Fresh, carefree and full of young vigour: the World Cup has brought a number of talents to the fore. Above all, there is no shortage of up-and-coming attacking players in women’s football. sportschau.de presents some of the greatest talents:
Kerly Theus (Haiti)
The 24-year-old almost drove England to despair in the first group game. With enormous jumping power and great reflexes, Haiti’s goalkeeper fended off shot after shot from the “Lionesses”. She was only defeated by Georgia Stanway’s penalty – and even that she saved on the first try, but had left the goal line a little bit too soon. Then the second attempt was successful.
Théus overall stats: She saved 95.2 percent of all open-play shots (not counting penalties) in Haiti’s three group games.
However, the European scouts came too late at the current World Cup: in 2023 Théus, who had already scored for Haiti at the U20 World Cup in 2018, was signed by the US club Miami City.
Christy Ucheibe (Nigeria)
The 22-year-old from Benfica isn’t exactly what you’d want in an opponent’s attacking role: she’s a veritable one-on-one monster. Her values are spectacular for a defensive player: With an average of 5.8 successful tackles per 90 minutes, she led the most tough tackles of all World Cup players.
The “general”, as she is called in Portugal, moved to Lisbon in 2020 via a station in Sweden. In her first six months, Ucheibe became a regular and Benfica Portuguese champions. That was just the beginning. Under her direction, the club blossomed into a title collector: Benfica managed the double of league and cup in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Ucheibe’s tackles, which now stood out at the Worlds, were an important element in that.
Giulia Dragoni (Italy)
She’s only 16, but her dribbles are already amazing. When Dragoni comes in with the ball at her feet and her head slightly bowed, her opponents have to be very careful. The youngster in the Italian national team almost flies past the older opponents.
The talent of the dribbler, who was already playing football regularly at the age of four, was not difficult to discover. Inter Milan struck first, in January 2023 she moved to Barcelona. In the famous training farm “La Masia” she was the first non-Spanish kicker. In her first six months in Barcelona, Dragoni played for the B team and became champions in the second division with the team. From the new season you will be able to admire her in the kit of ‘Barca’ A-Team.
Telma Encarnacao (Portugal)
After returning from Australia, the World Cup wasn’t quite over for Telma Encarnaceo: The 21-year-old still had to go to the town hall in her hometown of Câmara de Lobos on the island of Madeira. She was received with all honors, signed the community book of honor and was allowed to hear from the mayor that she was an inspiration for all young people in the region.
In fact, the Maritimo Funchal playmaker has amazing presence and vision for her age. In terms of play, hardly anyone can fool the super technician anyway. In the run-up to the World Cup and also in the first game, Encarnacao was rested a little by the Portuguese national coach, they didn’t want to throw them in at the deep end at the World Cup. But the future – that’s clear – also belongs to the dangerous strategist in Portugal’s national team.
Linda Caicedo (Colombia)
At the age of 18, Linda Lizeth Caicedo Alegría is considered a prodigy striker. Most recent record: On July 24, she achieved unprecedented – she has appeared in three World Cups, including youth tournaments, in less than a year and scored at least one goal in each.
Against Germany, she moved two opponents with an elegant body deception and placed the ball in the top right corner. Recently there have been repeated reports about her physical condition. Caicedo, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 15, is said to have had a faint spell during the tournament. The Varband denied – the Real Madrid striker is perfectly fit.
Aoba Fujino (Japan)
They were the ultimate surprise team at the World Cup – at least until the surprising quarter-final defeat by Sweden: the young Japanese women coached by Futoshi Ikeda. The former youth coach of the Japanese association consistently integrated his former U18 and U20 players into the senior team. Under the public radar, so to speak.
And that’s how Tokyo Verdy’s Aoba Fujino was seen spinning for the first time at the Worlds. On the right wing, she caused despair for her opponents with her speed dribbling, her lively sprints and clever solos. It felt like she could never be stopped – almost astonishing that only four direct assists are documented in the World Cup statistics. This still makes her the best preparer of the tournament.
Ary Borges (Brazil)
For years in the shadow of Marta, Ary Borges made her breakthrough at this World Cup. As an attacking midfielder, she struck in Brazil’s first game and seized her chance. Borges not only scored three goals and one assist in her World Cup debut against outsiders Panama – the 23-year-old steered the entire game with her joy and creativity. Just as Marta had done for Brazil for years.
With the Brazilian U20 selection, she played the South American Championship and World Cup in 2018, but after that she only made short appearances in the senior national team for a long time. The way to the regular place had just been blocked – by Marta. At the ongoing World Cup, the baton was finally passed from the 37-year-old star player to her successor.
Racheal Kundananji (Zambia)
Zambia disappointed at the World Cup – no question. Striker Barbra Banda, in particular, had been expected to stage a more conspicuous tournament. Still, there was one that caught the eye of East Africans: Racheal Kundananji. The Madrid CFF striker was forced to drop into midfield in the Zambian game – otherwise her team-mates were unable to get her into the game.
The 23-year-old then pulled out from midfield – and put the opponents under pressure. It’s safe to say that if the top scorer, who scored 25 goals for Madrid last season, had had better teammates, she could have been a star at this World Cup. One statistic remained: On average, you managed four successful dribblings per game. She was the fourth best tournament player in this ranking.
Mary Fowler (Australia)
The filigree Fowler is a bit reminiscent of the supple Frenchwoman Louisa Necib, whose star rose at the 2011 World Cup in Germany. Just like Necib compared to Zinedine Zidane, precious technician Fowler has mixed roots. Her father is from Ireland and her mother from Papua New Guinea.
The fact that she was able to dribble into the limelight at the World Cup was actually only due to someone else’s bad luck: Australia’s star Sam Kerr had to pause at the start of the tournament due to an injury. Fowler jumped in and delighted the fans with her easy, playful manner. That this wasn’t quite enough against England to create the really big coup – given. Fowler owns the future.
Salma Paralluelo (Spain)
She is still so young, but without a doubt already one who can make the difference. The quarter-final between Spain and the Netherlands was a real World Cup thriller – in the 111th minute, substitute Paralluelo made it 2-1 and shot her team into the semi-finals.
In the semi-final against Sweden that followed, the scoreboard was 0-0 for a long time. Only the 1-0 scored by Paralluelo opened the game and paved the way for the 2-1 win for the Spaniards. A little less than a year ago, the 19-year-old made her debut for the Barcelona women’s first-team. With the step to the professionals, she turned away from her athletics career. As a 400 meter sprinter, she was at times one of Spain’s greatest hopes for the Olympics.
Lauren James (England)
One wishes she had learned her lesson. James had to watch two of her England’s games from outside at the World Cup – she was quite rightly banned by FIFA for a bad kick against Nigeria in the round of 16.
Until then, she had nothing but delighted the English fans. In the absence of some forwards who were injured, she not only slipped into the World Cup squad, but also straight onto the field in the preliminary round. “Lauren has a better technique than some Premier League players,” said her brother Reece James of Chelsea, also an international. The 21-year-old from Arsenal WFC also has something to make up for with her colleagues and coach Sarina Wiegman.