Impetus’ Genevieve Henry and Liberty Simons team up to highlight who they believe are the young players who will light up this year’s World Cup (7/7/23)
Above: Germany’s Lena Oberdorf, one of the top young stars identified by Impetus to keep an eye on at the World Cup. Photo: 90 Minutes.
Lena Oberdorf
It’s no surprise that there are high expectations of the Germany and Wolfsburg star, as she was named Best Young Player at the 2022 Euros as well as coming fourth in the 2022 Ballon d’Or rankings. The 21-year-old plays primarily as a defensive midfielder, but can also play as a centre-back, as a left-back, or as an out-and-out midfielder.
She plays with a maturity and vision far beyond her years. Oberdorf played a huge role in her club’s journey this year, helping them to finish second in both the Frauen Bundesliga and the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Oberdorf shows tenacity and passion in her style of play and that will ultimately help Germany compete as one of the strongest teams in the 2023 World Cup.
Sophia Smith
The 22-year-old American superstar striker has been breaking records left and right for the USWNT and Portland Thorns in the NWSL. She was named last season’s NSWL MVP as well as the championship game’s MVP, showing that she is a big game player. She was also named USWNT Player of the Year in 2022. All of this recognition is for a good reason.
She is quick, can finish, stay calm under pressure, and do everything a number nine is meant to do. She will hope to take her skills to a whole new level when she steps on the pitch in her first major international tournament and put her name up in even brighter lights. She has been tipped for awards like the Golden Boot and Golden Ball for the 2023 World Cup.
Lauren Hemp
It’s hard to believe that Hemp is only 22, as her name has been revered for a good while now. The 2022 European Champion has speed, physicality, and technical skills that are enviable even to the best, most experienced wingers. Hemp has been named PFA Young Player of the Year four different times for her superb club form with Manchester City, as well as being named England Young Player of the Year twice.
Once again, she has shone this season with the Citizens, with 10 goals and 10 assists. Hemp has excellent delivery on set pieces, it was her corner that set up the winner for England in the final of the Euros. What kind of an impact can she make on the world stage?
Selma Bacha
Bacha has won four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles with Olympique Lyonnaise at the young age of 22. She is a versatile player, excelling at both left-back and left-winger. With Lyon, she has become one of the best fullbacks in football, learning from the great players that have been surrounding her from a young age. She has put goals on platters for some of the biggest names in football.
Bacha is strong and has speed, but also can deliver set-pieces, crosses, and perfect through balls, making her a frequent provider of assists for both Lyon and France. She was named in the IFFHS Women’s World Team of the Season last year. She can bring pace, power, and passion for her country this summer.
Kyra Cooney-Cross
One of Australia’s brightest prospects, this midfielder with a lethal foot and an everlasting engine, has fought her way into recognition in recent months. The 21-year-old has become an important player for Hammarby, where she not only provides assists and goals, but crunching, last-ditch tackles. For Australia, she has managed to clinch a consistent starting spot in the ever-so-competitive midfield.
In 2021, she was named the W-League Young Player of the Season, after scoring a 120th-minute Olimpico to win Melbourne Victory the championship. Can she perform just as spectacularly in big games for Australia at the 2023 World Cup?
Salma Paralluelo
Paralluelo is such a gifted player, it’s hard to believe that she is only 19. After impressing at Villareal for three years, she earned herself a remarkable move to Spanish giants Barcelona. The winger became a regular at Barcelona this past season and played an important part in their UEFA Women’s Champions League victory this season. She has a great shot as well as incredible pace and drive.
After being thrust into this side, she has grown to be a pivotal cog in the Spanish side. Paralluelo can bring a level of intensity and power to the Spanish Women’s National Team which will surely help them along their way.
Melchie Dumonay
This 19-year-old Haitian superstar has been tipped as the future of women’s football for some time now, and she will surely prove why at the 2023 World Cup. After an incredible season at French club Stade Reims, she was signed to Olympique Lyonnaise for the upcoming season.
Her strength and smarts are both vital parts of her gameplay, always pouncing on opportunities and creating chances out of nothing. She is one of the biggest reasons for Haiti’s recent success, with her goals earning them a place in Australia and New Zealand. Can Dumornay help her team surpass expectations at a very difficult level?
Klara Bühl
Bühl is a superstar for Germany and Bayern Munich. It seems impossible that she is only 22 years old, as she plays with such maturity and experience. She is a versatile attacker, excelling on the wing due to her speed and strength. She has an important and consistent role in both of her teams. Due to this, Bühl boasts a strong connection with many of her national teammates, allowing them to work more fluidly together.
She can score all kinds of goals and make all kinds of assists, scoring 5 and creating 9 goals this past season. She had an excellent summer at the 2022 Euros, even making the Team of the Tournament. Will she use her skills to once again light up her country?
Linda Caicedo
The sensational 18-year-old teenager from Colombia has been breaking records since she was 14. Caicedo became a professional footballer at age 14 and was named the league’s top scorer with 7 goals and led her then team, América de Cali, to their first-ever league title. After impressing for a few more seasons in Colombia, she was named the Best Player at the 2022 Copa América Femenina, where she led her team to an astonishing second place and ultimately qualified them for the world cup. After her brilliant performances, many of the world’s top clubs tried to sign her, but Real Madrid won out. What can Caicedo deliver at the 2023 World Cup?
Jade Rose
Jade Rose hails from Harvard University, and that alone is a testament to her brilliance. The Canadian centre-back has proved her brilliance on the national stage as of late and will hope to get playing time in the already impenetrable Canadian backline. Rose rose to recognition in a series of friendlies against the Aussies, where she outsmarted, out-muscled, and out-ran Sam Kerr almost the whole game, essentially shutting up one of Canada’s most feared opponents they will face this summer. Rose is tall and strong, both traits that allow her to dominate in the air and cut out dangerous balls into the penalty area. Although it may be hard to break into such a good defence, if anyone could do it, it’s Jade Rose.
Jun Endo
Endo is an intelligent, left-sided versatile player who uses that intelligence to make a difference in games. The 23-year-old is calm and cool in her game, using space to get ahead of defenders, before cutting infield and shooting and scoring with ease. The Japanese international, who was just 11 when Japan won the World Cup, can pick balls up with ease, even when they are fired across the field, with the ability to control them and manipulate the passage of play to her strengths to find the back of the net with ease. A key player for her NWSL side Angel City, and a key player for Japan this summer, she will be hoping to recreate the success of 12 years ago for her country, in the hopes to inspire the next young girl in Japan.
Esmee Brugts
Brugts is one sought-out youngster. After shining for PSV Eindhoven for 3 years in the Eredivisie Vrouwen, scoring 21 goals in 75 games, the 19-year-old is looking further afield to excel in her professional career. But first, her sights are set on Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup. A dynamic left-winger, whose use of space and skill is key to her game, is an asset to any team she plays for. For the Netherlands, she controls the left side with ease, running the lines and sending in sensational passes into the box, before having a crack at goal herself. As a teen, it’s scary to think of how far her talent will go, and that all starts this summer down under.
Kathrine Kühl
A midfielder for the future, the 19-year-old Danish international Kühl has impressed both for her country and club at Arsenal, in her very short career. A tricky number 10 that dances around opponents with the ball at her feet, Kühl holds the intelligence and confidence of a player well above her years. Her connection with captain Pernille Harder has been sensational on the international stage, with the youngster’s through ball assists to Harder’s beautiful finishes a staple in the Denmark attack. With her trickster feet and quick thinking, Kühl has a bright future ahead of her and this summer’s World Cup will be the start of something special for the youngster.
Mary Fowler
Fowler is creativity embodied in football. She is an artist with the ball at her feet for Australia and Manchester City. When she plays, one can’t take their eyes off of her, as she always seems to be on the brink of brilliance. A player with a knack for spectacular goals or passes, Fowler will certainly show off her ability to create chances no one else can see at the 2023 World Cup.
Her mind is always working—wondering how she can change the game. She can play in big games, scoring the important goal against Great Britain in the 2021 Olympics that ultimately allowed the Matildas to succeed. She has been revered for some time now, so what can she do at a home World Cup?
Jordyn Huitema
Huitema is no stranger to the international stage, making her debut for Canada at 15, and having an Olympic gold medal to her name by 21, she is one of Canada’s youngest and best players. A speedy winger who outruns defenders with ease, both on and off the ball where she is skilful and forward-thinking.
She is a player that shines with the extensive experience Canada has and shines independently too, finding ways into games, even when she is being purposefully marked out. With an eye for goal, whether that be converting her own chances or providing an important assist from the wing, Huitema has been in fine form for her club and will hope to continue for Canada to bring the biggest trophy back to her country.
Trinity Rodman
Rodman is making a name for herself within the USWNT in the absence of some of their most memorable names. Whilst the Ballon d’Or nominee has impressed before now, after the beginning of the NWSL season which saw her racking in goals and assists, she will be wanting to continue for her country. Making her senior debut last year, she’s a winger who runs at defenders head-on, retaining the ball with ease even in tight situations, and uses tricky footwork to dance into space to create for herself, or her teammates. Her ability to track back and support the backline before bombing down the wing with the ball at her feet means she is perfect for the American style and will be key if they want to retain the trophy this summer.
Jule Brand
Brand is, like Klara Bühl, a German winger with the world at her feet. With four goals and three assists, including a worldie against her old club, she made a splash in her first season at Wolfsburg. With the ability to wriggle around defenders both on the wing and down the middle of the park, Brand’s skill at such a young age is invaluable.
Her ability to make an impact and change games will be utilised for the national team if ideas aren’t working. She is a creative winger with the ability to drag infield and make things happen, both when they aren’t happening for others or from thin air, and will be very useful whether from the bench or starting to bring home the trophy for Germany this summer.
Julie Blakstad
Blakstad has been called many things, such as explosive, intelligent, and fearless, and this is for a good reason. She is a versatile player who excels offensively, even if she is slotted into the backline. The 21-year-old impressed in Norway for four years before earning herself a move to Manchester City where she played a great role at the beginning of their season. Due to the size of the player pool, she was loaned to BK Hacken in Sweden. She displays excellent qualities for her country, having scored a few goals, and being one of their best players at their undeniably poor Euros performance.
Athenea Del Castillo
Although she may be tiny, Del Castillo’s presence and impact are anything but. The 22-year-old winger has been an important player in the ever-improving Real Madrid side that has begun to compete more seriously with top-class teams. Del Castillo can score goals, but she excels on the wing, where she has the freedom to create chances, run at defenders, and use her impressive lung capacity for the good of her country.
For Spain, she has scored six goals in 25 appearances, a good statistic when one considers the role she played as a substitute up until recently. She is one of the most promising players in Spain, where youth talent is plentiful, and that in itself says all that needs to be said about Del Castillo.
Lauren James
James is a one-of-a-kind player, with strength and speed reminiscent of some of the world’s best men’s players. Growing up playing football with her brother, Reece, she learned an unusual style compared to most other women’s footballers, relying more on pure power than anything else.
The 21-year-old forward can beat as many defenders are thrown at her, weaving in and out and simply pushing through to get a clear shot on goal. James won both the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup Player of the Tournament and NXGN Player of the Tournament, as well as winning the 2023 London Football Awards Women’s Young Player of the Year. Lauren James will surely out-muscle all the opponents she faces this summer in Australia and New Zealand.
Hanna Bennison
This young Swedish magician is the kind of player who fits right into a top-class team. Bennison made history when signing for Everton for a massive six-figure sum that was previously unheard of. She is a brilliant attacking midfielder and she can manoeuvre in the toughest of situations to create and score.
The Swede has made over 30 appearances for her country at the young age of 20. She plays with the maturity and mind of a veteran but with the energy and ferocity to match her own age. Bennison has the world at her feet, as was proclaimed by Goal when she was named NXGN Award winner in 2021. How can she shape this Swedish side and carry them to brighter places?
Alyssa Thompson
The number one NWSL draft pick for the 2022-23 season is already making history, for club and country. As a high-schooler, she won the coveted Gatorade National Soccer Player of the Year. In her first months in the NWSL, she also won Rookie of the Month for March/April. Thompson has begun to score frequently for Angel City FC, where she has helped them to turn around their poor last season and begin to rise up in the rankings. She played a pivotal role in the U-20 USWNT winning the 2022 CONCACAF Championship. At 18 years old, she is the youngest player (by far!) in the 2023 World Cup squad and the second youngest player to ever be selected by the USWNT for a world cup.
Charli Grant
Grant is a vivacious wing-back who plies her trade in Sweden for Vittsjo. In the absence of the Matildas star Ellie Carpenter, Grant stepped up to fill her shoes and did a better job than anyone could have imagined. Now, there is a struggle of where to slot her in the defence, because it would be a detriment not to have her on the park. Grant has speed and ferocity, as well as a good heading ability, as was seen against England when she scored a stunning goal. The versatile player has captured the heart of Australia and many will hope to see her make an impact on home soil.
Follow Impetus on social media – we’re @ImpetusFootball on Threads, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. DON’T MISS our brand new TikTok platform @ImpetusFootball too!
impetusfootball.org 