Female Soccer Player of the Year Candidate Alessia Russo

Age: 26 Playing Role: Striker Clubs: Arsenal and the English national team

The talented forward created a legacy with her club as they became the first British team to win the Women's Champions League since the Gunners did in 2008, and also helped guide England to the defence of their continental title.

Russo found the net in the Euro 2025 final and hit top form for her club, making significant contributions throughout the season in front of goal and with her work off the ball.

Russo was honored as the FWA's top female player for the previous campaign.

Russo finished as the WSL's co-leading goalscorer, earning a share of the Golden Boot with Khadija Shaw.

She scored twelve league goals for the club and provided assists for a further two.

She was also nominated for the prestigious individual award and named in the Professional Footballers' Association and the Uefa Champions League season's best XIs.

Her thoughts on personal development over the previous season:

"I play my best football when I'm enjoying myself and I'm confident I'm training hard and I'm getting my work done, so those are aspects that I can always control.

"There's so many different aspects to a striker's role, it requires precision and there are tiny differences. I continue to develop. Our staff is excellent here at Arsenal. I have great players to learn off as well. Then when the big games arrive, the greater your experience, the more comfortable you become."

On winning Euro 2025 with England:

"The entire competition was a total emotional ride. There were ups and downs. It was emotionally really hard. It was taxing on our bodies.

"I remember after the Sweden [quarter-final] game, many players were extremely sore and injured. It was so intense. But recovery had to be swift. It moves so fast.

"In my view the way that we won throughout that whole tournament was just grit and resilience. And I think that we knew that we had the squad, we knew that we had the necessary qualities.

"Facing the top sides in the world, the elite athletes in the world and occasionally you have to win a little bit dirty."

On the Champions League final:

"The main emotion that I can remember from that entire occasion was just being so calm, like we knew we'd done the work, we knew that we had the ability, and we knew that we believed in the strategy and what we aimed to achieve.

"Naturally playing against a team like Barcelona, you've got to be comfortable not possessing the ball because they're so talented. When in possession, they retain it that often.

"We as athletes in the press and out of possession, we were highly concentrated on our job at hand. There was extensive movement and plenty of defending. But ultimately that's what got the job done. In my opinion you have to be OK winning games like that as well."

On Arsenal and England legend Kelly Smith being her idol:

"I was fortunate of seeing her play a few times with my dad. Watching her internationally, too, she was just incredible. I hope that her career lasted more and still be playing now, but she ranks among the greats.

"I think those who teamed up with her would agree and I never got the pleasure of doing that. But observing her play was something that I greatly admired."

The striker scored twelve goals in 21 games in the Women's Super League the previous campaign to divide the scoring award.

Not only was she one of the deadliest players in the competition but Russo was also a constant threat in the box throughout the campaign, attempting more efforts (seventy-three) and having a higher expected goals tally (nine point seven) than all her peers.

Russo's ability to contribute to the team beyond scoring sets her apart.

Fellow player a teammate often delivered forward balls into her, so effective ball retention was essential.

Russo's ability to retreat into midfield, creating space from her nearby marker through sharp, darting movements stood out.

If a defender got too close, Russo used her physicality to win free-kicks, helping her team gain settled possession in the enemy territory. In the European tournament last season, nobody was fouled more than the forward (fifteen).

When the play settles, Russo's touches are extremely efficient. Her regular awareness of her surroundings means she stays conscious of where rivals are.

Russo takes few contacts on the ball, directing it away from defenders applying player-to-player pressure, before finding close colleagues oriented forward.

By retaining the ball in tough situations, Russo is often capable to act as an outlet for her team under pressure.

She is able convert tough balls into long periods of controlled play and such phases in the opponent's final third result in scores, many of which she ends up scoring herself.