. Selma Bacha
The most creative player in last season’s Champions League, with nine assists, Selma Bacha also demonstrated her defensive ruthlessness as she marked Barcelona’s Caroline Graham Hansen out of the final to help Lyon win another European trophy. Preferred further forward at left wing by Corinne Diacre for France, she is one of the world’s most exciting full backs.
12. Merle Frohms
The German goalkeeper Merle Frohms saw off competition from Ann-Katrin Berger and Almuth Schult to be Martina Voss-Tecklenberg’s number one during the Euros and repaid the favour. Her excellent goalkeeping performances for Eintracht Frankfurt also saw her secure a move back to her childhood club Wolfsburg, where she had previously only made 12 appearances in six years. Now she is firmly their first choice.
11. Mapi Leon
Often found closer to the halfway line than she is her own penalty area, Mapi Leon dictates Barcelona’s play but that does not mean she shirks on her defensive duties either. Leon has also shown herself to be one of the world’s best when it comes to taking corners and free kicks.
10. Patri Guijarro
Moved slightly higher up the pitch by Barcelona following Alexia Putellas’ ACL injury, Patri Guijarro is one of the best passers of the ball you can watch. Whether playing in a deep lying role or as an 8, Patri is a stand out player in a Barcelona team packed with stars.
9. Bunny Shaw
Bunny Shaw has almost equalled her WSL goals total from last season and it is only December. With eight goals, she sits joint top of the scoring charts having established herself as Manchester City’s first choice striker after Ellen White’s retirement. Her physical presence on the pitch means defenders fear her but it is not just about winning headers and loose balls - her ability to score with both feet is also very impressive.
8. Keira Walsh
The player who Barcelona smashed the women’s transfer record for, Keira Walsh made sure everyone knew just how good she was with her performances at the Euros. But for long time watchers of Manchester City, Walsh’s form came as no surprise given she is a player who has been a reliable fixture for years despite being only 25. Her vision on the ball created England’s first goal in the Euro 2022 final.
7. Caroline Graham Hansen
The Barcelona right winger Caroline Graham Hansen continues to perform at a consistently high level, as shown by the fact that Barcelona scored in the Champions League final from the only moment where she got free. Despite not being able to influence proceedings for Norway at the Euros, she remains one of the most technically proficient players in women’s football.
6. Ada Hegerberg
The former Ballon D’Or winner returned to football this year after two years out, and immediately lifted her Lyon team. Potentially fuelled by wanting to prove that women’s football had not moved on without her, she was indispensable as Lyon won another Champions League title. However, injuries have once again seen her unavailable for this season.
5. Aitana Bonmati
Aitana Bonmati may be diminutive but do not let that fool you - she is the best in the business when it comes to shepherding the ball through tight spaces. Aitana has pushed up into a number 10 role for Barcelona with Alexia Putellas unavailable, allowing her to get into the area more often. Barcelona have been rewarded accordingly with Aitana already having scored six goals.
4. Millie Bright
An ever-present in defence for both Chelsea and England, Millie Bright just seems to improve with every passing year. Bright won the WSL, FA Cup and Euros in 2022, playing a key role in all of the games. She has shown she is comfortable as either the right sided or left sided centre-back and even pitched in with another goals to share the Arnold Clark Cup Golden Boot with Alexia Putellas.
3. Lena Oberdorf
Winner of the Young Player of the Tournament award at Euro 2022, Lena Oberdorf covers enough ground to make you think she is two players. Physically imposing, she is an accomplished tackler who protects her defence from midfield vigorously, to say the least. She gives both Germany and Wolfsburg the freedom to pile players forward, safe in the knowledge that Oberdorf will be holding the fort.
2. Sam Kerr
2022 saw Sam Kerr wrap up an astonishing season for Chelsea where she won a second Golden Boot and hauled her side to the WSL and FA Cup. From a last minute goal against Aston Villa to two spectacular volleys in the final game of the season against Manchester United, as well as an extra time winner against Manchester City at Wembley, Kerr just always delivers for Chelsea. She has had a quieter start to 2022/23, but in Sam Kerr terms that still equates to 10 goals in 16 games.
1. Alexia Putellas
This year might not have finished how Alexia Putellas dreamed, losing the Champions League final to Lyon before sustaining an ACL injury just a handful of days before the start of Euro 2022, but there is no doubting her incredible quality. A lynchpin for Barcelona who never look quite as imposing without her, she became the first woman to win back to back Ballon D’Or trophies. She has a creative vision that outstrips even the very best with the technical quality to bring it to life. Football is lesser without her playing it regularly.
