Leading Lionesses

The England trio on Fifa Best list

Beth Mead

When you notch up six goals and five assists to win the Golden

Boot at the Euros, you are naturally thrust into contention for all the individual awards, but Mead’s 2022 was about far more than just Euros brilliance.

Her form for Arsenal as she toyed with Women’s Super League defenders,

Keira Walsh

England’s midfield metronome, Walsh dictates the tempo for the Lionesses and has proved to have such a good eye for a defence-cutting ball that she could surely thread a pass through the eye of a needle. Her vision, composure and tactical intelligence set her apart from her peers as an irreplaceable member of the

Leah Williamson

Rarely has a centre-half made it look as though they have more time on the ball than Williamson, a ball-playing defender who reads the game so well she is usually two steps ahead of everyone else. This was exemplified by her winning back possession more times than any other player at the Euros, but doing so without making a single tackle in the cutting inside and bending in goals from tight angles, was that of a player who had fire in her belly after 2021 Olympics rejection. Mead ended the 2021-22 season with 20 Lionesses goals, setting a record for England goals scored by a man or woman in one season.

European

champions’ starting team and Sarina Wiegman’s unsung heroine. She also helped Manchester City win the League Cup and reach the FA Cup final, before joining Barcelona for a world-record fee. Her assist for England’s Euros final opening goal against Germany was one of the finest passes of the year.

tournament. Her pin-point, diagonal passes have been a crucial part of Arsenal’s tactics, but it is her ability to make interceptions that mark her out as a world-class defender, and one on top of the captaincy role in guiding her country to a historic first major trophy.