Like any major tournament, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup provides the platform for young players to introduce themselves to a global audience, writes Matt Comito.
Young ballers, assemble.
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is football on a global stage – and that stage is set for the best players on the planet to stake their respective claims to be the star of the show.
But joining the players at their peak and in their prime are the rising stars looking to showcase their special talent. By the end of the tournament, a smorgasbord of brilliant young footballers will have properly introduced themselves to millions of fans around the world.
You may know some of these emerging players – but before the World Cup action begins, familiarise yourself with a list of 22 of the brightest and best young players under the age of 22 set to descend on Australia and New Zealand for the showpiece event.
TOP 10 TO WATCH
Linda Caicedo (Colombia)
- Age: 18
- Club: Real Madrid
Linda Caicedo is Colombia’s astonishingly talented teenage superstar, and arguably the most exciting young player preparing to take part in the World Cup. Keep an eye on Group H as the 18-year-old Real Madrid jewel looks to set the group stage alight.
Caicedo made her domestic debut for Colombian club America de Cali aged 14 in 2019. She finished the season as the league’s top scorer and helped the club win the title for the very first time. At 14.
She made her international debut for Colombia in the same year, but 2022 was when Caicedo gained international recognition, representing Colombia at the U17 World Cup, U20 World Cup and Copa America all in the same year.
At the U17 World Cup, Caicedo won the Silver Ball as the second-best player at the tournament, scoring four goals – the equal-most of any player at the tournament. At the Copa America, the then-17-year-old was incredibly selected as the Player of the Tournament, helping Colombia reach the final of the continental tournament.
Take a moment to let that sink in: a 17-year-old, regarded as the best player in South America’s prestigious Copa America, in a team that fell to final defeat against Brazil.
Caicedo is a player with an incredibly bright future who could truly explode at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Lauren James (England)
- Age: 21
- Club: Chelsea FC
Lauren James is England’s rising star with an elastic touch who, at 21, has already played for Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea in England’s Women’s Super League.
James is relatively new to Sarina Weigman’s England setup, making her senior international debut in September, 2022 against Austria. But the recipient of the Young Player of the Year award at the 2023 Women’s Football Awards is quickly becoming accustomed to playing on the big stage; in her two seasons at Chelsea, James has won back-to-back WSL titles and after watching on as an unused substitute in her side’s 2022 FA Cup Final triumph, played from the start the following season in front of more than 77,000 fans at Wembley Stadium as Chelsea defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the 2023 instalment of the FA Cup decider.
Salma Paralluelo (Spain)
- Age: 19
- Club: FC Barcelona
Salma Paralluelo is a prized prospect at FC Barcelona who could just as easily have forged a career in athletics if not for her decision to commit solely to football.
From a young age Paralluelo was dedicated to track and field; in 2019 she was the second-youngest athlete competing at the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships, and earned two gold medals later that year at the European Youth Summer Olympic Festival as a hurdler.
But when Barcelona came in for the Villareal prospect in 2022, that was when she turned her attention to football alone. Attracted by the chance to play alongside reigning Ballon d’Or winner and Spain icon Alexia Putellas, the 19-year-old did what she does best in her first season at the club, and hit the ground running.
She contributed to Barcelona’s league title, reaching the UEFA Champions League Final. At international level, Parralluelo has already won both the U17 Euros and U17 World Cup with Spain, as well as the U20 World Cup in 2022.
Watch out for Spain’s exciting teenager tearing up and down the wing at a World Cup venue near you.
Alyssa Thompson (United States)
- Age: 18
- Club: Angel City FC
Alyssa Thompson was just 17 years old when she became the first high school athlete to sign a promotional deal with Nike, alongside her sister Gisele.
In the same year, she replaced Megan Rapinoe in her senior debut for the United States Women’s National Team, before becoming the youngest-ever number one draft pick in the National Women’s Super League.
Thompson is a serious footballing talent; the winger’s speed and clinical touch in the final third are second-to-none in her age bracket. Thompson missed her high school graduation in June but will go to the World Cup as the youngest player in the United States’ squad.
Melchie Dumornay (Haiti)
- Age: 19
- Club: Olympique Lyonnais
Melchie Dumornay is just 19 years of age, but she heads to the World Cup as Haiti’s star.
The Olympique Lyonnais midfielder is one of the key reasons Haiti is taking part in the major tournament, having scored a brace in a playoff against Chile to fire her nation to the World Cup.
It was the latest feat for a teenager who in March of 2022 won Goal’s 2022 NXGN Award as the best young player born after January 1, 2003. Australia’s Mary Fowler came second in the list of 20 young footballers.
Dumornay won the Golden Ball at the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s U17 Championship. She won the Golden Boot in 2020 at the U20 edition of the tournament, before making the best XI at the senior CONCACAF Championship in 2022, as well as earning Young Player of the Tournament honours.
Dumornay hopes that she can inspire a new generation of Haitian footballers.
“I want to be able to open an academy back home in Haiti to provide opportunities to players that I didn’t have myself,” she told Goal.
“Just providing a better environment to the next Haitian talents. I hope to be able to help more players like me come to Europe and just make Haiti a good place to play football overall, for both girls and boys.”
Lena Oberdorf (Germany)
- Age: 21
- Club: VfL Wolfsburg
Versatile central midfielder Lena Oberdorf is already a key figure in the Germany squad at 21 years of age. She’s been part of the international ranks since the age of 12, when she made her debut for the U15 German national team in 2014.
Oberdorf is no stranger to major tournaments; in 2016, the 14-year-old was voted “Golden Player” of the U17 World Cup, before venturing to the 2019 World Cup with the senior squad in France, aged 17.
In 2022 Oberdorf was named Young Player of the Tournament at the UEFA Women’s Championship, as well as earning an inclusion in the Team of the Tournament. At the end of the year, she was included in FIFA’s FIFPRO Women’s World 11.
The VfL Wolfsburg star will figure prominently for World No.2 Germany at the World Cup. Her ability to play in multiple positions across the park makes her such a crucial asset to one of the tournament favourites.
Mary Fowler (Australia)
- Age: 20
- Club: Manchester City
Mary Fowler is the face of the next generation of Matildas.
The 20-year-old comes into the World Cup after a rocky season at Manchester City, struggling for match minutes after her move from French club Montpellier. Despite a stop-start campaign in England, Fowler will undoubtedly play a vital role for Australia at the World Cup.
Fowler is no stranger to the world stage, having ventured to the 2019 World Cup as a 16-year-old in 2019, and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. With all eyes on Matildas captain Sam Kerr, it could very well be Fowler who comes into her own as Australia’s not-so-secret World Cup weapon.
Maika Hamano (Japan)
- Age: 19
- Club: Hammarby IF
There are a number of talented young players heading to Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup – but no name leaps off the page quite like Maika Hamano, the Chelsea FC teenager who wrote headlines at the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2022.
Hamano led Japan to the U20 World Cup Final off the back of a scintillating individual tournament. She scored four goals to go with one assist to finish as the second-top scorer, but trumped all others in the race for the Golden Ball, awarded to the player of the tournament.
Hamano heads toward the World Cup after a stellar season on loan at Hammarby with Matildas midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross, where together they won the Swedish Cup. Hamano was the club’s leading scorer in 2022-23 with 10 goals, providing three assists.
Lauren Hemp (England)
- Age: 22
- Club: Manchester City
You need only to read the list of achievements on England forward Lauren Hemp’s footballing CV to realise why the 22-year-old is so highly rated among the ranks of the Lionesses.
Hemp has been recognised as the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year on four occasions (2017-18, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22).
The Melbourne City starlet has earned a spot in the PFA WSL Team of the Year twice (2020-21, 2021-22) and was adjudged England’s Young Player of the Year in 2017. Hemp has represented England at the 2018 U20 Women’s World Cup and 2022 UEFA European Championship, where the Lionesses recorded an historic tournament triumph on home soil.
Her first four goals for England all came in the same game: a simply ridiculous 20-0 win over Latvia in November 2021. This is an impressive young player who knows how to find the back of the net with ease.
Milly Clegg (New Zealand)
- Age: 17
- Club: Wellington Phoenix
Stand back and watch this Phoenix prospect soar.
Milly Clegg is just 17 years old, and if her debut campaign at Wellington in the Liberty A-League is anything to go by, the Football Fern is a player with no ceiling.
2022 was like a dream for the teenager; it began with school football at Mount Albert Grammar, before a stint at Auckland United that led to selection in New Zealand’s squads for both the FIFA U20 and U17 World Cup. High school exams were to follow, before a contract offer from Wellington Phoenix in the A-League Women.
Clegg scored four goals in her first season in the league en route to Wellington’s Members U23 Player of the Year award. Clegg could play and score at her third World Cup inside 12 months, after achieving the feat at both the U17 and U20 editions last year.
12 MORE RISING STARS TO WATCH
Kyra Cooney-Cross (Australia)
- Age: 21
- Club: Hammarby IF
One of Australia’s midfield lynchpins. Looks set to partner Katrina Gorry in midfield from the start of the tournament, buoyed by a brilliant campaign in Sweden with Hammarby.
Cooney-Cross is set to feature in her first World Cup, and will be entrusted with one of the key roles in the Matildas’ unit. Fans of the Liberty A-League will know all too well what this young gun is capable of.
Francisca Nazareth (Portugal)
- Age: 20
- Club: Benfica
Portugal’s 18-year-old striker scoring for fun in the Campeonato Nacional for Benfica, where she has won three-consecutive league titles. ‘Kika’ was recognised among the top 10 nominees in the 2022 ‘Golden Girl’ award, distributed annually by Italian newspaper Tuttosport to the best U21 player in the world.
Nazareth represents both the present and future of the Seleção at her nation’s very first Women’s World Cup.
Jordyn Huitema (Canada)
- Age: 22
- Club: OL Reign
Debuted for Canada at the age of 15, and had her very first international goal just three months later to become Canada’s youngest-ever goalscorer. The former Paris Saint-Germain striker won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 and has long been considered a generational talent; now she’s 22 and eyeing more silverware at the World Cup.
Kathrine Møller Kühl (Denmark)
- Age: 19
- Club: Arsenal FC
A standout talent at one of the biggest clubs in Europe, Arsenal’s Kathrine Møller Kühl finished seventh in Goal’s 2022 NXGN list of best teenager footballers. The midfielder is in the process of establishing herself as a crucial member of Arsenal’s first-team squad, and could accelerate her growth in the world game with a breakout World Cup campaign.
Selma Bacha (France)
- Age: 22
- Club: Olympique Lyonnais
With Matildas star Ellie Carpenter bombing up and down the wing from right-back for Olympique Lyonnais, fellow young defender Selma Bacha does the same down the left for the French footballing powerhouse.
Bacha has won a mountain of trophies at 22, is an expert at crossing and registers assists for fun operating either at left-back or further afield in a wing role.
Sophia Smith (United States)
- Age: 22
- Club: Portland Thorns FC
In 2020, Sophia Smith became the first player born in the 2000s to debut for the United States. The Portland Thorns striker was named US Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2022 having led the national team in goals scored (11), winning the NWSL MVP and Championship to boot.
Laurina Fazer (France)
- Age: 19
- Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Laurina Fazer is PSG’s 19-year-old rising star, a two-time recipient of the UNFP Young Player of the Year award who captained France at the 2022 FIFA U20 World Cup. At the 2022 Sud Ladies Cup – the women’s edition of the Maurice Revello Tournament – Fazer was named in the tournament’s best XI.
Jule Brand (Germany)
- Age: 20
- Club: VfL Wolfsburg
Former Hoffenheim coach Jurgen Ehrmann once said: “You never know what Jule Brand is going to do next”. It’s a testament to the winger’s development on both the domestic and international stage in Germany. Brand was named European Golden Girl by Tuttosport in 2022, and together with Lena Oberdorf is one of two of the most exciting young talents of a new generation playing alongside one another at VfL Wolfsburg.
Bruninha (Brazil)
- Age: 21
- Club: Gotham FC
Bruninha is an emerging leader among the Brazilian ranks. The captain of her nation’s U20 World Cup squad in 2022, the 21-year-old right-back from NWSL club Gotham FC is an exciting young talent among plenty of experienced heads.
While at Brazilian powerhouse Santos FC, Bruninha was recognised as “the revelation” of the Brasileirão Feminino, winning the Bola de Prata in 2021.
Aoba Fujino (Japan)
- Age: 19
- Club: Tokyo Verdy Beleza
There’s ample reason to get excited when assessing the next generation of Japanese footballers, and Aoba Fujino is one of the leading lights of what’s to come. The Tokyo Verdy Beleza winger has shone through her first two seasons in Japan’s WE League. Keep your eyes peeled for both Fujino and fellow 19-year-old Maika Hamano (mentioned above) to make a splash at the World Cup.
Julie Blakstad (Norway)
- Age: 21
- Club: Manchester City
Manchester City prospect Julie Blakstad earned a big move to the WSL in 2022 after catching the eye in Norway. In 2019 she earned the Norwegian Toppserien Breakthrough of the Year award. She was nominated as the league’s player of the year in 2020 and 2021, earning Young Player of the Year honours in 2021 as well as a place on UEFA’s list of 10 footballers to watch.
Jayde Riviere (Canada)
- Age: 22
- Club: Manchester United
In the city of Markham, Ontario, every August 6 is “Jayde Riviere Day”. That’s how much of an impact the 22-year-old Canadian international has had in her home town.
Riviere is an Olympic gold medallist, having contributed to Canada’s triumph at Tokyo 2020. She joined Manchester United in 2023 from US side AFC Ann Arbor to continue her hone her craft. Riviere made her debut for Canada at just 16 and has since become a key piece in the puzzle for the seventh-ranked nation in the world.