Lea Schüller, Germany
Age 21 Position Forward
Club SGS Essen
Schüller is making her major tournament debut. Having played at under-17, under-19 and under-20 levels, the electric forward was first called into the squad by the former manager Steffi Jones in 2017. She didn’t get the nod for the 2017 European Championship but a change in manager hasn’t halted her rise. The striker has 46 goals in 101 games for her club after making her Bundesliga debut at 16. Now she has eight in 12 internationals, scoring all four in a 4-0 defeat of the Czech Republic in qualifying and giving Germany a neat 1-0 win against France in February.
Aitana Bonmatí, Spain
Age 21 Position Midfielder
Club Barcelona
Bonmatí rose through the youth ranks at Barcelona before reaching the first team in 2016. The technically gifted midfielder has done so despite the Catalan club upping their investment in the women’s side and spending big on players such as Lieke Martens and Toni Duggan. Holding her own, she has been a key part of the team that fought its way to a first Champions League final last month, before suffering a 4-1 defeat by Lyon. Bonmatí made her senior Spain debut against Austria in qualifying and scored her first goal in a 2-1 loss to England in April. At youth level she won European Championship titles at under-17 level in 2015 and under-19 level in 2017.
Georgia Stanway, England
Age 20 Position Forward
Club Manchester City
Stanway captained the under-17 side to a bronze medal at the 2016 European Championship. Two years later she scored six times, beaten to the Golden Boot by Spain’s Patricia Guijarro on assists, on the way to a third-place finish at the Under-20 World Cup. One year on and she is in the senior side for the World Cup. The dynamic forward has 34 goals in 86 appearances for Manchester City and formed a formidable partnership with the outgoing Nikita Parris, helping fire City to a domestic cup double. The England manager, Phil Neville, has experimented with the 20-year-old in the No 10 position usually occupied by Fran Kirby, clearly with one eye on the fitness of his Chelsea playmaker, and Stanway has not looked out of place.
Ellie Carpenter, Australia
Age 19 Position Defender
Clubs Canberra/Portland Thorns
Already a regular for Australia despite her young age. Having made her debut against Vietnam in 2016, Carpenter has racked up 31 caps and has AFC Asian Cup and Olympic Games experience. The pacy right-back became the youngest player in NWSL history when she made her debut for the US powerhouse Portland Thorns in 2018. Shortly afterwards she became the league’s youngest goalscorer, netting the winner against Washington Spirit 22 days after her 18th birthday. The manager, Ante Milicic, has continued to blood youngsters, meaning Carpenter is no longer the baby of the group with the 16-year-old Mary Fowler in the squad.
Khadija Shaw, Jamaica
Age 22 Position Forward
Club Unsigned
“Bunny” Shaw became the Reggae Girlz poster girl in their first successful World Cup qualification campaign in the Concacaf Women’s Championship 2018. Having made her senior debut in 2015 against Dominican Republic, she scored three goals in five to ensure Jamaica became the first Caribbean side to qualify for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Named the Guardian’s footballer of the year for 2018 for the feat while overcoming extraordinary personal tragedy, Shaw capped Jamaica’s preparations with two goals in the 3-2 defeat by Scotland in front of a record Hampden Park crowd for a women’s match. The 22-year-old scored 27 goals in 35 games for the University of Tennessee, is firmly in the shop window and likely to be snapped up by a top NWSL or European side.
Erin Cuthbert, Scotland
Age 20 Position Forward
Club Chelsea
Cuthbert joined Chelsea from the Scottish Premier League’s dominant force, Glasgow City, in 2016. She scored 19 goals on the way to a league winners’ medal and was named player of the year. In 2017 she scored 11 goals to help Chelsea to a league and FA Cup double. This year, while Chelsea have struggled, Cuthbert has shone. The Scot’s battling performances culminated with a blistering goal in a 2-1 defeat by Lyon in their Champions League semi-final first leg which was named UWCL goal of the season. She scored Scotland’s first goal at a major tournament against Spain in the 2017 European Championship where, hobbled by injuries, the side failed to escape the group.
Jun Endo, Japan
Age 19 Position Forward
Club Nippon TV Beleza
Endo is one of 17 in Japan’s squad making a World Cup bow. The forward made her debut at the deep end in Japan’s 2-2 draw with USA at the SheBelieves Cup this year. The 19-year-old scored three goals as Japan finished runners-up at the 2016 Under-17 World Cup. Two years later she scored twice as the under-20 side won a World Cup title. England demolished Japan 3-0 at the SheBelieves Cup but despite their youth, Japan cannot be ignored in the title talk. They won the 2011 World Cup and finished runners-up to USA in Canada in 2015.
Jessie Fleming, Canada
Age 21 Position Midfielder
Club UCLA Bruins
Fleming made her debut for the senior side in 2013 aged 15, becoming the second youngest to play for Canada. Despite her age this is Fleming’s second World Cup. In 2015 she started Canada’s final group game against the Netherlands in front of a 45,420 home crowd and was part of the national team that powered to a bronze medal against Brazil at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She joined UCLA shortly after the Olympics and has recorded 22 goals and 18 assists for the college team where she plays alongside Australia’s Teagan Micah. At 21 she has 65 caps, scoring eight goals, and is vital to Canada’s midfield.
Victoria Pelova, Netherlands
Age 20 Position Midfielder
Club Ajax
Having made a name for herself with ADO Den Haag, Pelova has joined Ajax before the World Cup. While her compatriot Lieke Martens was lighting up a home European Championship, Pelova was shining in Belfast at the 2017 Under-19 European Championship. The now 20-year-old caught the eye of Sabrina Wiegman and was handed her first senior cap in January 2018.
Mallory Pugh, USA
Age 21 Position Forward
Club Washington Spirit
Powerful and pacy, Pugh has scored 16 goals in 53 internationals. Having represented the under-20 team at two World Cups and played with the under-17 side, she made her debut in January 2016 and scored. In 2016 Mia Hamm said of her on Twitter: “Speed kills but technical speed absolutely annihilates defenders. Mallory Pugh is for real.” Pugh scored in the final match of USA’s World Cup send-off series, a 3-0 defeat of Mexico. After joining UCLA on a scholarship she dropped out of college football in ordered to be drafted into the NWSL. With Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath up front, she is unlikely to start, but has proved potent off the bench.
