Picking your team for gameweek one is always difficult. It’s been a couple of months since the end of the last Women’s Super League season, and while we’ve seen some players in action during the Euros qualifiers and at the Olympics, it’s still hard to work out who is in form going into the new season. Sure, you can make some educated guesses based on who performed well last season, but with a bunch of players both joining and leaving the league since last season, there are loads of new dynamics to take into account.
Of course, that’s where the pre-season friendlies come in. Many of the WSL’s teams have travelled around the world over the last couple of weeks to play teams both inside and outside the league, with more matches to come in the lead up to the season’s start on 20 September. And while some of these matches have been played behind-closed-doors, there’s still been plenty of action on display.
If you want to get really nerdy about it, we’d suggest going back and watching some of these matches to see which players stand out from the crowd. But if you haven’t got time to rewatch the games, we’ve put together this list of some of the players who really stood out during these pre-season matches. You can thank us come the end of gameweek one.
Caitlin Foord
The Matildas may not have made it as far in the Paris 2024 Olympics as they would have wanted, but the disappointment doesn’t seem to have fazed Caitlin Foord. While she stayed off the score sheet during Arsenal’s USA-based friendlies against Washington Spirit and Chelsea, Foord made her presence during Arsenal’s UEFA Women's Champions League First qualifying round match against Rangers by scoring four out of the team’s six goals.
She also assisted Alessia Russo’s goal, meaning she was involved in every in-game goal during the match (the sixth was a penalty scored by captain Kim Little).
Missy Goodwin
Leicester City enjoyed a huge 5-2 win over West Ham during their pre-season friendly in Perth, with five different players getting on the scoresheet. But it was Missy Goodwin’s performance that really stood out; not only did she assist Sam Tierney’s goal by working the ball down the left hand side of the pitch, but she went on to bag her own goal less than ten minutes later – making the score 3-0 before half-time.
Noémie Mouchon
The Foxes’ new signing Noémie Mouchon also made a name for herself during the team’s game against West Ham, assisting Yuka Momiki’s goal to give the team a lead within the first ten minutes and then scoring herself soon after the start of the second half.
At just 21 years old, the former Stade de Reims player is certainly one to watch as we head into the 2024/25 Women’s Super League season.
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s incredible record during the last Women’s Super League season shows no signs of slowing if Chelsea’s pre-season friendly against New York-based Gotham FC is anything to go by. The midfielder netted two goals within the first 15 minutes to put the London side 2-0 until the 31 minute mark, when former Chelsea player Jess Carter tapped one in for Gotham.
In their second pre-season friendly against Arsenal, Rytting Kaneryd also put up an impressive showing with some nice link-up play with Aggie Beever-Jones.
Aggie Beever-Jones
Aggie Beever-Jones has had an incredible pre-season, so we’ve definitely got her eyes on her going into gameweek one. Not only did she score the third goal in Chelsea’s match against Gotham and assist Rytting Kaneryd in the process, but just this week she scored a hattrick in the team’s third friendly against Feyenoord – with all three goals coming in the closing 20 minutes of the match.
Having started two out of Chelsea’s three pre-season friendlies so far, it seems as if Beever-Jones could play a key role in the Sonia Bampastor era.
Images: Getty
