By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
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. They are:
- 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
