Khadija Shaw, Alessia Russo & GOAL's 2025-26 Women's Super League Team of the Season

Arguably the signing of the WSL season, there was no better goalkeeper in the division this year than Chiamaka Nnadozie, who has thrived after arriving at Brighton last summer.

The Nigeria international caught the eye of Seagulls boss Dario Vidosic because of her aggressive positioning, something that has remained a key feature of her game after moving to England. "Knowing that something you love doing is liked by the coach gave me confidence," she said earlier this season.

Nnadozie has brought plenty of her other qualities to the table, too, to improve Brighton's defensive record remarkably quickly. After conceding 41 goals in 22 games in the 2024-25 campaign, the Seagulls reduced that number to 27 in 22 outings this time around, with the remarkable shot-stopping of their new goalkeeper a key reason for that improvement.

No player in the WSL registered more assists this past season than Kerstin Casparij, who went to a whole new level in her fourth year at Man City.

In many ways, the full-back, who registered a career-high three league goals on top of her seven assists, encapsulated what Andree Jeglertz's City side are about. Heavily involved in the exciting and more direct attacking approach, it was particularly impressive how regularly Casparij contributed in the biggest games, with seven of those 10 goals and assists coming in clashes with the rest of the top four.

But despite that, the 25-year-old didn't neglect her defensive duties, with that ability to get up and down the right flank so tirelessly helping City to be effective at both ends of the pitch in a title-winning campaign.

Another contender for the best signing of the WSL season, Toko Koga arrived at Tottenham as a relatively unknown 19-year-old and has spent the last nine months putting her name on the map with performances that have marked her out as one of the best centre-backs in the division this year.

"For someone who's come in at 19 and now has just turned 20, she is performing at such a high level," Spurs boss Martin Ho said last week, after the Japan international won the club's Adults Supporters’ Player of the Season award. "She is well above her years in maturity and football understanding. Her character and personality is outstanding for us and she's playing well above her years."

That she will only get better is a thrilling prospect for player, club and country, with Koga sure to be a key pillar as Tottenham look to build on such a strong season.

Another fantastic summer signing, and another of the best centre-backs in the WSL this past season, Jade Rose has settled into life at Man City so well. In her first senior season of football, it took the Canada international a few weeks for her to break into Jeglertz's XI, but once she did, she never looked back, playing every minute from there on out as City won the WSL for the first time in 10 years.

Perhaps her quality is best described by team-mate Khadija Shaw, the league's Golden Boot winner who knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a top-class defender, given her experience of going up against them: "In the years to come, in the near future, she could become one of the best defenders in the world. She has to believe it, but for me, I’ve seen her day-in day-out how she manages herself both on and off the pitch."

Praise doesn't come much higher than that and it is fully deserved, as Rose has been outstanding in so many aspects in her first year in the WSL.

It says everything about Katie McCabe's footballing intelligence that she played left-back, centre-back and even in midfield this past season for Arsenal, helping the Gunners' injury-hit defence concede the fewest goals in the division despite personnel changing very regularly.

In her usual position of left-back, McCabe's consistency shone throughout the campaign, with her an expert in how to be an asset in attack while still contributing plenty in defence. It's a balance that is well demonstrated by the 30-year-old's statistics, with her ranking in the top five in Arsenal's squad for key passes and accurate passes in the final third as well as for tackles, clearances, interceptions and blocks.

It's why many fans of the Gunners were sad to see McCabe go at the end of the campaign, with the potential of her adding all of those qualities to a domestic rival, in Man City, seemingly high.

It's hard to put into words just how good Yui Hasegawa is. A diminutive holding midfielder who has been playing at a world-class level for several years now, it's incredible to think she arrived at Man City in 2022 as more of a No.10. She was immediately transformed into a deep-lying playmaker, tasked with replacing England star Keira Walsh after she had departed for Barcelona. The results have been outstanding.

"I think she’s one of the best sixes in the world,” Therese Sjogran, City's director of football, declared earlier this season, when Hasegawa renewed her contract until 2029. "I rank her equal to the likes of Keira Walsh in England and Patri Guijarro in Spain. In the style of play we have, she’s crucial for us. One of the best in the world."

This season only further reinforced that idea. Hasegawa was instrumental as City won a first WSL title in 10 years, with her reading of the game, ability to cover so much space defensively and an increased impetus on being effective in the final third all making her one of the most outstanding players of the 2025-26 WSL season.

When former City boss Gareth Taylor dropped Vivianne Miedema into a midfield role on a more regular basis last season, there were glimpses of what the Dutchwoman could do in those deeper spaces, but the balance of the team felt off at times. There was something there, but it wasn't the perfect structure to maximise Miedema and also get the best out of the team. Injuries, both to herself and others around her, didn't help either.

Jeglertz, though, has found the perfect formula, one that has resulted in an excellent campaign for Miedema and for City. Her combined 15 goals and assists ranked third in the WSL at the season's end, despite the Netherlands star missing the final three games, with the partnership she developed with Shaw causing real problems for the entire league.

It's been a delight to see the WSL's all-time top-scorer back to her best after three years plagued by injuries.

No player was going to unseat the No.9 in GOAL's best XI, but Alessia Russo still deserves a place in this team. Fortunately, then, the England international was used as both a striker and a No.10 by Arsenal this past season, so it is in the latter role that she slides into this line-up.

Regardless of her position, the 27-year-old was impressively effective for the Gunners this year. A return of 13 goals and six assists combined for a tally of direct goal involvements only bettered by Shaw, with the way Russo adapted to that deeper position, to play off Stina Blackstenius, particularly interesting. It says a lot that the Sweden international also had her best WSL season to date.

With Blackstenius having renewed her contract, and Michelle Agyemang to be integrated into this Gunners' side at some point in the near future, Russo's performances playing behind the No.9 are encouraging when thinking about how this team can adapt and evolve to be a constant attacking threat in the coming years, too.

Don't let that take away from how well she has played when leading the line, though. Russo's finishing, penalty box instincts and ability to score a variety of goals are all areas that continue to improve, leading to this being her most prolific campaign to date.

After spending her senior career to date as a winger, a positional change at the age of 27 worked to immediately deliver a best-ever goal-scoring season for Kirsty Hanson, who netted 12 times in 21 games to finish third in the WSL Golden Boot race this past year.

Deployed more centrally in Natalia Arroyo's system, Hanson has thrived, producing those 12 strikes from an expected goals statistic of just 6.7, to boast a shot conversion rate of 21 per cent that puts her above the likes of Russo, Shaw and Sam Kerr, and below just eight players who also had 10 or more shots.

It's been a revelation of a campaign for Hanson and it will be fascinating to see what lies ahead for the Scotland international in her new position after such a blistering year.

There are many who have long regarded Khadija Shaw as the best striker in the women's game and her performances this past season have served to further support that argument. Netting 21 times in 22 games, the Jamaica international claimed her third successive Golden Boot for her efforts and, crucially, a first WSL winners' medal.

Records have come along the way, too, including a fastest hat-trick in WSL history in the 5-2 thrashing of Tottenham back in March. Her performance was so impressive that it prompted Spurs boss Martin Ho to declare Shaw "the best forward in the world by a mile" in his post-match media availability. "She scores, good with her head, good with her feet, good with her back to goal, good link-up play, good movement," he raved.

It's not just Shaw's attacking contributions that deserve credit, though. An excellent defensive asset with her aerial presence in her own box and her pressing from the front, she is a truly complete centre-forward. It's what makes her likely departure from City all the more baffling from the club's perspective.

This wasn't one of Lauren Hemp's most productive WSL seasons in terms of goals and assists, but her effectiveness cannot be overstated. A constant in the Man City XI, despite the wide areas being perhaps the most competitive in the squad, she led the league for key passes played and big chances created on her way to winning a first WSL title.

Those numbers helped Hemp rack up six assists, only bettered by Casparij and Aston Villa's Lynn Wilms reaching seven, with her relentlessness in running at defenders helping City to dominate so many games and have so much joy.

However, the defensive work that the England international does shouldn't be overlooked either. When asked to focus on that side of her game in certain matches, Hemp never shied away from the task, with her all-round efforts playing a key role in City's first WSL triumph for 10 years.

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