NXGN 2026: The 25 best teenage wonderkids in women's football

The annual NXGN lists are back for 2026, as GOAL ranks the world's top teenage talents in men's and women's football, crowning winners that will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, Lena Oberdorf and Linda Caicedo in being recognised as the best young footballers on the planet.

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  25Aissatou Fall (Aigles de la Medina)

  Despite being just 17 years old when the 2025 edition of the Africa Women's Cup of Nations kicked off, Aissatou Fall was a key player as Senegal made it through to the quarter-finals for just the second time in their history. The teenage centre-back had some huge shoes to fill, with knee problems ruling the experienced Mbayang Sow out of the tournament. But Fall, who had only eight caps to her name prior to AFCON kicking off, did not appear fazed at all.

  Fall played every single minute of Senegal’s tournament in Morocco, helping the Lionesses to keep two clean sheets in four games, including one in the quarter-final clash with South Africa as the holders were taken to penalties. Winning the shootout proved a step too far for Senegal, but it was still a remarkable tournament for the team and for Fall, who would reap the rewards at club level, too, earning a move to national champions Aigles de la Medina in the aftermath.

  A towering presence with composure that belies her years, the 18-year-old is a crucial piece of the future for Senegal, who already have one extremely bright spark down the other end in Galatasaray striker Hapsatou Malado Diallo.

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  24Yu Jong-hyang (Naegohyang Sports Club)

  North Korea’s place in women’s football continues to fascinate. After winning both the Under-17 and Under-20 Women’s World Cup in 2024, the nation retained their title in the U17 tournament in 2025, with Yu Jong-hyang the star of the show. In just seven games, the 16-year-old produced a remarkable eight goals and three assists, including both strikes in the semi-final win over Brazil.

  Scooping up three Player of the Match trophies on her way to the Golden Boot, it was no surprise to see the forward also collect the Golden Ball, even if her strike partner, Silver Ball and Silver Boot winner Kim Won-sim, also deserved plenty of praise. Yu’s ability to score and create was devastating for all comers in the tournament in Morocco, and it will not be a surprise to see her take her incredible technical and instinctive talents up to the U20s and, all being well, the senior team in due course.

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  23Winfrida Gerald (JKT Queens)

  There’s been plenty to shout about in Tanzanian women’s football in recent years, and lots to be excited about for the future. The African nation were one of the stories of the 2022 U17 World Cup, beating France on their way to a quarter-final on tournament debut, and the senior national team have just qualified for back-to-back editions of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time, with a very young squad.

  Winfrida Gerald was one of nine teenagers who formed part of Tanzania’s 2024 AFCON campaign, and she stands out as one of the most promising, if not the most promising, of that up-and-coming group. The versatile goal-getter first marked herself out as one to watch back in 2023, when she became the youngest scorer in CAF Women's Champions League history at just 15 years old, and what she has done since has only served to further underline her talent.

  A key member of the JKT Queens side that has won national titles in two of the last three seasons, and qualified for continental competition after both triumphs, Gerald is now making strides to establish herself as an important player for a national team that has plenty of fascinating youth prospects in its ranks.

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  22Giulia Galli (Roma)

  Giulia Galli spent 2025 showcasing the qualities that make her one of the most highly-rated young goal-scorers in the women’s game. After netting three times in four games at the U17 Euros, she got another five for Italy at the U17 World Cup, picking up the tournament’s Bronze Boot for her efforts. Unsurprisingly, she’s since been bumped up into the U19s squad and, as anyone who has observed her qualities might’ve expected, she’s continued to thrive in front of goal.

  At club level, opportunities have not yet been as easy for Galli to come by. Playing for Serie A giants Roma, winners of two of the last three league titles, her minutes have been limited. But it says a lot about what she can, and does, offer from the bench that Roma have chosen to keep the 18-year-old around the first team, rather than sending her out on loan.

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  21Habiba Essam (Al Ahly)

  Nothing illustrates how exciting a talent Habiba Essam is better than the fact that in September 2024, when she was still just 17 years old, Al Ahly signed the goal machine on a three-year contract worth over one million Egyptian pounds. In the time since, Essam has more than justified that milestone move, scoring at a remarkable rate and earning a nomination to the Egyptian Women’s Premier League’s Team of the Year in her first season at the club.

  The teenager is starting to make a similar impact with her national team, too. After debuting for the Cleopatras in late 2023, aged 16, Essam scored two vital goals to help her nation progress to the final round of qualifying for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, though they would eventually fall short against an experienced Ghana side.

  A skilful and natural goal-scorer who can find the back of the net in a variety of ways, Essam’s early exposure to the senior game is certainly benefitting her development.

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  20Laura Berry (Rangers)

  The Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) has proven itself to be a fantastic environment for young players to breakthrough and develop in recent years, be they homegrown talents or players from other nations whose parent clubs have recognised as much. From that huge crop of exciting local-based youngsters, Laura Berry has marked herself out as one of the most promising.

  One only has to look at the 18-year-old’s goal-scoring record to understand the fuss. In the 2023-24 season, aged 16, Berry scored nine goals and provided three assists in just 12 games on loan at a Motherwell side that finished eighth in a 12-team league. The following season, she was even more prolific after re-joining the club temporarily, reaching 11 goals and two assists in just 10 games, before Rangers realised they needed to recall the teenager and have her match-winning qualities at their disposal.

  In her first full campaign with her parent club, Berry is proving that she has plenty to offer. Her brace in the dramatic SWPL Cup semi-final win over Celtic was a particular highlight this season, coming on top of what is already yet another double figure goal-scoring league campaign. It can’t be long until this versatile and hard-working attacking talent is given her chance with Scotland at senior international level.

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  19Kaylee Hunter (AFC Toronto)

  When AFC Toronto announced the signing of 17-year-old Kaylee Hunter prior to the inaugural season of the Northern Super League (NSL), Canada's first professional women's soccer league which launched in 2025, they did so with the words, 'a name you'll want to remember'. It's fair to say that aged quite well.

  Ten months later, Hunter had rattled in 16 goals in 25 appearances, two short of the Golden Boot-winning tally, to help Toronto top the regular season standings while earning herself Team of the Year honours and the Rookie of the Year award.

  As the club's introduction showed, Hunter arrived with a glowing reputation. She had been a stand-out for Canada's youth national teams, earning U20 call-ups at just 16, and was crowned the Most Promising Female Player as part of the Vancouver Whitecaps' annual awards in 2024, having joined their development set-up a year earlier. But the ease with which Hunter transferred all of her potential from those environments to the NSL and senior football was incredible, with the free-scoring striker playing a key role in Toronto winning the Supporters' Shield and reaching the final in the play-offs.

  "It's not just her technical ability," Canada head coach Casey Stoney said of the 18-year-old in October, after handing her a first senior call-up. "I think it's her mentality. She's got bite, she's got desire, she's got hunger. She's not scared of the physicality of the game. I think Kaylee's potential is extremely high."

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  18Lola Brown (Chelsea - loan at Crystal Palace)

  There’s a lot you can say about what makes Lola Brown such an exciting young talent for England and for Chelsea. A direct, quick and skilful winger who can play on either flank, such is her ability to use both feet brilliantly, Brown impressed in cameo appearances with the Blues last season, particularly with her surprisingly good end product for a player so young and inexperienced at the highest level.

  Now, she’s on loan in the second-tier with Crystal Palace, experiencing more of the physical side of the sport which will surely help her develop the strength and toughness that will be needed to take on full-backs at the top of their game.

  Perhaps the biggest endorsement of Brown’s potential came when Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor, the first woman to win the Champions League as a player and a manager, said that the teenager “has the right mentality” to be successful.

  “I think you have this on yourself,” she explained. “If you don't have this mentality, it's really difficult to teach that to someone. I think Lola has all this winning mentality, this ruthless mentality.” Combine that with her physical talents and it’s no wonder Bompastor believes the 18-year-old is “one of the most talented young players for England”.

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  17Indiana dos Santos (Sydney FC)

  When Sydney FC announced that Indiana dos Santos had signed a new contract last year, their headline dubbed her 'Australia's brightest young talent'. Of course, the Sky Blues would want to big up their own teenage star, but it was still a bold statement given how well the country churns out top young players. That said, Sydney had every reason to be so bullish given the season Dos Santos was having.

  After becoming the club's youngest-ever player in 2023 when she debuted as a 15-year-old, the teenage playmaker enjoyed a more prominent role with the first team in the 2023-24 season before taking the A-League by storm a year later.

  Crowned Young Footballer of the Year at the division’s end of season awards, Sydney boss Ante Juric described his side as being "extremely fortunate" that Dos Santos had committed herself to their cause for two more years. The 18-year-old's progress has been interrupted for the moment, owing to a cruel ACL injury suffered in June 2025, but with her strong mentality, there are very few who wouldn’t back this creative young talent to bounce back in style.

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  16Giovanna Waksman (FC Florida)

  The hype around Giovanna Waksman is not going to slow anytime soon. A name on the radar of those in Brazil for a while now, that extended to the United States a few years ago when John Textor, owner of Botafogo, where Waksman was playing in the boys’ teams, arranged for her to move to Florida to train with his FC Florida academy and attend the Pine School, a private prep school in the state.

  With the Pine Knights, the teenager’s numbers read like a typo: In 19 matches last season, she scored 87 goals and assisted another 14! It's little wonder her head coach at Pine, Kelly Hilton-Green, told TCPalm: “I’ve coached girls’ soccer and high school soccer for 25 years and I don't think I've seen anybody stand out from the group as much as her.”

  This past year, Waksman took that world-class potential and work ethic to the global stage. She’d already played at an U17 World Cup back in 2024, but she really caught the eye at the 2025 edition, with three goals and two assists in four games before a knee issue knocked her out of the rest of the tournament. Already linked with eight-time European champions Lyon, it’s going to be fascinating to watch the future of this talismanic 17-year-old unfold.

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  15Laila Harbert (Arsenal - loan at Everton)

  One of the most interesting transfers of last year was that which saw Laila Harbert, Arsenal's talented young holding midfielder, join the Portland Thorns on loan. Portland were in the middle of a season that would take them to the playoffs and they believed the 18-year-old could offer something to aid them in their bigger goal of winning another NWSL Championship. That’s quite an endorsement.

  It was a different experience for Harbert, whose loan spells to that point had come in the English second-tier. Exposed to huge stadiums, packed crowds and the challenges that come with being some 5,000 miles from home at such a young age, what the midfielder took from her time in the U.S. extended beyond the different playing styles she was part of and tasked with coming up against.

  Those are intangible benefits that Harbert will hope can help her develop further as she looks to break into the Arsenal first team. Her loan with Portland and recent involvement with England’s U23s show she is a very talented player for her age, and if she can keep making incremental progress, now on loan at Everton, there could be an opportunity for her to break into the Arsenal side sooner rather than later.

  The Gunners are approaching a changing of the guard moment and a homegrown talent like Harbert, who has been immersed in the club’s culture and style her whole career, would be a prime candidate to come to the fore.

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  14Ranneke Derks (Ajax)

  The Netherlands have an incredibly exciting generation of young talent coming through, something that was particularly prominent in 2025. After winning the U17 Euros in May, the Dutch then reached the final at their first-ever U17 World Cup. As such, it's hard to pick out just a few of their stand-out talents.

  Liv Pennock, Rosalie Renfurm, Aline Weerelts and Lina Touzani are just some of the names that did not make this list that deserve a mention, but it’s impossible not to single out Ranneke Derks, who was crowned Player of the Tournament at the Euros.

  As the Netherlands triumphed on the continent, it was Derks’ goal-scoring that came to the fore, resulting in four strikes in four games. But her ability to be a threat beyond just the traditional spaces a No.9 occupies also stood out, with her dropping into wide areas and providing crucial contributions to the build-up play as well.

  Despite still being only 17 years old, Derks is now showcasing all of that in the Eredivisie with Ajax, whom she joined from PSV ahead of the 2025-26 season. Despite her first year in Amsterdam being interrupted by the U17 World Cup, where she was again a key player for her nation, and game time not being handed to her on a silver platter, Derks is taking full advantage of the opportunities she does get, scoring at a remarkably efficient rate for someone who still has minimal experience at senior level.

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  13Anais Ebayilin (Paris Saint-Germain)

  There’s so much to like about Anais Ebayilin’s game. She is seen by many as more of a defensive midfielder and possesses the qualities out of possession that reinforce the idea that that is her best role. An excellent reader of the game, her positioning and anticipation is remarkable, allowing her to intervene in the best way possible more often than not. She's strong, too, especially for her age.

  But that’s not all there is to Ebayilin. She's brilliant in possession, and that's not just when it comes to playing short passes in neutral areas. The 18-year-old can also drift forward when the time is right and pick up pockets in more dangerous positions, from which she showcases her deft touch and great vision to create chances.

  Those are all traits that have allowed Ebayilin to break into the first team at Paris Saint-Germain, which is no mean feat. She was banging on the door aged 16, before sustaining a devastating ACL injury in a pre-season friendly against Manchester City, just a few months removed from an impressive U17 Euros with France. Fortunately, she has bounced back brilliantly from that cruel obstacle and is making up for lost time, emerging as a regular starter for the Parisians already.

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  12Camila Haro (Atlas)

  Goalkeeper is arguably the hardest position for a young player to break through in. It's not often that opportunities are handed out to teenage shot-stoppers in first-team football, but Camila Haro is getting plenty in Mexico with Atlas, and she is taking her chance with both hands.

  The18-year-old put her talent on the map back in 2024, when she kept three clean sheets at the U17 CONCACAF Championship, won the Golden Glove and helped Mexico reach the final, where only the United States would beat them. Not long after that, Haro would get her first taste of Liga MX Femenil football and then, a year later, the role as Atlas’ first-choice goalkeeper would be hers.

  Las Rojinegras have struggled recently, but that can be good news for an inexperienced shot-stopper who wants to grow and improve. Haro is doing exactly that, regularly standing out as one of her team’s better players, despite results. Now part of Mexico’s U20 squad, it’s also notable that her spot in the U17s has been promisingly filled by Valentina Murrieta, who won the Golden Glove at last year’s World Cup as her nation finished third. Goalkeeper, then, appears to be a position Mexico are well-stocked in for the future.

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  11Miharu Shinjo (Tokyo Verdy Beleza)

  Perhaps the best way to explain just how promising Miharu Shinjo is as a prospect is with the fact that she was dubbed ‘the next Yui Hasegawa’ after her performances for Japan at the U17 Asian Cup back in 2024, which led to her being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

  “I’m absolutely thrilled,” she said in response. “I want to be a player like her who constantly thinks while driving the team forward, using my weapons - my agility and my ability to create my own chances – to shape the game, score goals, and defend too.”

  Two years on, Shinjo continues to prove that such a comparison, although lofty, was not far-fetched. After showing those skills at several youth tournaments, she made her senior debut as a 17-year-old at the start of the 2024-25 WE League season and would end the campaign having played a key role in Tokyo Verdy Beleza’s first league title, crowned the division’s Best Young Player.

  As she continues to back that year up with an excellent sophomore season, it only feels like a matter of time until Shinjo is involved with the Nadeshiko on a regular basis and, at a time when Japanese talent is being exported to the top leagues and teams in the world, attracting the interest of clubs abroad. In fact, it’d be a shock if the 19-year-old wasn’t already on the radar of plenty of foreign teams.

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  10Sophie Proost (Twente)

  Ajax have a lot of the Netherlands’ most exciting prospects in their ranks, but they had to regrettably bid farewell to one of the very best of this up-and-coming crop in the summer of 2024, when a 17-year-old Sophie Proost left for Twente. Opportunities in Enschede were hard to come by at first, but this season the teenager has been brilliant, emerging as a regular starter for the Dutch champions, who are well in the mix for a third successive Eredivisie title and their seventh in eight years.

  It’s not just domestically where Proost has made her mark, either. The entertaining and skilful forward scored three goals in Champions League qualifying to fire the Dutch side into the league phase, and she caught the eye against elite opposition, even if it was a difficult experience in terms of results for her and her team.

  Capable of using both feet brilliantly, making her both a creative and goal-scoring threat from the left wing, Proost also has a good work ethic and has clearly benefitted from her exposure to senior and elite level competition in the last year, something which bodes well for the 19-year-old's future.

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  9Kennedy Fuller (Angel City)

  There is a lot of top young American talent getting the opportunity to shine in the NWSL right now. No fewer than 13 homegrown teenagers hit double figures for appearances in the 2025 campaign, one being Kennedy Fuller. Only three of those players actually played more minutes than Fuller, too, who hit new heights with her performances and match-defining contributions in her second year in the league.

  The young attacking midfielder has been a well-known prospect for a long time. It was over two years ago, when she was just 16 years old, that Fuller signed a name, image and likeness deal with Nike, around the same time she was spending time with a whole host of professional outfits, including the Washington Spirit, Kansas City Current, San Diego Wave, North Carolina Courage and even Chelsea, then coached by current United States boss Emma Hayes.

  Exposure to those environments led Fuller to believe she was ready to step into the senior game, rather than going to college, and what she has done since signing for Angel City a few days before her 17th birthday has only justified her decision. A creative, ambidextrous and goal-scoring playmaker, Fuller's ability to drive at defences when on the ball always stands out, while her versatility and leadership continues to develop at a promising rate.

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  8Luisa Agudelo (San Diego Wave)

  After battling it out with fellow teenager Jimena Ospina for minutes in between the sticks with Deportivo Cali the previous season, Luisa Agudelo emerged as the club’s No.1 in 2025 and showed just why she is one of the best young goalkeepers in the world. The 18-year-old kept seven clean sheets in 14 games as Deportivo won the league, then kept another five in six games as they reached the Copa Libertadores final, where they were beaten only on penalties by Corinthians.

  Agudelo has enjoyed a similarly positive rise at international level in the last year, too. Senior call-ups with Colombia came regularly in 2025, with a debut granted against Japan at the SheBelieves Cup, and it was she who was chosen to be the starting shot-stopper at the U20 continental championship in February, where her five clean sheets helped to secure qualification to the U20 World Cup later this year.

  A confident young 'keeper who commands her area brilliantly, has incredible reflexes and positions herself well, it also says a lot about Agudelo’s character that she has worn the armband in the youth national teams, including in the U20s, despite being one of the younger players in the squad.

  Those traits paved the way for a move to the U.S. in early 2026, when Agudelo signed for the San Diego Wave on a three-year contract.

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  7Trinity Armstrong (San Diego Wave)

  When Naomi Girma moved from the San Diego Wave to Chelsea in January 2025, becoming the women’s game’s first $1 million player in the process, reporting in The Athletic claimed that the NWSL club were "prepared to lose" their world-class centre-back because a week prior, they had signed 17-year-old Trinity Armstrong to a three-year deal. Armstrong had never played a professional match and yet San Diego were confident that she could perform at a level that would cushion the blow of Girma’s departure.

  The club’s trust would be justified over the course of the 2025 NWSL season. Of course, Armstrong is not yet at Girma’s level, but what she has shown already is extremely exciting. She settled into the team seamlessly, starting 18 games as the Wave made the playoffs with one of the better defensive records in the division, and scored her first professional goal to decide an all-California clash against Bay FC in the 95th minute.

  It’s not just in San Diego that there will be excitement over Armstrong’s incredible composure, strong defending and ability in possession, either. The centre-back was ever-present as the United States finished third at the 2024 U17 World Cup, helping her nation keep four clean sheets in six games to secure its best result at the tournament since 2008 - the year after she was born. As Hayes continues to give the next generation of top American talent a chance in the senior national team, Armstrong is sure to be on her radar.

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  6Aiara Agirrezabala (Real Sociedad)

  Spain has so much exciting young talent at its disposal, as evidenced by the great results the youth national teams continue to have at major tournaments. In 2024, when the U17s Euros was won for the fifth time, plenty caught the eye, but the performances of Aiara Agirrezabala were of particular interest. The youngest player in the squad at just 15, the way she played suggested otherwise and earned her a place in the Team of the Tournament.

  Agirrezabala would continue to shine at youth tournaments over the next year, impressing at the U17 World Cup and then the U19 Euros, which Spain also won, before making that daunting leap into the senior game – and thriving. A versatile left-sided player, the 17-year-old has been a regular starter for Real Sociedad this season and she has earned the right to be, standing out as one of their top performers.

  Able to play any role on the left and in a variety of systems, with the wing-back role particularly suiting her well-rounded game, Agirrezabala is technically outstanding, while her ability to be so adaptable is a nod to her high football IQ. Her incredible potential was notably acknowledged in the Basque region last summer, when she signed a new contract with La Real through to 2029, and it is now being recognised nationally as, in February, Agirrezabala was called up to the senior Spain squad for the first time.

  “We're very interested in her getting into the swing of things,” La Roja boss Sonia Bermudez said. Given what the Agirrezabala has shown in her first full season of senior football, it’s no wonder.

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  5Claudia Martinez (Washington Spirit)

  The impact that Claudia Martinez made at last year’s Copa America, at which she was just 17 years old, was incredible. Despite being so young and inexperienced, the forward would score six goals in just five games to earn herself a share of the Golden Boot, making her the youngest player in tournament history to secure the accolade. A hat-trick in Paraguay's opener, a 4-0 win over Bolivia, set the tone for Martinez's summer, which would also feature goals against both eventual finalists, Brazil and Colombia.

  Keen observers of South American women’s football will have been aware of this teenage talent. Martinez had already showcased her skills at youth national-team level, top-scoring as Paraguay triumphed at the U17 continental championships earlier that year, and she already had appearances in the Copa Libertadores under her belt. But she announced herself to the world when given the opportunity in the summer of 2025, demonstrating her wonderful goal-scoring instincts, impressive athleticism and intelligent movement.

  Less surprising is where the high-profile events of that tournament have since taken the now-18-year-old. Martinez signed for the Washington Spirit in January for a fee that ranks among the 10 biggest in the history of the women’s game, with her set to link-up with some elite attacking talent this year, including United States icon Trinity Rodman. It’s a big move, but Martinez’s track record suggests she is more than capable of making the jump.

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  4Clara Serrajordi (Barcelona)

  Most women’s teams would find the situation Barcelona are in too much to overcome. Limited by a difficult financial situation, the Catalans’ squad is nowhere near as big as any team competing on four fronts would want it to be, not least one with their sights set on winning every trophy available. Throw in some key injuries, such as that which has potentially ruled Aitana Bonmati out for the season, and it would shrink the ambitions of most. Barca, though, have a pipeline of young talent that arguably no other women’s team on the planet can compete with.

  Clara Serrajordi is the latest product of La Masia getting the chance to prove that point. After earning a senior debut at the back end of the 2024-25 season, she has since been firmly integrated into the first team and is easing the concerns that came with a lack of summer transfer business and some big injuries.

  Capable of playing any midfield role, she has a remarkable understanding of the game and technical capabilities synonymous with the Barca way, the kind of which allow her to control a game even at 18 years old. That she made her Spain debut back in October, aged 17, and just renewed her Barca contract until 2028 says everything about the impact she's made in her first senior season.

  “It seems like she’s been playing at the top level her whole life, with the way she understands timing, space and the game,” Alexia Putellas, Barca’s two-time Ballon d’Or winner, told Sport of Serrajordi earlier this season. Praise doesn’t get much higher than that.

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  3Felicia Schroder (Hacken)

  Felicia Schroder has been trending in the right direction ever since she made her debut in the Damallsvenskan, the top-flight of Swedish women's football, back in 2023 as a 16-year-old. The young forward managed an impressive three goals and one assist in seven starts that year, before following it up with 12 goals and two assists in 12 starts in 2024. Then, in 2025, she went from being one of the best young players in the league to one of the best players in the league altogether.

  Despite still being only 18 years old, Schroder produced a simply insane 30 goals and nine assists in just 26 matches last year, helping Hacken to win the league title for the first time since 2020. She was named the division's Most Valuable Player, the Best Young Player and Forward of the Year.

  Quick, clever and excellent with both feet, there’s not much Schroder doesn’t have in her locker. She scores the classic No.9 goals, appearing in the right place at the right time for simple finishes while also regularly getting in behind the defence to score one-on-one. But she can also score brilliant goals, thanks to her ability from range and wonderful trickery. The latter, when combined with her impressive eye for a pass, also allows her to rack up the assists.

  Schroder is composed, clinical and sure to be the next Damallsvenskan wonderkid to take those talents to a new level, with Barcelona, Chelsea, Lyon, Wolfsburg and Manchester City all linked. Hacken should be well-compensated when she does eventually leave, too, as the 18-year-old signed a new contract until 2029 just last year.

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  2Lily Yohannes (Lyon)

  Lily Yohannes has enjoyed a simply captivating rise to the top of the game over the last few years, since becoming the youngest player, male or female, to sign a professional contract with Ajax, aged 15. Seven months later, she was starting for the Amsterdam club in the Champions League, becoming the youngest player to do so on the women’s side in the group stages.

  That it was in the Champions League that Yohannes announced herself to the world as one to watch says a lot about her ability to handle pressure and rise to the occasion. As a 16-year-old, she consistently caught the eye as Ajax reached the quarter-finals for the first time, with an international tug-of-war for her services soon breaking out between the Netherlands and the United States, two of the best teams in the world.

  Through it all, Yohannes’ level never wavered. Her elusiveness in possession continued to stand out, as did her passing range, reading of the game and faultless work rate. Those qualities meant that when she did settle her national team future, committing to the U.S, she was able to make her mark instantly, scoring 10 minutes into her debut for the four-time world champions.

  Now taking those qualities up another notch at club level after signing for eight-time European champions Lyon, Yohannes is one of the most thrilling young talents on the planet and the 18-year-old's future development is only more intriguing because of the two powerhouses she is representing. Most would shrink in that spotlight; Yohannes is not like most.

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  1Sydney Schertenleib (Barcelona)

  It’s not often that a talent like Sydney Schertenleib comes along. Signed by Barcelona in the summer of 2024 as a player who would first develop in the B team, it took just weeks for the teenager to make her way into the first team, and it is there that she has remained ever since, regularly making a difference for the three-time European champions in a variety of roles.

  Technically outstanding, Schertenleib’s ability on the ball was best described by Veronica Maglia, her former coach for Switzerland’s U17s, when she told GOAL: "The ball is virtually an extension of her body." The end product when she decides to release the ball is equally stunning, with goals and assists aplenty coming from this incredible 19-year-old.

  Schertenleib came up through the boys’ teams at FC Zurich, broke into the women’s first team as a 16-year-old and, when game time was surprisingly sparse, she showed the club what they were missing in her sole season with Grasshoppers. Soon, she was off to Catalunya, where she is now learning from the likes of Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati as she settles more regularly into a box-to-box midfield role that appears to suit her best.

  Though a small fish in a big pond at Barca, albeit still a valuable player that the club are reportedly keen to tie down for the long-term, it’s different for Schertenleib at national-team level. Despite still being so young and inexperienced, she is already a star player for Switzerland. Fortunately, the forward appears to have the right personality to deal with the pressure that brings, while still boasting big ambitions. 

  “My absolute dream is to win the Ballon d’Or,” she said last year. The biggest compliment that can be paid to Schertenleib is that, based on the evidence so far, there is little to suggest the NXGN 2026 winner can’t achieve such a lofty goal.