Female Soccer Player of the Year Candidate Alessia Russo

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

The talented forward created a legacy with her club as they emerged as the first British team to win the Women's Champions League since the North London side did in the 2000s, and also played a key role in leading the Lionesses to the successful retention of their continental title.

She scored in the European Championship showpiece match and found her groove for her team, making significant contributions throughout the season in front of goal and with her work off the ball.

The forward was named the Football Writers' Association's top female player for the previous campaign.

She was the Women's Super League's joint top scorer, sharing the top scorer award with her rival striker.

Russo netted twelve WSL goals for the club and set up for a further two.

She was also nominated for the prestigious individual award and selected in the Professional Footballers' Association and the European teams of the year.

Russo on how she feels she has improved over the previous season:

"I play my best football when I'm enjoying myself and I know my efforts in practice and I'm getting my work done, so those are aspects that I can always control.

"There's so many different aspects to a number nine position, it requires precision and there are tiny differences. I continue to develop. We have great coaches here at Arsenal. There are top teammates to gain knowledge from 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 you've got to turn it around quickly. 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 what it takes.

"Facing the best teams in the world, the elite athletes in the world and sometimes you have to grind out results."

Discussing the European final:

"The overriding feeling that I can remember from that whole day was just being very composed, like we knew we'd done the work, we knew that we had the ability, and we knew that we trusted the game plan and what we aimed to achieve.

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

"We as athletes in the high press and out of possession, we were really focused on our assigned tasks. It was a lot of running and plenty of defending. But ultimately that led to success. In my opinion you have to be OK securing victories in that manner as well."

On Arsenal and England legend Kelly Smith being her idol:

"I got the pleasure of seeing her play a few times with my dad. Seeing her for England, too, her talent was remarkable. I wish that she could have played longer and she was active today, but she was one of the best ever.

"I believe those who teamed up with her would say the same thing and I didn't have the chance of experiencing that. But observing her play was someone that I greatly admired."

The striker notched 12 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 most clinical players in the league but she was also a constant threat in the box all season long, attempting more efforts (seventy-three) and having a higher expected goals tally (nine point seven) than any other player.

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

Team-mate a teammate often delivered progressive passes into Russo, so effective ball retention was essential.

Her skill to drop deep, creating space from her opposing defender through quick, incisive runs was notable.

If a defender got in tight, Russo used her body well to win free-kicks, assisting the side secure the ball in the enemy territory. In the Champions' League last season, nobody was drawn more fouls than the Arsenal striker (fifteen).

When the play settles, Russo's touches are highly effective. Her frequent scanning of her surroundings means she remains aware of where rivals are.

Russo takes minimal touches on the ball, directing it away from opposing players applying player-to-player pressure, before finding nearby team-mates oriented forward.

By keeping possession in tough situations, Russo is regularly able to act as an release option for her team under pressure.

She can turn difficult passes into long periods of stable possession and these possessions in the attacking zone lead to goals, many of which she ends up scoring herself.