Hanna Bennison of Rosengard has topped Goal’s 2021 NXGN vote for the best young female footballer in the world.
NXGN ranks the best young footballers in the world, with separate lists for the male and female players. For this year’s list, eligible players needed to be born on or after 1 January 2002.
The NXGN list is compiled by Goal’s global network of journalists operating in 44 countries, with hundreds of football experts contributing to the final list of talented teenagers.
Speaking exclusively to Goal when collecting her award, Bennison said: “It feels so good. It was nothing that I had expected so I’m very happy and grateful.”
When asked what she wanted to achieve in her career, Bennison said: “I want to play a final in the Champions League. I also want to play at the World Cup with the national team and I want to be one of the best players in the world.”
Bennison has been showcasing that talent at senior level ever since her debut for Rosengard as a 15-year-old, becoming a regular in midfield and playing a starring role as Rosengard won the 2019 Damallsvenskan title.
More recently, as an 18-year-old, Bennison scored her first Champions League goal in December with an emphatic finish into the top corner against Lanchkhuti – a reminder of her talents in what had been a difficult year, with injury limiting her to only five league starts in 2020.
Bennison is the second woman to be awarded for NXGN after Lena Oberdorf, then playing for SGS Essen, was placed at the top of the inaugural women’s NXGN list in 2020.
The 2021 Women’s NXGN List
- Hanna Bennison (Rosengard)
- Nikita Tromp (Ajax)
- Alison Gonzalez (Atlas)
- Alexis Missimo (University of Texas)
- Melchie Dumornay (AS Tigresses)
- Mary Fowler (Montpellier)
- Maya Le Tissier (Brighton & Hove Albion)
- Haley Bugeja (Sassuolo)
- Juliet Nalukenge (Kawempe Muslim)
- Maika Hamano (Cerezo Osaka Sakai)
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