From Salma Paralluelo to Alyssa Thompson: 10 rising stars in women's football from 2023

It seems that every calendar year we claim the past twelve months to have been huge for women’s football, but there is no doubt that 2023 truly put the women’s game on the pedestal it deserves.

From competitive domestic leagues and fiery continental clashes, to a record-breaking World Cup and qualification for Paris 2024, we have witnessed the very best of women’s football from across the globe.

This year we saw a plethora of talent on display, including the next generation of young players looking to make their mark.

Whilst the FIFA Women’s World Cup was an incredible opportunity for those players to burst onto the scene, these players have been making headlines in their respective domestic campaigns as well.

As 2023 draws to a close, Olympics.com takes a look at the ten rising stars from the past twelve months.

Lauren James

Club: Chelsea FC
Country: England
Position: Forward

Dubbed as the Lionesses next best thing, Lauren James was awarded her chance to shine for her country at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. 

The 22 year-old found the back of the net three times in Australia and New Zealand before receiving a straight red card in England’s Round of 16 game against Nigeria. Despite her absence for two games, the Chelsea forward had already made her mark on Sarina Wiegman’s England team and the world played witness to her incredible capability.

So far, James has had an impressive 23/24 campaign at Chelsea, with boss Emma Hayes labeling her as ‘the most naturally gifted footballer in the country.’

Linda Caicedo

Club: Real Madrid
Country: Colombia
Position: Forward

Much has been said about Linda Caicedo’s inspirational journey thus far. The Real Madrid forward battled to overcome ovarian cancer at the age of 14, and just three years later went onto represent her country in their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup whilst winning Goal of the Tournament.

This year, Caicedo became the first-ever footballer - male or female - to play in an U17, U20 and senior FIFA World Cup within the span of a year. Colombia have also already qualified for Paris 2024, which offers the 18 year-old yet another chance to shine on the world stage.

Despite her young age, she has already solidified her status as one of Real Madrid’s best players and in November 2023 she was awarded the Golden Girl award alongside her Madrid colleague Jude Bellingham who picked up Golden Boy.

Signe Gaupset

Club: SK Brann
Country: Norway
Position: Midfielder

Dubbed the future Ada Hegerberg by Norwegians, Signe Gaupset has had an incredible 2023. 

Towards the end of last year, Gaupset received her big break for SK Brann in the 2022 Norwegian Cup final. At just 17 years of age, she scored twice and set up another to help her club win 3-1 and captured the attention of her nation.

Shortly after the final, she was named as one of UEFA's 10 female footballers to watch out for in 2023 and continued to impress for SK Brann.

Signe Gaupset captained the U17 side at the U17 Women’s European Championships in May 2023 where she scored six goals in three games. She also featured for the U19 side in October 2023 at their respective European Championship competition.

Could 2024 be the year that Signe Gaupset receives her first senior call up for Norway?

Salma Paralluelo

Club: FC Barcelona
Country: Spain
Position: Winger

Salma Paralluelo wrote her name into the global history books this summer when she scored a late winner against the Netherlands to send Spain through to their first ever semi-finals of a FIFA Women’s World Cup. She then scored once more in her nation’s 2-1 semi-final win against Sweden to qualify for the final.

The 20 year-old had already won the U17 EUROS, U17 World Cup and U20 World Cup before she became a world champion at senior level at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.

Despite only joining FC Barcelona in the summer of 2022, Paralluelo has already netted 23 times in 35 appearances for La Blaugrana whilst winning La Liga Feminina and the UEFA Champions League.

With Spain through to the final four of the UEFA Nations League, their chances of Paris 2024 qualification are still alive, and Paralluelo will be keen to make headlines for her nation once again next summer.

Alyssa Thompson

Club: Angel City
Country: United States
Position: Forward

Alyssa Thompson became the second-youngest player to feature for the USWNT at a Women’s World Cup earlier this year.

And although the tournament didn’t finish in a way that the four-time champions would have hoped, there is no doubt of the invaluable experience it would have provided the Angel City youngster.

But Thompson had already been making headlines in America long before her call up to this summer’s competition. Earlier this year, she was selected by Angel City FC as their first overall pick in the NWSL Draft in a three-year deal that made her one of the most expensive players in the league history. 

After a summer to forget for the USWNT, Thompson will be eager to make her mark on her national team at Paris 2024 under new manager Emma Hayes.

Deborah Abiodun

Club: Rivers Angels
Country: Nigeria
Position: Midfielder

Despite missing out on the majority of Nigeria's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup campaign after receiving a red card in the first fixture, Deborah Abiodun has already caught the attention of her nation.

After a successful college career at Pittsburgh in the United States where she managed six goals in 22 appearances, the 20 year-old signed for Nigerian club River Angels in late 2023 before being named as a nominee for the CAF Young Player of the Year award.

2023 saw Abiodun make her senior Nigerian debut, and 2024 could be even bigger. Her nation is set to play at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations and are still in contention for a place at Paris 2024, suggesting that the Nigerian midfielder has a huge twelve months ahead of her.

Kerolin Nicoli

Club: North Carolina Courage
Country: Brazil
Position: Forward

Kerolin Nicoli made the move to the US in 2022, following a stint with CFF Madrid and five years at different clubs in her native Brazil.

After an impressive year with North Carolina Courage, last season she was named as the NWSL’s MVP.

Despite missing out on the NWSL play-offs due to injury, Nicoli managed a career-high of ten goals in 19 games and played a crucial part in her club’s campaign.

Previous NWSL MVPs include Sam Kerr and Sophia Smith which puts Nicoli in good stead as she looks towards her third NWSL season in 2024.

Melchie Dumornay

Club: Lyon
Country: Haiti
Position: Midfielder

At only 20 years of age, Melchie Dumornay has already written her name into her nation’s history books.

When she was just 15 years-old, Dumornay scored all five goals in AS Tigresses’ Haitian Women’s Soccer Championship final 5-2 win against Anacaona SC. That season, she scored 25 goals in nine matches and rightfully won the Best Player award.

Despite being noticed by Lyon at the U20 Women’s World Cup in 2018, she was unable to sign for the club due to her age and complications with the crisis in Haiti.

It wasn’t until 2021 that she was able to make the move over to Europe and joined French club Reims in what was her first professional deal.

She scored 19 goals in 33 appearances for Reims before signing for Lyon earlier this year in a deal that started the same month as she traveled to Australia and New Zealand to represent Haiti at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Although Haiti failed to make it past the group stage, Dumornay put on a worthy performance against European Champions England that got the football world talking.

Having suffered an injury this summer, she is yet to make an appearance for her new club Lyon. But there is no doubt that Dumornay’s career will continue to thrive at one of Europe’s footballing giants.

Hinata Miyazawa

Club: Manchester United
Country: Japan
Position: Midfielder

Hinata Miyazawa’s 2023 has been a year to remember.

The 24 year-old was awarded the FIFA Women’s World Cup Golden Boot award after netting five goals in four games and in doing so was the only non-European award winner at the tournament.

Shortly after the World Cup, Miyazawa made the move from Japan to England and signed for WSL club Manchester United and just a day later, she was named as a Women's Ballon d'Or Féminin nominee.

In November 2023, Miyazawa scored her first goal for Manchester United and she now continues to perform for her club in the highly competitive race to be crowned Champions of England.

Japan are still in contention to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris next year, which will provide Miyazawa with yet another opportunity to impress on the world stage.

Mary Fowler

Club: Manchester City
Country: Australia
Position: Forward/Midfielder

Since Mary Fowler made her Australian senior debut at the age of 15 years of age in 2018, she has gone on to attract interest from some of the best teams in the world.

Despite interest from Chelsea and Manchester City, Fowler signed for Adelaide United in 2019 where she played for a year before moving to Montpellier in France.

Throughout this time, she earned call ups from Australia for the 2019 Women’s World Cup and 2020 Olympic Games. She has so far scored 13 goals for her country at senior level.

It wasn’t until the summer of 2022 that she did sign for Manchester City and just months later was nominated for both The Best FIFA Women's Player and The European Golden Girl Award.

After Matilda’s captain Sam Kerr suffered an injury during the group stages of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Fowler was required to step up and played a pivotal role in her nation’s home tournament campaign.

She scored her first World Cup goal in Australia’s 4-0 win over Canada and set up another goal in their 1-0 win over Denmark.

With both Manchester City and Australia eager to get their hands on silverware next year, Mary Fowler will undoubtedly continue to play an integral part in Tony Gustavsson’s setup.