Top 100 Female Footballers of 2022: 100-91
Results: 100-91, 90-81, 80-71, 70-61, 60-51, 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1
The voting period for the Top 100 Female Footballers of 2022 was 1st November 2021 – 31st October 2022.
100
Hendrich has been ever present at the back for both Wolfsburg and Germany in 2022. She barely missed a minute of league action last season and has not missed a single one so far this term too. An experienced head with an abundance of defensive qualities, Hendrich was in great form for Germany, particularly during their run to the Euro 2022 final. Very few showed the heart and desire Hendrich had during the tournament and she played a huge role in her team’s success at both domestic and international level throughout this year – with that, she sneaks into the 100 for the first time.
99
The teenager is one of the most exciting young players in the world right now with performances that are living up to the hype. Though not representing one of France’s top teams or one of the top nations in the world, she is still providing the goods, earning a young player of the season nomination in France last season for Reims, while her performances for Haiti at the Concacaf Championship earned her player of the tournament outright. A natural ability to break forward and both score and create goals, Dumornay’s ceiling is sky high and with it she becomes the first Haitian player to make our top 100.
98
Like Melchie Dumornay, Brand is another who can easily be labelled as one of the most exciting young players anywhere in the world right now, tying the Haitian midfielder for points from our judges. With natural skill in abundance, Brand’s performances for Hoffenheim earned her a big move to Wolfsburg over the summer, while simultaneously showcasing her talent in glimpses on the big stage at the Euros. Having turned 20 in October, Brand was the first player to win Tuttosport’s Golden Girl award this year, and like others her ceiling appears to be as high as she wants it to be.
97
Bonansea drops a little in 2022 but her talent and importance to both Juventus and Italy remains the same. She was as disappointed as anyone with Italy’s performance at Euro 2022, where they exited at the group stage, but continues to pop up at big moments as any leader does when called upon, as she showed lately with her goal for Juve against rivals Internazionale. Bonansea ended last season with seven goals and three assists in the league and has three goals so far this season as Juve look to continue their stranglehold on Italy’s domestic scene.
96
Dallmann drops to the edge of the 100 in 2022 but that says more about the rise of others around the world than it does about Dallmann herself. Her importance at club level has just been highlighted by a new long-term contract through to 2026 and she has started the season in great form. Already hitting five goals for Bayern, Dallmann is already close to her tally of seven from the whole of last season, and has grown alongside new signing Georgia Stanway. There is no doubt the midfielder has raised her game to another level early in this campaign.
95
The new Netherlands No 1 was one of the stories of 2022. A peripheral unknown to many heading into the Euros, Van Domselaar was practically a newcomer when Sari van Veenendaal’s injury early in the first game ended her tournament. But the youngster came in and looked like a seasoned pro, making several top saves and kept her spot in the team. She was most impressive against France in the quarter-finals, where despite defeat she kept her side in it with a string of impressive saves and announced herself to the world, and to the attention of our judges, throughout the course of the tournament.
94
If this year’s rankings were based solely off major tournaments, Hegering would not have only been much higher than her ranking of 94, but likely higher than last year too, such was the level of performance at the heart of the Germany defence at the Euros. Her dominance earned her a spot in team of the tournament at centre-back, but before and after her year was ravaged by injuries. She swapped Bayern Munich for Wolfsburg in the summer but did not make her debut for her new club until last month, though did score twice on her first appearance. There is no doubt she would rank as one of the best if she had been fit for more of the year.
93
Sauerbrunn continues to be at the top of her game and not only that but this year returned to the top of the club game as she played an influential role in winning the NWSL Championship with Portland Thorns. With it came a nomination for defender of the year, while at 37 she maintains her spot in the USA defence, despite the progress of Alana Cook and emergence of Naomi Girma. Sauerbrunn has a habit of being able to make games look easy without getting out of first gear and we should cherish her talent while we can.
92
Kumagai drops out of the top 50 and down towards the bottom end of the top 100, but the Japanese legend continues to be superb to watch thanks to the ease with which she can control games. She remains pivotal for her country and while Kumagai still features regularly for Bayern Munich, she has not always been a consistent starter this season. Not a bad player to have on your bench though and in midfield shei remains capable of chipping in with the odd goal and an assist for her team. Always a classy operator.
91
Del Castillo’s fledgling talent was well known within Spain and especially Real Madrid, but the 22-year-old announced herself to the rest of Europe with eye-catching performances at the Arnold Clark Cup when she was a late call-up for Spain. With quick feet and direct play, she is almost a throwback to an old-fashioned winger, someone who can beat her marker all ends up with skill and pace, and few players caused eventual champions England as many problems as Del Castillo during Euro 2022.
The Offside Rule 