Who is the best teenager playing in the NWSL? Ranking every player 19 and younger

The floodgates haven't opened wholly to teenage signings successful the NWSL, but they are nary longer truthful uncommon that the specified property of a subordinate turns heads.

The NWSL inactive lacks a unified academy system, but with the college draught being abolished and combines -- including a younker combine to scout endowment arsenic young arsenic 13 -- property is not holding recruitment backmost arsenic it did successful years past. Now, much teams are progressively identifying young players who tin marque a quality -- and respective already are, successful large ways. So we've again ranked each subordinate successful the league property 19 and nether -- including those connected inbound and outbound loans -- to look astatine who's got adjacent successful 1 of the champion leagues successful the world.

The champion of the clump person already cracked into their elder nationalist teams. Others are tearing it up astatine the younker planetary level, oregon dilatory chipping distant astatine increasing into their aboriginal selves.

Several of the stars successful the making from last year's U19 rankings person aged retired of this category: U.S. women's nationalist squad stars Alyssa Thompson, Jaedyn Shaw and Olivia Moultrie, and Japan planetary Manaka Matsukubo person each since turned 20. (Thompson near the NWSL successful September successful a blockbuster transportation to Chelsea, anyway.)

Still, determination are 4 much teenagers successful the NWSL's excavation this twelvemonth than successful past year's ranking. Who is the champion close now? And who has shown imaginable for the future? Let's get to it.

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21. Zoe Matthews

Age: 18
Position: Defender
Club: Houston Dash (on indebtedness with Dux Logroño)
Country: USA

Matthews is connected indebtedness successful Spain until June 30, 2026, which the Dash anticipation volition let the 18-year-old to summation the indispensable minutes to measurement into a bigger relation with Houston travel adjacent summer. She's a regular with the U.S. younker nationalist teams aft grooming with Jamaica's elder squad successful the past.

20. Katie Scott

Age: 18
Position...