The role of the winger is one of the most exciting in football. The very best are able to bamboozle fullbacks with their pace and trickery on the ball. Some are goalscorers whilst others specialise in creating for other players on their team. Here are our top 10 best women’s right wingers in the world.
Best women's right wingers in the world: 10. Athenea del Castillo (Real Madrid)
Included on the top ten right wingers list but equally well suited to playing on either side of the pitch, 22 year old Athenea del Castillo has emerged as one of the stars of a Real Madrid side on the rise. Athenea’s direct play has proven particularly hard for defenders to deal with and this season, she helped mastermind Real Madrid’s safe passage into the Champions League group stage with 2 goals and 3 assists in their 5-1 aggregate win over Rosenborg.
But it is her role in Spain’s quarter-final against England that might have thrust her into the spotlight most of all. Introduced at half time, it was her dribble that set up Esther Gonzalez’s opener for Spain, leaving Rachel Daly tripping over her feet in the process. It might not have been enough to send Spain through in the end but it was certainly an unforgettable moment.
9. Tabea Waßmuth (Wolfsburg)
Signed from Hoffenheim at the start of last season, Tabea Waßmuth showed no signs of taking time to adjust to playing at the highest level. Finishing joint second highest top scorer in the Frauen Bundesliga and in the Champions League, Waßmuth proved herself as a finisher of the highest quality.
She scored four goals in Wolfsburg’s two group stage matches against Chelsea to help knock the former Champions League finalists out of the group, and also scored in Wolfsburg’s semi-final second-leg win over Barcelona. That might not have been quite enough to send Wolfsburg to the final but it sent a message that they are a team not to be messed with.
8. Svenja Huth (Wolfsburg)
Another Wolfsburg winger, Svenja Huth showed how exceptional she still is at 31 during the Euros. Huth started all six games for Germany on their run to the final, providing important experience in a team that had a lot of young players coming into it. For both Wolfsburg and Germany, she remains an essential name on the team sheet, aided by the fact that she is always willing to fill in wherever her side needs her.
7. Lauren James (Chelsea)
There was some concern for Lauren James when she failed to make a single WSL start for Chelsea following her record move to her childhood club. The forward had lit up the league for Manchester United but her struggles with injury issues led to Chelsea taking the time to build her back up to full fitness. Early signs this season are that it has paid off.
She has already played six times as many minutes this year, starting seven WSL games. With three goals to her name, she has not had such a good goalscoring season since she was 17 years old. James plays in a way that almost no one else in the world does with her ball retention and close control, something you have to see to believe. There is no doubt that she has the ability to be the best in the world - something that brother Reece claims she already is.
6. Delphine Cascarino (Lyon)
A player who perhaps is still somewhat underappreciated, Delphine Cascarino has held down the right wing spot for women’s football’s most successful team Lyon since she was 23 having joined the club as a 12 year old. This means she has already won six Champions League titles by the age of 25.
Cascarino is not a prolific goalscorer but is instead a player who thrives off creating for others. She was a fixture throughout France’s Euro 2022 campaign as they reached the semi-finals, their best finish ever, and was named as part of FIFPRO’s World Best XI in 2020.
She has regularly been asked to clarify whether she is related to Tony Cascarino, which she is not.
5. Chloe Kelly (Manchester City)
Scorer of the goal that ended sixty years of hurt, Chloe Kelly’s celebration with her shirt swinging around her head after winning the Euros for England will go down as one of the most iconic images of women’s football.
Long known for her speed and on-ball ability in her time at Arsenal and Everton, it was her first season at Manchester City as a 22 year old where she showed just how good she could be, scoring ten goals and eleven assists. An ACL injury last year interrupted her development and whilst she has not quite reached the heights of two seasons ago, there are signs she is slowly getting back to her very best. Her ability to get the ball into the box from crosses has been a particular asset to City this season now she is playing regularly alongside striker Bunny Shaw.
4. Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
Trinity Rodman shocked everyone when she declared for the NWSL Draft at just 18 years old, forgoing her college eligibility. The daughter of basketball superstar Dennis Rodman, she was the youngest player ever drafted when the Washington Spirit selected her second.
Rodman showed no signs of needing time to settle in, helping the Spirit win their first ever NWSL Championship. She scored in their semi-final against OL Reign and assisted in the final against the Chicago Red Stars. Whilst her second season was not quite as successful with the Spirit, the amount of value she adds to the team has not been in doubt, as was shown by Washington Spirit signing her to a new contract which made her the best paid player in NWSL history. Rodman was the youngest player nominated for the Ballon D’Or in 2022.
3. Beth Mead (Arsenal)
Beth Mead’s “revenge tour” has become legendary. Having been left out of the Team GB Olympic Squad in 2021 because of poor form, Mead went on a tear for both Arsenal and England to prove the doubters wrong. Scoring 11 goals and creating 8 assists in the WSL, she matched her highest goal contributions since she was 23 years old. It was no different for England where she broke the record for most goal contributions in a single season for her country, managing 20 goals and 17 assists in 19 matches, breaking Jimmy Greaves’ record.
There were important goals against Austria, Norway and Sweden during the Euros, helping her to win both the Golden Boot and the Player of the Tournament award. Her performances led to her finishing second in the Ballon D’Or and the UEFA Player of the Year award, behind Alexia Putellas.
Mead unfortunately did her ACL during a match against Manchester United in the WSL in November and is now in a race against time to be fit for the World Cup.
2. Kadidiatou Diani (Paris St-Germain)
When PSG and France’s star striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto did her ACL two games into the Euros, there was a lot of pressure on Kadidiatou Diani to pick up the reins. Used by manager Corinne Diacre as a false 9, Diani had to adjust her game in order to help her side reach the semi-finals of the Euros.
It has been a similar position for her at club level where PSG have relied on her significantly early on in the season. Diani has taken to the role with aplomb, whether being a false 9 or being used out wide, having scored nine goals already. Her season high is 13 so she looks set to have her most prolific goal scoring season yet. She has shown at both club and country level how reliable a player she is, with her ability to pop up in unlikely positions a key driver for her improved form.
1. Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona)
It is telling that in Barcelona’s UWCL final loss to Lyon, their only goal came from one of the few moments where Caroline Graham Hansen was able to get away from the attentions of Lyon left back Selma Bacha. Hansen is obviously part of an extremely talented Barcelona team but she brings something different. A player who can be both direct and creative, she is equally adept at driving to the byline with the ball or cutting inside and firing a shot into the top corner.
Her importance to Barcelona is only underlined by how much meeker they look without her in the side (she is currently recuperating with a hamstring injury). Softly spoken and maybe missing out on some of the limelight as a result, Hansen is a player who can take games by the scruff of their neck and demand they go her own way.
