44. Deyna Castellanos

Off the back of a 2016 Under 17 World Cup which saw Deyna Castellanos score five goals and be nominated as one of the top three players at the tournament, a lot of pressure was put on the 18-year-old in 2017.

Moving from college to Santa Clarita Blue Heat, Castellanos once again defied the odds for someone so inexperienced. The Venezuelan scored the opener in the UWS semi-final which eventually sent her team to the final, losing 3-1 to Grand Rapids FC.

Castellanos was further propelled into the headlines when she was nominated as one of the three finalists in FIFA’s Best awards, alongside Lieke Martens and Carli Lloyd.

Whatever the future may hold for Castellanos, she’s going to have to deal with a lot of pressure, but she has the talent to continue impressing.

Jose Catoya, Venezuela national team head coach says:

“Deyna is a very versatile player for the attack of our national team, she is a player who can be placed in any position, even as a play-maker, on the left or on the right, she has stood out as a forward, but she can also act as a creative midfielder. She has grown in maturity in this past year, after the U-17 World Cup in Jordan, because her work in the United States, with Florida State University, has helped her expand her range of productivity in the field.

“Deyna is a very determined athlete at the time of going to attack, she has an important physical power and is aware of that, that is why she is constantly working to maintain herself in a top state, to remain in the elite, and is extremely intelligent to search and generate goals.”

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⇐ 45. Nahomi Kawasumi

43. Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir ⇒

Top 100 Women’s Footballers of 2017 – Results