On a day she scored FC Barcelona’s 100th goal in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) during their 3-0 win over English side, Manchester City in the quarter-final first-leg tie played in Barcelona on Wednesday, Super Falcons star, Asisat Oshoala, also made the list of ESPN’s world Top 50 players.
Oshoala who scored the first goal for Barcelona in the 35th minute off Mariona Caldentey assist, is the No. 27 in the list of world best women’s footballer as compiled by the authoritative United States (US) media outfit, ESPN.
According to ESPN, “Oshoala is probably Africa’s most accomplished female footballer, having won the CAF Women’s Player of the Year award four times, the latest in 2019.
“That was the year she signed with Barcelona, where she’s since won four titles and a UEFA Women’s Champions League runners-up medal. Oshoala is exceedingly accurate inside the penalty area and is always the teammate you want taking the final touch. Oshoala has continued to impress for the Catalan giants, averaging a goal per game since arriving in Spain, and now that Nigeria have reiterated their status as the premier women’s side on the continent, Oshoala is undeniably their premier player”, says Lindsay du Plessis of ESPN who wrote her profile.
Meanwhile, the U.S. women players featured heavily on the first-ever ESPN FC Women’s Ranking, though there’s tough competition all over the globe for top honors in the ESPN compilation.
While 2020 might have thrown everything it could in the way of women’s soccer, leagues and clubs fought to get players back on the pitch and give us enthralling matches while we were all stuck at home. In 2021, global excitement around the game is at an all-time high.
The National Women’s Soccer League in the U.S. is on the cusp of returning in all its glory — beginning on April 9 — while in Europe, there are some nail-biting league races as well as big ties ahead in the latter stages of the year.
According to a statement from ESPN, “some of the stars on the list played full season in 2020, while others are just getting back into the swing of things after leagues were suspended. It was important to our panel that individual achievement and talent were recognized outside of winning cups and trophies.
Below are the inaugural Top 50 women’s players rank.
Sam Mewis
Club/country: Manchester City/United States
Age: 28
Position: Midfielder
Sam Kerr
Club/country: Chelsea/Australia
Age: 27
Position: Forward
Vivianne Miedema
Club/country: Arsenal/Netherlands
Age: 24
Position: Forward
Pernille Harder
Club/country: Chelsea/Denmark
Age: 28
Position: Forward
Lucy Bronze
Club/country: Manchester City/England
Age: 29
Position: Defender
Crystal Dunn
Club/country: Portland Thorns/United States
Age: 28
Position: Defender
Dzsenifer Marozsan
Club/country: Lyon/Germany
Age: 28
Position: Midfielder
Julie Ertz
Club/country: Chicago Red Stars/United States
Age: 28
Position: Midfielder
Caroline Graham Hansen
Club/country: Barcelona/Norway
Age: 26
Position: Midfielder
Debinha
Club/country: North Carolina Courage/Brazil
Age: 29
Position: Forward
Wendie Renard
Club/country: Lyon/France
Age: 30
Position: Defender
Fran Kirby
Club/country: Chelsea/England
Age: 27
Position: Forward
Tobin Heath
Club/country: Manchester United/United States
Age: 32
Position: Midfielder
Saki Kumagai
Club/country: Lyon/Japan
Age: 30
Position: Midfielder
Rose Lavelle
Club/country: Manchester City/United States
Age: 25
Position: Midfielder
Amandine Henry
Club/country: Lyon/France
Age: 31
Position: Midfielder
Jennifer Hermoso
Club/country: Barcelona/Spain
Age: 30
Position: Forward
Ji So-Yun
Club/country: Chelsea/South Korea
Age: 30
Position: Midfielder
Marie-Antoinette Katoto
Club/country: Paris Saint-Germain/France
Age: 22
Position: Forward
Eugenie Le Sommer
Club/country: Lyon/France
Age: 31
Position: Forward
Delphine Cascarino
Club/country: Lyon/France
Age: 24
Position: Midfielder
Alexia Putellas
Club/country: Barcelona/Spain
Age: 27
Position: Midfielder
Lindsey Horan
Club/country: Portland Thorns/United States
Age: 26
Position: Midfielder
Alex Popp
Club/country: Wolfsburg/Germany
Age: 29
Position: Forward
Caroline Weir
Club/country: Manchester City/Scotland
Age: 25
Position: Midfielder
Christen Press
Club/country: Manchester United/United States
Age: 32
Position: Forward
Asisat Oshoala
Club/country: Barcelona/Nigeria
Age: 26
Position: Forward
Lieke Martens
Club/country: Barcelona/Netherlands
Age: 28
Position: Forward
Abby Dahlkemper
Club/country: Manchester City/United States
Age: 27
Position: Defender
Christiane Endler
Club/country: Paris Saint-Germain/Chile
Age: 29
Position: Goalkeeper
Khadija Shaw
Club/country: Bordeaux/Jamaica
Age: 24
Position: Forward
Amel Majri
Club/country: Lyon/France
Age: 28
Position: Midfielder
Kadeisha Buchanan
Club/country: Lyon/Canada
Age: 25
Position: Defender
Magdalena Eriksson
Club/country: Chelsea/Sweden
Age: 27
Position: Defender
Marta
Club/country: Orlando Pride/Brazil
Age: 35
Position: Forward
Kadidiatou Diani
Club/country: Paris Saint-Germain/France
Age: 25
Position: Forward
Melanie Leupolz
Club/country: Chelsea/Germany
Age: 26
Position: Midfielder
Alex Morgan
Club/country: Orlando Pride/United States
Age: 31
Position: Forward
Kim Little
Club/country: Arsenal/Scotland
Age: 30
Position: Midfielder
Megan Rapinoe
Club/country: OL Reign/United States
Age: 35
Position: Forward
Cristiana Girelli
Club/country: Juventus/Italy
Age: 30
Position: Forward
Beth England
Club/country: Chelsea/England
Age: 26
Position: Forward
Ewa Pajor
Club/country: Wolfsburg/Poland
Age: 24
Position: Forward
Lena Goessling
Club/country: Wolfsburg/Germany
Age: 35
Position: Midfielder
Becky Sauerbrunn
Club/country: Portland Thorns/United States
Age: 35
Position: Defender
Steph Houghton
Club/country: Manchester City/England
Age: 32
Position: Defender
Kosovare Asllani
Club/country: Real Madrid/Sweden
Age: 31
Position: Forward
Danielle van de Donk
Club/country: Arsenal/Netherlands
Age: 29
Position: Midfielder
Jackie Groenen
Club/country: Manchester United/Netherlands
Age: 26
Position: Midfielder
Ellen White
Club/country: Manchester City/England
Age: 31
Position: Forward
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