GOAL’s World-Class Club 2026: Alessia Russo among six new members of women’s football’s most elite superstars

Most of those losing their spot in the World-Class Club in 2026 are simply victims of high competition for places. Coll’s emergence means that one of 2025’s goalkeeping group had to drop out, and it is Christiane Endler, still one of the world’s best but nearing the end of her career now, who does.

Similarly, Kadidiatou Diani and Alex Greenwood are clearly among the elite talents in the sport, but have been usurped by others deemed more deserving of a place in this club in 2026. Sophia Wilson, meanwhile, just returned from maternity leave this year, after 16 months away, and is likely to reassert her world-class credentials for membership in 2027. However, for now, the long-term consistency of others has to be rewarded.

For Grace Geyoro, it’s impossible to ignore how underwhelming her first season in England with the London City Lionesses was. She’ll be eager to bounce back in an impactful way in this 2026-27 campaign, and if she can prove that was simply a rare blot on the copy book, she’ll be back in contention.

Then there is the saddening injury luck that Lena Oberdorf has endured, which has limited her to just 10 competitive appearances in two years. Hopefully she can get back to full fitness soon and put some worrying knee issues behind her.