Is it really the best What may have been a World Cup in history is debatable, but in any case the tournament in Australia and New Zealand was one that for four weeks was characterized by systems and collectives rather than individuals. In the midst of numerous teams that were successful as a unit, the SZ found eleven players who stood out with goals, saves, passes – and with signs that they set on the field.
Goal
Zecira Musovic
As disappointed as Zecira Musovic seemed after Sweden’s elimination in the semi-finals, she honestly agreed with a reporter’s thesis: “Yes, for me personally it was a good tournament,” said the 27-year-old, who was Chelsea’s number two at the World Cup traveled and will return from Australia with the title “World Champion Conqueror”. In the round of 16, Musovic was more or less solely responsible for the elimination of the USA with countless saves, before and after she was the safe support of one of the best defensive lines of the tournament. Strong on the line, good on the ball – and equipped with a healthy self-confidence in interviews, that’s how Musovic is remembered. However, it is hard to imagine that someone like her would not be the first goalkeeper in her club in the future.
defense
Nouhaila Benzina
The 25-year-old defender watched Morocco’s 6-0 draw against Germany from the bench, but Nouhaila Benzina then made her historic debut against South Korea: she became the first footballer to wear a hijab at a World Cup. Wearing the Muslim headscarf has been allowed at Fifa since 2014 and became an important symbol at an important game: The 1-0 marked the first World Cup victory for Morocco and the first ever by an Arab nation. Benzina made a decisive contribution to this with her resolute duel – and has become a role model for many. With the subsequent round of 16, she and her team also stood for the upswing of an entire continent: out of four African participants, three made it into the last 16 with Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco.
Amanda Ilestedt
Amanda Ilestedt still had a chance, but Sweden’s penalty in the match for third place was taken by Fridolina Rolfö – which is why her colleague from central defense was just not named the tournament’s top scorer. A bronze medal comforted Ilestedt, it is her second after 2019 and once again she was one of the best players in the tournament. Not only because of her four goals from set pieces, which brought her a lot of attention, but also because Ilestedt is representative of the qualities of the Swedes: Physically dominant, she defended together with Magdalena Eriksson and was otherwise one thing above all: helpful to the team. This is shown not least by the fact that she didn’t even call for the penalty – and Ilestedt still prefers to score goals from an even shorter distance.
Wendie Renard
With her 1.87 meters and the experience from 150 international matches, Wendie Renard stood out once again, hardly any team could find a way against her aerial superiority. France’s central defender headed in after a set piece and orchestrated the defense – but she couldn’t prevent the next tournament disappointment either. France is the only nation to have reached at least the quarter-finals of every European Championship or World Cup in the past 15 years, but after the historic penalty shoot-out against Australia, the title dream came to an end again despite the high individual quality. Nevertheless, there was an upswing: Before her fourth World Cup, the 33-year-old captain had given the impetus for a change of coach with a revolt. Under Hervé Renard, the French then played freely – with the prospect of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
midfield
Aitana Bonmati
Pep Guardiola has not yet been noticed as a commentator on what was happening at the World Cup, but when asked about Aitana Bonmatí a few days ago, he went into raptures: “I’m in love with the way she plays football.” She is the “Iniesta of women’s football” and anyone who knows Bonmatí a little knows that that was the most important compliment of her career – Guardiola’s Barça with Iniesta in the center finally encouraged her to play football. Now she followed in the footsteps of her idol: she dominated pitches from Wellington to Sydney at will, set the rhythm of the Spanish game and scored three remarkable goals. And rightly so, she was named the best player of the tournament – not even Iniesta managed to do that when Spain won the 2010 World Cup.
Teresa Abelleira
What would Iniesta have been without Sergio Busquets – and what would Bonmatí have been without Teresa Abelleira. Somewhat surprisingly, the 23-year-old from Real Madrid played in the starting eleven right from the start, just like striker Salma Paralluelo (awarded as the best young player of the tournament) she was never given credit for such a dominant role. But the surprise didn’t last long: Abelleira was the ordering hand in the defensive midfield in the Spanish game. Her precise lateral shifts were wonderful to watch and a crucial element on the way to the world title, not least in the final, where she started the 1-0 in exactly this way – and then resumed her reserved role. Abelleira just loves it, even at the victory celebration: While her colleagues from FC Barcelona were taking a photo, she kept her distance and smiled at the scene from a distance.
Georgia Stanway
He’s a little behind but this World Cup might have been very different for England if Georgia Stanway hadn’t opened it with a penalty. Only on the second attempt after a VAR decision did the 24-year-old from FC Bayern score 1-0 in the narrow win against Haiti – and then remained constant for four weeks. With players falling all around her – including designer Keira Walsh and attacking player Lauren James – Stanway took on all sorts of roles in turn: defending, attacking and saving England several times in tight games. Only the story with the penalties remained a shortcoming: your penalty shoot-out miss in the round of 16 against Nigeria almost ended the World Cup for England prematurely.
Linda Caicedo
Sometimes Linda Caicedo disappeared during a game. When she reappeared, her moves, sprints, dribbling and shooting were all the more impressive. Against Germany, for example, the Colombian danced the defense, only to be followed by a fine conclusion. The 18-year-old scored twice in this tournament, which was her third in a year after the U17 and U20 World Cups, and on the third continent at that. While the Colombians were known even before the World Cup for maintaining a very robust style of play, Caicedo impressively mixed in the playful element. Those who spoke about her often described her as a “phenomenon”. In Europe she should be seen more often in the future: Caicedo has switched to Real Madrid.
attack
Hinata Miyazawa
The tournament’s top scorer was no longer present for the final, but her tears may have dried up by then: Sobbing, the Japanese Hinata Miyazawa gave an interview after the quarter-final defeat by Sweden, then she had to leave – which was almost forgotten turned out that Japan was the most dominant team in the World Cup until the round of 16. Miyazawa alone scored five goals, always in the same way: a long pass, a fast run, a perfect finish, that was her style of play that only Sweden could stop. It was still enough for an individual award: the golden ball for the best goal scorer will still be delivered to her.
Sam Kerr
In the first few days, a lot revolved around her injured calf. Ironically, the record goalscorer and currently probably Australia’s most popular sportswoman fell out. But even without their superfigure, the hostesses grew from outsiders to co-favourites. From the closing stages of the round of 16, Kerr was fit again and further sparked the already enormous enthusiasm for the “Matildas”.. Her shot from 24 meters in the semi-final against England should be remembered above all: precise, determined, untenable. The 29-year-old later had the best opportunities, but perhaps the pressure was too great in the end – for Kerr, after fourth place against Sweden at this World Cup, one thing counts above all when looking at Australian football: “Hopefully this is the start of something new.”
Lauren Hemp
Lauren Hemp has been the focus of attention several times at this tournament. The 23-year-old had scored three goals before the final and prepared others. Of particular importance: Her goal to make it 2-1 in the semi-final win over Australia and her clever and fine assist to make it 3-1 by Alessia Russo. After that, she gave the clear goal “title”, which the English women had come with anyway. But nothing worked against Spain and then bad luck struck: Hemp hit the crossbar in the 16th minute.