Hannah Hampton & Jess Park among four Lionesses in GOAL's WSL Team of the Season so far as Golden Boot front-runner Khadija Shaw leads line

Picking a goalkeeper for this XI wasn't easy because there have been quite a lot of injuries to shot-stoppers across the WSL through the first half of this season. In fact, there are only three in total who have played all 11 fixtures so far, making it justifiable to choose one who has missed a small handful of games, in Hannah Hampton.

Of goalkeepers to have played more than three games, no one has conceded fewer goals this term than Hampton, who has only had to pick the ball out of the back of her net four times in eight appearances, keeping a league-leading four clean sheets in the process. That's not because the England No.1 is sitting behind a defence that doesn't allow many shots, either, as Chelsea are fifth in the league for shots faced and performing significantly worse defensively when compared to last term.

Despite that, Hampton actually leads the league with a sublime save percentage of 85.2, having made the fifth-most saves in the division. The Blues will be desperate to get her back from a quad injury which has sidelined her for their last three league games of 2025, of which the defending champions were able to win just one.

Kerstin Casparij was one of the first names on this teamsheet, with her place in GOAL's XI never in doubt. That's despite right-back being one of the deepest positions in the WSL, a league which features the likes of Lucy Bronze, Emily Fox, Jayde Riviere and Ellie Carpenter. Casparij, though, has been head and shoulders above the competition so far in the 2025-26 campaign, standing out as one of the best players in any position this term.

That quality has been on show mostly in attack, given the nature of Man City's start to the season, with Casparij second in the league for assists, despite being a defender. November's WSL Player of the Month has still provided her team with some vital defensive contributions, though, ranking in the top four in the Cityzens' squad for duels won, interceptions made and successful clearances. She's been excellent.

Another important cog in the City defence has been Jade Rose, who is enjoying an excellent first season at the club. Though capped 35 times at senior international level, the Canada star arrived in England yet to play senior club football at a high level, having spent the majority of her last four years in a college environment. Yet, she has stepped up the challenge impressively well, showcasing the combination of athleticism and technical quality that has made her one of the most highly-rated young defenders in the game.

Still only 22, Rose has settled into life at City so well that she has immediately established herself as a key starter, despite centre-back being one of the team's most competitive positions. Only four players in the league have blocked more shots, with her also in the top four in City's squad for interceptions, clearances and aerial duels won. As for Rose's qualities in possession, of players completing more than 500 passes, only two in the WSL have a greater pass accuracy than Rose's 90.2 per cent. That's another big reason why she is turning into such a success story in Manchester.

Like the goalkeeper position, there have been quite a few injuries to top-performing centre-backs in the WSL this term, making it another tricky position to pick, to an extent. Like City with Rose, though, Tottenham have been reaping the rewards of good transfer business which has allowed them to boast another of the most promising defenders in the league, in Toko Koga.

Spurs signed the 19-year-old from Feyenoord in the summer, with her already boasting top-level experience after representing Japan over 20 times at senior level, including at the 2024 Olympic Games. Koga's progression through the Nadeshiko's youth set-up means she is excellent in possession, particularly with how she is able to carry the ball forward and break the lines.

However, playing for a team that can be the underdog in games, Koga has also proven to be a serious asset when Spurs have their backs against the wall, with only two players in the WSL having blocked more shots than her so far this term.

This season, Manchester United boss Marc Skinner has not been quiet in his belief that Anna Sandberg, the Red Devils' left-back, can become the best in the world in her position. After arriving at the club in the summer of 2024, the young Sweden international has had to be patient, but she has firmly cemented her place as a starter this year thanks to her excellence in defence and attack.

Only two players have delivered more accurate crosses than Sandberg this season, with her boasting a greater success rate than both, while only four players have executed more key passes. In both categories, she is the leading defender. Her one strike in the league this term, meanwhile, was a sumptuous one that secured a valuable point at home to Chelsea. Sandberg has impressed plenty on the other side of the ball, too, with no one in the division winning more tackles than her.

"The ability to play quickly the way that she does, honestly, I think she’s going to be one of the very best in the world," Skinner said earlier this month. It's easy to see why he, and many others, believe that.

After joining Chelsea back in January, it feels like Keira Walsh is now fully integrated into the Blues' set-up and is showing off the world-class qualities she possesses week in, week out. It's never easy to find statistics to best illustrate how impactful a player like Walsh, as a holding midfielder, is, but that she ranks ninth in the division for touches on the ball and passes completed, second in both categories in the Chelsea squad, highlights how central she is to all the Blues do.

Ranking fifth in the division for blocks made, all of Walsh's key individual stats are up from last season, on a per 90 minutes basis. Defensively, the midfielder is making more interceptions, tackles, ball recoveries and clearances per game, while her number of touches and successful passes are also significantly higher.

With Walsh, though, it's often about watching her in action rather than looking at the numbers, which don't illustrate her quality quite as one would like, and to watch Walsh this season is to see a world-class player in great form.

Yui Hasegawa has been insanely consistent ever since signing for Man City and, having arrived as an attacking midfielder, asserting herself as one of the best holding midfielders in the world, adapting to a positional change with remarkable ease. This season, though, the Japan international has been playing a slightly different role, finding herself in more advanced areas and impacting the final third more often under the guidance of new head coach Jeglertz.

"I think she's a very, very clever football player. She's very good in making herself available. She can see where there are spaces to use and she's adaptable to other players. I think that's a very important thing for a central midfielder. So, how can we also release her a little bit higher? How can she be more of a threat, having more final passes, without taking out this role that she has done very well?" Jeglertz said earlier this season, explaining his thinking behind Hasegawa's new role. "So this is a balance of giving a player a little bit more opportunity to go forward, but not losing her identity."

It's returned excellent results so far. Hasegawa is having significantly more shots, making more passes into the opposition's penalty area and driving into the opposition's penalty area at a greater rate than last term, while still having a very similar - and in some cases, better - impact in defence.

There have been a number of impressive performers this season who could've clinched this final midfield spot, with Tottenham's Olivia Holdt and Chelsea's Erin Cuthbert both deserving of honourable mentions. However, it's Laura Blindkilde Brown who completes the trio in the middle of the park, having gone to new levels in her third season with Man City.

The 22-year-old has already matched her tally of league appearances for last season and more than tripled her number of starts, named to Jeglertz's XI in 10 of City's 11 WSL games so far. That's because she has grabbed her opportunities when they have come, despite having competition for her place from the likes of Sydney Lohmann, the established Germany international who signed from Bayern Munich in the summer, and Grace Clinton, a regular with England's Lionesses.

"I have to give credit to Andree for believing in me and giving me the opportunity and just saying ‘play freely’," Blindkilde Brown said earlier this season. Jeglertz's management is working a treat for the young midfielder so far.

There have been quite a few impressive right-sided players in the WSL so far this season, with Man City's Aoba Fujino and Arsenal star Beth Mead both unlucky to be pipped to this place. However, Jess Park has been simply outstanding since swapping the blue side of Manchester for the red, despite also having to contend with the challenge of changing position.

Park arrived at United as a player more used to playing in central areas, but she has excelled since being put on the right wing by Skinner, given the freedom to float inside when she sees fit. It has led to some lovely link-up play with Ella Toone - also unlucky not to make this XI given she leads the WSL in assists - and Park generally becoming a difficult player to stop, because of how she escapes the attention of her marker by moving inside.

With four goals and two assists through her first nine WSL starts for the Red Devils, it's been a great first half of the season for Park, with the continuation of that form to be vital if her team can kick on in the New Year.

Through the first 11 games of the WSL season, Khadija Shaw already has 12 goals, equalling the tally she managed last term in an injury-hit campaign that returned just 10 league starts as she shared the Golden Boot with Alessia Russo, who managed 12 in 21 games. If Shaw can stay fit, the record for a single campaign - shared by Vivianne Miedema and Rachel Daly, who scored 22 in the 2018-29 and 2022-23 seasons, respectively - could even be under threat. You'd be brave to bet against her getting there, really, given the form the City striker is in.

Averaging a goal every 81 minutes, no one has had more shots in the league than Shaw, or more shots on target, with neither stat a big surprise. Less celebrated, though, is the rest of her game. After all, the 28-year-old also has three assists to her name, averaging 0.8 key passes per game despite being the focal point of attack, and her defensive work from the front, and in her own box from set pieces, is invaluable.

Only Shaw has scored more WSL goals so far this season than Melvine Malard, who has really upped her level for United this year. There had been plenty to like about her in the previous two campaigns, the first on loan from Lyon and the second coming after the Red Devils had been encouraged to make that deal permanent. This time around, though, the France international is impressing even more, surpassing her goal tally from last year and matching the one from her first season in Manchester, to set her up for a best return in United colours in the second half of the campaign.

Malard is having significantly more shots and getting on the ball much more in the final third, with her confidence clear in how often she is running at her marker, too. It has all made her an integral part of United's front three this season and one of the most dangerous, and exciting, forwards in the WSL so far this term.