Women's football

England will be without Leah Williamson for Friday's huge Women's World Cup qualifying clash with Spain, after the Lionesses captain pulled out of Sarina Wiegman's squad on Monday. It's a major blow for the European champions and one of two withdrawals they are having to deal with, all while Lauren James' fitness is in doubt.

What a season it has been for European women's football. The Champions League campaign was certainly a memorable one, with some thrilling ties throughout the knockout stages and an enthralling introduction to the league phase format, with stars aplenty shining on the biggest stage before Barcelona beat Lyon in the final.

On Sunday, Brighton will play in the Women's FA Cup final for the very first time, taking on Manchester City as they look to win the club's first major trophy, with neither the men nor the women having lifted one before. It will be an historic occasion for the Seagulls and they will be the underdogs, but there are plenty of reasons to believe that they can cause an upset at Wembley.

Barcelona have officially confirmed that defensive stalwarts Mapi Leon and Ona Batlle will depart the club when their contracts expire at the end of next month. The news marks a significant shift for the European champions, coming just days after club legend Alexia Putellas also announced her intention to seek a new challenge away from Catalunya.

Man City's FA Cup hero Khiara Keating has reflected on an up-and-down season as she prepares to make her Wembley debut this weekend. The England goalkeeper has struggled for opportunities in the Women's Super League but has been ever-present in the FA Cup, with a huge save in the dramatic semi-final win over Chelsea helping to secure City's place in Sunday's final against Brighton, where the 21-year-old will hope to make her mark again.

Two years ago, as her Manchester City contract prepared to expire, the possibility of Lauren Hemp leaving the club appeared very real. Barcelona were heavily-linked with the England star, and time was running out for City to keep hold of a player they had watched blossom into one of the best wingers in Europe, after joining as a 17-year-old. But in the end, Hemp would stay, and as she speaks to GOAL as a first-time Women's Super League champion, she's extremely happy she did.

Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas has officially been named the 2025-26 UEFA Women's Champions League Player of the Season. The Spanish midfielder reclaimed her status as the finest player on the continent following a sensational knockout campaign that saw the Blaugrana secure their fourth European title.

Plenty of American stars have played in Europe's premier competition but those who have won it make up quite an exclusive club

Redemption. That's what Barcelona were looking for in Oslo on Saturday. After losing the Champions League final last year, the Catalans were back in the showpiece event 12 months on and they got what they were after and then some, beating eight-time winners Lyon 4-0 to emphatically reclaim the status of champions of Europe.

Barcelona claimed their fourth Women's Champions League title on Saturday evening, as two goals apiece from Ewa Pajor and Salma Paralluelo allowed the Catalans to beat eight-time winners Lyon 4-0 in Oslo. It was Pajor's sixth final, with her having lost the previous five. But the Poland international finally got her hands on that UWCL trophy this year, grabbing the headlines in the process.

Melchie Dumornay has always had something special. After catching the eye of then-Reims manager Amandine Miquel at the 2018 Under-20 Women's World Cup, the Haitian prospect would sign for the French club three years later, when she turned 18. Within weeks, Miquel had no doubts. "This is going to be one of the best players in the world in the next few years," she declared. Fast forward to today and Miquel has already been proven right.

When Barcelona were crowned Liga F champions for a seventh successive season back in April, Clara Serrajordi, the 18-year-old who played all 90 minutes in the crowning win over Espanyol, didn’t realise that the club hadn’t always enjoyed such consistent success. "In the early years, we didn’t win league titles, so we have to value this a lot,” Patri Guijarro said. “I was telling Serrajordi this and she was surprised."

For the fourth time in seven years, Lyon and Barcelona will go head-to-head in the Women's Champions League final on Saturday. The eight-time winners and three-time winners, respectively, are developing something of a rivalry in Europe's premier competition, with this season providing further support to the belief that they are the two best teams in the women's game right now.

When Barcelona won their seventh successive Liga F title last month, Alexia Putellas was reminded of the many doubts that were raised about her team prior to the season. Financial restraints produced serious obstacles in the transfer market and prevented the club from building the sort of squad one would hope for when competing on four fronts, leading many to wonder how they would fare this season, especially in the Champions League. That the Catalans are back in the final on Saturday and just one win away from a quadruple, then, is quite the rebuttal.

Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw has been crowned the Women's Super League Player of the Season following an exceptional domestic campaign. The prolific forward also secured the Golden Boot after netting 21 goals in 22 appearances to guide her team to a first league title in a decade.

Ella Toone is back in the Lionesses squad for the first time in 2026 after recovering from a hip injury that has forced her to miss England's last two camps. Aggie Beever-Jones has also returned to the fold to offer another timely boost to Sarina Wiegman's side, as they prepare to face Spain in a decisive World Cup qualifier next month.

Who's hot? Who's not? GOAL ranks each of the current 16 National Women's Soccer League teams.