We reached out around the world - and came up with the definitive list of the best in the women's game over the past 12 months
(Image credit: Future)
2020 was a difficult year for football - but the women's game still excelled and provided us with stars worth celebrating.
That's why FourFourTwo's January 2021 issue paid tribute to the biggest stars in the game who made the past 12 months a little more bearable.
In December, we reached out to 27 journalists across the globe – no more than one from any country – for their pick of the best women's footballers on Earth, before compiling them into a top 20.
Each expert voted for five players, with six points awarded to their first-place pick, four points for second, three for third, two for fourth and one point for fifth.
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=18. Ji So-Yun
Chelsea | South Korea | 0 PTS
Throughout Ji’s time at Chelsea, which now stretches eight seasons, Blues coach Emma Hayes has hailed her 29-year-old attacker as one of the world’s best players; one with the potential to reach its summit, even.
Chelsea have acquired plenty of talent over the past year as they try to conquer Europe, yet their success is as dependent on her as any of the other stars. Sadly, while she was included in FFT’s 20-woman shortlist, voters weren’t sold.
=18. Sarah Bouhaddi
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Lyon | France | 0 PTS
Bouhaddi has taken her share of criticism for some, ahem, adventurous play in goal, but she remains the No.1 for world-beaters Lyon and nabbed UEFA’s goalkeeper of the season prize. A recent quarrel at international level leaves her future with France uncertain, but the 34-year-old still has plenty of road ahead. One thing is for certain, at least: watching Bouhaddi will never be dull.
=18. Ewa Pajor
Wolfsberg | Poland | 0 PTS
Completing our trio of pointless shortlisters is striker Pajor, who earned major approval as the Frauen-Bundesliga’s top goal-getter in 2018-19. The Pole followed up with a fine 16-goal campaign as Die Wolfinnen clinched another title in 2020, before a knee injury in September unfortunately finished her year early. Nevertheless, the forward, 24, remains among Europe’s brightest talents.
=16. Denise O'Sullivan
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North Carolina, Brighton | Republic of Ireland | 1 PT
Don’t allow the Ireland international’s slight frame to fool you: she’s one of the toughest midfielders in the women’s game. O’Sullivan is also one of the best. Her team-mates at North Carolina – who include multiple World Cup winners – consistently praise her as the lynchpin to their success, making Brighton’s loan swoop for her in September something of a coup.
The 26-year-old does a lot of her team’s dirty work and hasn’t always got the credit for it. Thankfully, that’s now changing.
=16. Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir
Wolfsberg | Iceland | 1 PT
Iceland hardly pop off the tongue as a world power, but Gunnarsdottir has made herself a fixture at two of Europe’s top teams. She netted in the 2020 Champions League Final to help Lyon defeat Wolfsburg again, having only switched from the German side in July.
Gunnarsdottir’s space-finding talents and movement in midfield are outstanding, while her ability to command the ball in crowded areas speaks to the 30-year-old’s composure. Iceland’s 2018 Sportsperson of the Year is a classy operator.
=14. Guro Reiten
Chelsea | Norway | 2 PTS
The noise around Norway at the 2019 World Cup was about who wasn’t with their team, in disgruntled star striker Ada Hegerberg, but on the pitch, Reiten showed the world why she’s one of the most promising midfielders.
She was shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year award in her first, pandemic-shortened year at Chelsea in 2019-20, when the Blues’ 26-year-old exhibited all the swagger and confidence that makes her so special. Reiten has fought for playing time at Kingsmeadow this season, but a recent contract extension through to 2023 indicates how valuable she is to Hayes & Co in west London.
France have long underwhelmed at major tournaments despite a golden generation of talent, but Les Bleues will rely on Katoto for goalscoring in crucial moments if they are to improve going forward. Having just turned 22, she’s the future for both France and PSG.
Katoto is a multi-faceted threat with the ball at her feet and in the air, and led the Division 1 Feminine with 16 goals in 15 games of its shortened 2019-20 campaign. In November, she hit the winner as PSG toppled the mighty Lyon in their first head-to-head of this season – the latter’s first league defeat in four years. Katoto is going places, averaging 1.46 goal contributions (including assists) per league appearance, which isn’t far off Hegerberg’s blistering rate thus far.
13. Alexandra Popp
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Wolfsberg | Germany | 3 PTS
Striker Popp is an intimidating presence who commands attention on the pitch whether she’s in front of goal or dropping deeper. The 29-year-old has become a leader for both Wolfsburg and Germany, while consecutive double-digit goal tallies have also made her a more consistent threat at the sharp end.
She’s a big reason why Wolfsburg reached the Champions League final in 2020, and her importance was laid bare this season when injury forced her to miss the German giants’ 4-1 hammering at key rivals Bayern Munich. Now that must have hurt.
12. Amel Majri
Lyon | France | 4 PTS
Majri has long defined the modern, attacking full-back as someone capable of not only creating but finishing in the final third. And that’s why she’s no longer solely a full-back. The 27-year-old’s innate technical ability – particularly, a gifted left foot – have pushed her higher upfield for Lyon, not just on the wings but sometimes centrally, depending on the opponent. Majri’s skillset is such that she’s now a vital component of the world’s best club team in multiple, distinct positions.
11. Alexia Putellas
Barcelona | Spain | 5 PTS
March 2020 feels so long ago, but Putellas’ performance at the SheBelieves Cup marked the rise of both player and country as Spain continue to challenge the incumbent world powers. Putellas plays with the confidence you might expect from a traditional Spanish playmaker, combining her technical talents with a dominant physical presence.
Still only 26, she remains a focal point of Barcelona’s surge to prominence in the women’s game, and should be a huge part of Spain’s push to contend for 2022 Euros honours in England.
Landing the WSL title was just reward for England’s terrific campaign at Chelsea, which she closed out by scoring in each of their last nine games. That was enough to bag her the league’s player of the season honour as well, then ink a new four-year contract to finish off her magnificent year. Not bad for a forward who “didn’t fit in” at the London outfit once upon a time, according to former club-mate Eni Aluko. No more. “She’s the best English No.9 in the country,” glowed manager Hayes.
9. Debinha
North Carolina | Brazil | 8 PTS
The torch has officially been passed in Brazil. There may never again be a talent like Marta, but Debinha is the attacking midfielder Pia Sundhage will build a team around. She has hugely improved her consistency to become a wily playmaker in possession, and a deadly finisher from any distance.
Her sumptuous nutmeg-to-top-corner strike against Houston in September was a small sample of why she is the leading player in the NWSL right now.
8. Eugenie Le Sommer
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Lyon | France | 11 PTS
Becoming Les Bleues’ highest goalscorer of all time in September capped another joyous year for Le Sommer, who has been around for 10 of Lyon’s 12 consecutive title wins. She helped to make it a fifth straight Champions League triumph too, cracking open the final against Wolfsburg with the kind of dogged finishing that has made her such a force up top for a decade.
=6. Christiane Endler
Paris Saint-Germain | Chile | 18 PTS
Chile’s No.1 was given an endorsement from Hope Solo during the 2019 World Cup, and for good reason: the athletic shot-stopper is capable of replicating Solo’s trademark brand of stunning saves. Endler denies efforts that most players wouldn’t expect to be repelled, showing off agility and range which has set the bar for goalkeeping in women’s football.
Consistency was always up for discussion with the 23-year-old, but 2020 was the year she began trying to silence it for good. Lyon’s academy poster girl was player of the match in the Champions League final, contributing heavily to their opening two goals in a superb right-wing display. Having started the 2019 and 2018 editions on the bench, Cascarino is now influencing Lyon’s biggest matches from the start with her fearless repertoire of tricks.
5. Dzsenifer Marozsan
Lyon | Germany | 33 PTS
We just don’t talk about Marozsan enough. Perhaps injuries play a role in that – a broken toe severely limited her impact at the 2019 World Cup, for example. Perhaps Lyon have become so dominant too, though, that we’ve grown bored of their never-ending success. But Marozsan is 28, in the prime of her career – and absolutely brilliant. The stylish German has a rare ability to make the sublime seem effortless as a playmaker or while netting from distance, and is still women’s football’s standard-bearer in her No.10 role.
4. Lucy Bronze
Lyon, Manchester City | England | 59 PTS
Bronze returned home to Manchester City in the summer after three seasons away – and eight major trophies at Lyon to show for her travails abroad. The Northumberland native was the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year in 2019, third this time out, and by now there is little doubt of her standing as the world’s best right-back (or, if you ask Lionesses boss Phil Neville, “the best player in the world”).
Nineteen of FFT’s 27 panelists for the female vote had Bronze in the points – four of them in top spot – indicating just how highly rated England’s star is beyond Europe.
3. Wendie Renard
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Lyon | France | 63 PTS
A Lyon veteran of 15 seasons, having arrived from Martinique in 2006, Renard could have easily laid claim to top spot in 2020 after another excellent year in which she nudged ahead of Bronze in UEFA’s elite line-up and captained Lyon to customary dominance.
The 30-year-old may be a centre-back – the world’s best at the moment – but Renard is also an astonishing goalscorer thanks to her prowess at set-pieces: sensationally, she has managed double-digit goal tallies for four seasons and counting. A leader by example.
2. Vivianne Miedema
(Image credit: Future)
Arsenal | Netherlands | 76 PTS
When Miedema struck her 60th goal for the Netherlands in June 2019, she became the Oranje’s record goalscorer. She was 22 years old. In 2020, Arsenal’s hotshot laid claim to another milestone when her treble against Spurs made her the WSL’s all-time top scorer – in 60 fewer games than the former record holder, Nikita Parris. Having led the league for goals in 2019-20 – for the second season running – it took her just five games of this term to reach 10 strikes. You get the idea: now 24, Miedema is just about as lethal as they come – and scarily, still getting better.
1. Pernille Harder
(Image credit: Future)
Chelsea | Denmark | 121 PTS
There was little doubt about the winner of FourFourTwo’s female player of 2020.
Pernille Harder dominated our voting like she did German football, top scoring in the Frauen-Bundesliga as Wolfsburg completed a league and cup double, helping them to the Champions League final, then qualifying Denmark for the Euros and becoming the most expensive player in women’s history.
The 28-year-old forward joined Chelsea in September for a new record fee, reported to be around £300,000, and succeeds Megan Rapinoe as the winner of our female prize.
Like Rapinoe, Harder is passionate about LGBTQ rights and equality. She sacrificed
a place at the 2019 World Cup in her fight for the greater good, and became a source of inspiration to others when she travelled there to support her girlfriend, the Sweden international Magdalena Eriksson.
A photo of the pair kissing pitchside went viral, and both have since joined Juan Mata’s Common Goal movement to help promote inclusivity within football.
The spotlight is shining brightly on Harder right now – and she’s determined to use it in every way possible...
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