The annual NXGN lists are back for another year, highlighting 25 of the most incredible female talents to have been born on or after January 1, 2006
The annual NXGN lists are back for 2025, as GOAL ranks the world's top teenage talents in men's and women's football, crowning winners that will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Lena Oberdorf and Linda Caicedo in being recognised as the best young footballer on the planet.
Covering all five major footballing continents and representing 20 different countries, the women's NXGN 2025 list is a truly global one, featuring established senior internationals, title winners and names that are set to light up the biggest competitions for decades to come.
So without further ado, here is the NXGN 2025 list of the top 25 young female talents born on or after January 1, 2006…
Getty/GOAL25Giovanna Waksman (FC Florida)
There's a lot of hype about Giovanna Waksman in Brazil, so much so that the phrase 'generational talent' is being used to describe her by some. The first thing that stands out is her dribbling ability, and for more reasons than one. Yes, Waksman is technically superb and anticipates the movements of her markers well, but it's the way she seems to get faster, stronger and more elusive as her run continues that really catches the attention.
Watching her at 15 years old, the fact that her decision-making will only improve, her finishing will become more clinical and her physical presence will only grow makes her a thrilling prospect. But what most will hope doesn't change about Waksman is that skill, that trickery and entertainment factor about her which, sadly, is sometimes ironed out of these talented youngsters as they near the senior game.
AdvertisementGetty/GOAL24Choe Il-son (April 25)
North Korea had itself quite a year when it came to youth women's football in 2024, with the nation doing the Asian Cup and World Cup double in both the Under-17 and Under-20 age categories. Choe Il-son, who celebrated her 18th birthday on New Year's Day, was prominent in all four of those triumphs, especially the U20 World Cup.
At 17 years old, she was the youngest member of the Korean squad in Colombia, and yet she emerged from the tournament with the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards, as well as her winners' medal, after netting six goals in six games, including the title-deciding strike in the final. Choe's excellent goal-poaching instincts, fantastic movement and an ability to use both feet without hesitation all served her well, as did her very real threat from range.
North Korea have long been a stalwart on the international stage in the women's game, and have won three senior Asian Cups, but haven't played at a major tournament since the Olympics in 2012, for a myriad of reasons. But if the success of the youth national teams in 2024 can be translated to senior level, Choe may well light up the biggest of stages in years to come.
Getty/GOAL23Momo Saruang Ueki Sato (Daisho Gakuen High School)
Japan has been excellent at producing and developing young talent for a long time now, with the presence of six players aged 21 and under in the latest senior national team squad a testament to that work. That four of those names are already playing for huge clubs abroad – Feyenoord, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester City – is further evidence of the good place the Nadeshiko is in moving forwards.
There are plenty of players coming up right behind them, with Momo Saruang Ueki Sato one of the most prominent stars in the youth set-up who looks capable of making the jump in the years to come. A versatile forward whose ability to use both feet helps to make her a clinical finisher, as does the 17-year-old's remarkable calmness in front of goal, Sato is not a towering and intimidating presence in the front line, but that fact allows her to draw inspiration from one of Japan's most prolific strikers of all-time.
"Shinji Okazaki is not very tall and not particularly skilful, but I feel similar to him in some ways," she told last year. "I admire his movement towards the goal and the way he uses his smaller stature to make certain moves. I watch his videos and his interviews to reference his way of thinking."
GOAL22Fridah Mukoma (Kansas City Current, loan at Beijing)
In recent years, Zambia has started to produce some of the biggest stars in the women's game, with Barbra Banda a bonafide sensation and Racheal Kundananji the most expensive female footballer of all-time, until Naomi Girma's recent move to Chelsea. It's clear that there is a lot of promising young talent that could follow in the footsteps of those big names, too, with Fridah Mukoma at the very forefront of the next generation after completing her own NWSL move to the Kansas City Current.
The 18-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2024, which began at club level. Mukoma's performances for ZESCO Ndola Girls in Zambia's domestic league, in which she netted five goals and provided 13 assists in 30 games, earned her the division's Young Player of the Year award, and she has quickly started to take that quality to the national-team level, too.
A direct, fast and hard-working forward, Mukoma starred at the COSAFA Women's Championship, sharing the Golden Boot with team-mate Ochumba Lubandji as Zambia defeated South Africa in the final. A debut at the African Cup of Nations surely looms in 2025, where the teenager will hope to showcase her powerful finishing to an even bigger audience.
