Best Female Football Players Ever

Even though women’s football has almost as long history as the men’s, it only started to be recognized in the 1970s when more and more players became professional. The best female football players ever didn’t only win titles but also helped to make the sport more popular. 

The first Women’s Football World Cup organized by FIFA was only held in 1991, but there have been several other unofficial tournaments held before. The sport is most popular in the US, Canada, Germany, France and Sweden, but getting more famous in Spain, in the UK and other countries too. The US team is the most successful with four world cup titles and they gave many great players to the sports, but we can also find footballers from Germany, Brazil and Japan as well. 

5. Homare Sawa

Women’s football in Japan is more successful than the men’s. The national football team has won the World Cup in 2011 and reached the Olympic final in 2012. Though Japan lost there against the US, they still belong to the top teams. Homare Sawa was the captain of these teams and made a huge contribution to the victories. No wonder she also received the Women’s World Player of the Year award from FIFA after winning the Golden Ball and Golden Boot in 2011. She had a long and successful career between 1993 and 2005, scoring 83 goals in 204 appearances. Sawa was one of the best playmaking midfielders and best female football players ever. 

4. Birgit Prinz

German women’s football team has been dominating the sport in the 2000s, and Birgit Prinz was a key member of their team. She won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007, five European Championships and three Olympic bronze medals with the team. She scored the second most goals in the World Cups with her 14 goals, and 128 goals in total during her international career. But Prinz achieved great successes on club level as well. She won 8 Bundesliga and 3 UEFA Women’s Cup titles with 1. FFC Frankfurt. And she was also named the World Player of the Year three times, finishing second four more times. Though the Frauen Bundesliga is on hold at the moment, games will continue at the end of May with all odds available on 1xBet. 

3. Michelle Akers

In the best female football players ever we have to mention one of the first superstars of the sport. American midfielder Michelle Akers. She started as a striker and scored the US team’s first goal in an international game in 1987. She also scored twice in the final of the first official World Cup in 1991, which the US won against Norway. But she was diagnosed in 1994 with chronic fatigue which meant she had to move to a defensive midfielder position. Akers played superb there as well. She led the team to victory in the 1996 Olympic Games and in the 1999 World Cup. Online sportsbook news in the US were also reporting when she was named the FIFA Female Player of the Century shared with Chinese Sun Wen. 

2. Marta

The Brazil phenomenon won the FIFA World Player of Year award six times. In five consecutive years between 2006 and 2010 and the last in 2018. Marta also holds the record for the most scored goals in the World Cup with 17 goals. And she is the first footballer including men players as well to score in five different world cups. Her dribbling skills are amazing, explaining her nickname, Pele in skirts. Marta’s only regret can be that she hasn’t won any major tournaments yet. As the Brazil team finished only second in the 2007 World Cup and the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. Still many would argue that she is the best female football player even without any world cup title. But she might have another chance to win the next World Cup which has been postponed to 2023. 

1. Mia Hamm

The reason I selected Mia Hamm to the first place is that she had the biggest impact on the game. Hamm became the face of the sport even after retiring. She was also voted into the World Football Hall of Fame as the first woman. And why is all this fuss? Well, she played in the US team for 17 years 1987-2004. She took part in four World Cups and three Olympic Games. Hamm scored 14 goals in these tournaments, helping the team to two World Cup and two Olympic gold medals. Also to an Olympic silver in 2000. Online gambling sites in the US are hoping for similar successes in the next 2021 Tokyo Olympics. 

Hamm was famous for her speed and dribbling skills, but she often retreated to the midfield and assisted her teammates. She won the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice. She was also one of only two women players (the other one was her teammate, Michelle Akers) named in FIFA’s top 100 list. 

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