This year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is the biggest edition yet, with 32 teams from six confederations set to battle it out over the next 30 days, with one nation hoping to emerge as the champion of the world.
Despite the rigorous football schedule over the last few years and injuries to some of the biggest stars, the tournament is still not devoid of big names, and Afrosport takes a look at the top stars from the participating nations expected to dazzle the fans in Oceania.
Alexia Putellas – Spain
The best player in women’s football, Putellas, is arguably the biggest star at the women’s World Cup, having won the Ballon d’Or Féminin, Best FIFA Women’s Player, and European Women’s Player of the Year in both 2021 and 2022.
A devastating ACL injury in 2022 forced her to miss the UEFA Women’s Euros, but she has since regained fitness, helping Barcelona Femini to a treble that included the Spanish Women’s League and the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The 29-year-old’s superior skillset and eye for goal, despite being a midfielder, set her apart from her peers, as she will be looking to enjoy a solid outing in her third World Cup outing as she will be pulling the strings for Spain in Australia and New Zealand.
Sam Kerr – Australia
The Australian forward is the most in-form goal scorer heading into the tournament, with 23 goals and five assists in 34 matches for Chelsea’s women team in England.
A prolific weapon in front of goal, Kerr has enjoyed a fine return in international football, with over 60 goals to her name. Her deadly instinct for finding the back of the net saw her finish as the top scorer at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India, with seven goals in four matches. She also scored five goals at the 2019 World Cup, including four in a single game against the Raggae Girlz of Jamaica.
As she heads into her fourth Women’s World Cup, Kerr has been selected as the captain of the Matildas, and having played a major role in the Blues winning a fourth consecutive Women’s Super League title and also scoring the all-important goal in their FA Cup final victory over Manchester United, the 29-year-old is expected to shine in the tournament co-hosted by her nation.
Megan Rapinoe – United States
Rapinoe, a two-time and back-to-back Women’s World Cup winner, will be gunning for a three-peat after a historically excellent outing in 2019, when she won both the best player award and the Golden Boot with six goals, the latter of which she shared with England’s Ellen White and compatriot Alex Morgan.
The 38-year-old will be playing in her fourth Women’s World Cup, having represented them in 2011, 2015, and 2019. Rapinoe, who recently revealed this would be her last World Cup, has 63 goals and 73 assists in her 199 caps, including nine goals in 17 World Cup matches for the USWNT.
One of the most decorated players in women’s football, the OL Reign star’s leadership, hard work, and tenacity will be crucial for the USWNT’s hopes of a third consecutive and record-extending fifth women’s World Cup title.
Asisat Oshoala – Nigeria
The Super Falcons head into the tournament in Australia and New Zealand as one of the ever-present sides in the Women’s World Cup and will rely heavily on the form of their star forward, Oshoala.
The Barcelona Femeni’s goal-scoring machine has been in impeccable form all season, with 26 goals and six assists in 37 games, winning the treble with the Catalans, including the league title and the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
With her lightening pace, trickery, and prowess in front of goal, the five-time African women’s player of the year, who has bagged 29 goals for the green-white-green of Nigeria, is surely one to be noticed in Oceania, as she would be looking to add to her tally and help the eleven-time African champions past the quarter-final stage, their best ever finish at the Mundial.
Khadija Shaw – Jamaica
Shaw, the reigning CONCACAF women’s player of the year, will be heading into her second Women’s World Cup, hoping to lead her team to a better outing than their first-ever appearance in 2019, where they failed to pick up a point.
The Manchester City forward is in scorching hot form with 31 goals in 30 games in the just concluded 2022–23 WSL campaign, and as Jamaica’s all-time leading goal scorer in both men’s and women’s football with 56 goals, the 26-year-old is tipped to have an extraordinary tournament.
Alex Morgan – United States
Another member of the star-studded USWNT squad, Morgan is a two-time Women’s World Cup winner and an Olympic gold medallist. The 34-year-old is the fifth-highest scorer in the history of the USWNT with 121 goals in 204 caps, and she will be looking to add to that number when the tournament kicks off.
Morgan has enjoyed a glittering career, and despite approaching the twilight of her illustrious career, the forward has shown no signs of letting go, as her strike in the final of the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s Championship was the difference as the USA won the title, a tournament in which she was voted as the best player.
She heads to Australia and New Zealand, her fourth Women’s World Cup tournament, with a wealth of experience that has seen her become the first player to ever record a goal and an assist in a World Cup final (2011) and also a Golden Boot winner (2019).
Ada Hegerberg – Norway
One of the most prolific forwards in the history of the women’s game, Hegerberg will be making a return to the Women’s World Cup after she missed the 2019 tournament due to a self-imposed five-year hiatus from international football, which she began in 2017 while protesting against the Norwegian Football Federation.
The return of the Lyon forward, who is the all-time top scorer in the UEFA Women’s Champions League with 59 goals, provides a major boost for ‘The Grasshoppers, who will be in their ninth outing at the tournament.
The 28-year-old has enjoyed a trophy-laden career, which includes an incredible six Champions League titles and eight Division 1 Féminine titles in France, but is still in search of glory with Norway, and the tournament in Australia and New Zealand provides her and her teammates a perfect opportunity to etch their names in their nation’s history.
Marta da Silva – Brazil
Brazilian football legend Marta, who is set for her sixth outing at the Women’s World Cup, is one of the few history-makers set for the tournament in New Zealand and Australia.
The six-time FIFA World Player of the Year is the competition’s leading scorer in history with 17 goals in 20 appearances, a number that transcends beyond the women’s game and has not been matched in the men’s event either.
Despite her decline in pace and physicality due to age, the 37-year-old is still one to be feared, as her poacher-like instincts are second to none, with her 115 goals in 175 appearances for the Canarinhas a testament to her greatness.
Lucy Bronze – England
Arguably the best defender in the women’s game, the marauding full back is the only defensive-minded player on this list, but her attack-mindedness and marauding runs down the right have revolutionized women’s football, with many comparing her to the likes of Kyle Walker and Phillip Lahm.
Bronze is the most experienced player in the Lionesses squad heading to Australia and New Zealand with over a hundred caps and 12 goals to her name, a number that is mind-blowing for a defender.
The 31-year-old has been a key part of the Lionesses success in recent times, helping them to triumphs in the SheBelieves Cup (2018), the UEFA Women’s Championship (2022), and the Women’s Finalissima (2023). If Sarina Weigman’s team are going to conquer the world, Bronze would need to be at her best.
Alexandra Popp – Germany
The captain of the German team, Popp, will be heading to her fourth Women’s World Cup, including helping them to a fourth-place finish in 2015.
The 32-year-old has 62 goals in 128 appearances for Die Nationalelf and 23 goals and six assists in 34 games for her club side, VFL Wolfsburg, this season.
Popp has enjoyed success at every level, winning the UEFA U-17 Women’s Championship (2008), the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (2010), and a gold medal in the Olympics in 2016. However, the forward has yet to emerge victorious with the senior national team, and the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand provides her with the perfect opportunity to complete her medal haul.
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