Top Performing Female Footballers in Europe According to Wyscout Data

Women’s football has taken enormous strides in recent years. Increased professionalism and quality across the board has seen a surge in popularity, with average spectator numbers and viewership improving year-on-year.

The Champions League final between Barcelona and Wolfsburg was testament to the progress the game has made. In front of a sell-out 34,100 crowd at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, Barcelona came from two goals down to beat their German opponents 3-2 in a thriller befitting the occasion.   

Another sign of the increased professionalization of the women’s game is the growing adoption of video and data analysis, giving teams the edge when it comes to player development, opposition analysis and scouting processes. 

With that in mind, using various metrics available on Wyscout from the 2022/23 league season, we take a look at some of the best performing female players in Europe.

However, given the variations in league sizes and minutes played, by digging deeper into the statistics we can get a more accurate representation of the deadliest strikers in Europe, rather than purely relying on the headline numbers.

Using Wyscout data to analyze the goals per 90, we gain some interesting insights. Unsurprisingly the likes of Daly, Popp, Diani and Chawinga rank highly, with around a goal a game, but despite Redondo’s higher tally both Oshoala and Kundananji’s goals-to-minute ratios are better.

What’s more, there are a number of players whose seasons were disrupted by injury. Chelsea duo Pernille Harder (1.1 p/90) and Fran Kirby (0.98 p/90) were missing for large parts of the title-winning campaign but showed how effective in front of goal they were in the reduced minutes they had on the field.

The same can be said for Barcelona’s Caroline Graham Hansen, who tops the list with 1.24 p/90, and Lyon star Ada Hegerberg - too few minutes to be included - who averaged 2.01 goals per 90 in her end of season cameo. Had these players been available for longer, it’s likely they would have featured among the top overall goalscorers.

With stars of the women’s game like Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema and Ballon D’or winner Alexia Putellas all suffering significant spells on the sidelines, one area that data and technology could make a big difference in is human performance, ensuring that players reduce injury and boost recovery.

Turning our attention from the scorers to the providers, a notable trend is the number of top assisters coming from full back positions. 

Lyon’s rising star Selma Bacha topped the Division 1 Feminine with 9 assists - averaging an outstanding 0.73 per 90 - while Manchester United young Spaniard Ona Batlle’s 10 assists were second highest in the WSL.

Particularly impressive was Batlle’s increased attacking output this season, going from 4 G+A last season to 11 this year, as well as being second highest in the WSL for progressive runs (84), third highest for crosses (107) and fourth highest for progressive passes (216). Departing for Barcelona next season, she will be sorely missed in Manchester.

The Frauen-Bundesliga assist charts were also topped by a full back in the form of Bayern’s Carolin Simon, whose 12 assists placed her one higher than exciting teammate Klara Buhl.

Elsewhere, Guro Reiten stepped up and assumed creative responsibility for Chelsea with 11 assists, the highest in the WSL. Pushed further forward from her usual left wing back role, the Norwegian helped Chelsea to a fourth-consecutive league title under Emma Hayes and her accurate crossing ability - averaging 4.72 per 90 - intelligence and creativity were key to the Blues' success.

Real Madrid’s Caroline Weir showed that she was an all-round contributor with 12 assists, joint highest in Liga F alongside Real Sociedad’s Nerea Eizaguirre. Meanwhile in Italy, Juventus’ Arianna Caruso topped the charts with 10, while AC Milan’s Marta Mascarello posted an impressive 0.58 assists per 90.

Goal Involvements

So which players have contributed the most all round in the 2022/23? Looking at the combined goals and assists totals we see that Alba Redondo’s fantastic campaign places her atop the chart, ahead of Caroline Weir and Tabitha Chawinga. 

It’s interesting to see a number of players, like Weir, ranking highly who were equal parts goalscorers and providers, as shown by the presence of Ramirez, Prasnikar and Reiten.

Dribblers

Capable of getting fans off their seats and making things happen, dribblers always capture the imagination with their technique, bursts of pace and close control. But who were the most effective?

However, is this the best metric to analyze these goalkeepers? For example, for all of Paños’ qualities, she is playing for a side that dominates possession and has an excellent defence in front of her that conceded just 9 times in 30 matches in the Liga F. 

Similarly, it would be unfair to judge the same players on average saves per 90, as they tend to face far fewer shots than teams at the bottom of the table. The measure of prevented goals per 90 can therefore be a useful method in appraising goalkeepers performances.

We can see that some of the standout performers in this metric are Levante’s Andrea Tarazona Brisa, with 0.77 prevented goals per 90, and Leicester City’s Janina Leitzig, who managed 0.7 prevented goals per 90 despite facing 4.61 shots per 90 - the second highest in the WSL. 

The German stopper, on loan from Bayern Munich, was key in the run-in as the Foxes secured survival on the final day of the season, becoming the first WSL side to overcome a seven-point deficit and stay up.

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