Tokyo 2020 - Every Women's Super League player set to feature at the Olympic Games as Manchester City dominate Team GB
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Published 20/07/2021 at 10:06 GMT
44 players across 8 WSL teams will travel to Tokyo for the Olympic women's football event. Team GB's head coach Hege Riise will be hoping to add a gold medal to the one she won as a player with Norway at Sydney 2000. The former midfielder takes charge of a Manchester City-dominated squad, with ten Citizens selected. The Brits find themselves in Group E alongside Canada, Chile and Japan.
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The Olympics are about get underway, with 44 Women’s Super League players Tokyo-bound to compete.
Chelsea may have pipped Manchester City to the WSL title on the last day of the season, but they are second best to the Citizens in terms of Olympic representation.
The Champions have 11 players registered for the Games, one short of City’s 12.
An incredible ten City players have been selected by Great Britain, who will feature in the opening game of the event when they face Chile on July 21st.
Led by former Norwegian midfielder Hege Riise, it will be only the second time that Team GB will be competing in the event since 1996 when football was added to the Olympic schedule.
With the gold medal match scheduled for August 6th, players competing will have just under a month to ready themselves for the onset of the 11th WSL season on September 3rd.
Resultantly, such WSL stars can look forward to more rest than their male counterparts representing their country at the Games.
The 2021/22 Premier League season kicks off on August 13th, a mere five days after the men’s football gold medal match.
Ordered by number of players featuring per club, here are the 44 WSL players making the trip to Tokyo.
Manchester City – 12
Club captain Steph Houghton leads a ten-strong City cohort into Tokyo for Team GB.
Lioness captain since 2014, Houghton is joined by the Citizen’s joint leading goalscorer from the previous season in Ellen White, who scored 10 in the 2020-21 WSL campaign.
Midfielder Jill Scott, who returned to former club Everton on loan during the season, is back for her second Games after featuring at London 2012 alongside Houghton, Ellen White and Kim Little.
Goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck accompanies defensive pair Lucy Bronze and Demi Stokes, whilst PFA Young Player of the Year Lauren Hemp adds further City forward representation to White’s inclusion.
Midfielders Keira Walsh, Caroline Weir and Georgia Stanway round up Team GB’s City stars.
Two North Americans, Canadian forward Janine Beckie and United States central defender Abby Dahlkemper round off City’s extensive Games unit.
Chelsea – 11
Emma Hayes will have plenty of her title-winning stars to cast her eye over during the summer, with eleven Blues set for Tokyo.
FWA Footballer and PFA Players’ Player of the Year Fran Kirby will hope to extend her stunning form into the Games with Team GB.
Joined in Tokyo by fellow Blues Sophie Ingle, Carly Telford, Millie Bright and Niamh Charles, Kirby fired 16 in as many starts in the league.
Her tally for Chelsea was second only to team-mate and 21-goal WSL golden boot winner Sam Kerr, who travels to Tokyo as captain of Australia for her third Olympics.
Swedish trio Jonna Andersson, Magdalena Eriksson and Zecira Musovic join Canada’s Jessie Fleming as Chelsea’s final four Tokyo participants.
Blues fans may also wish to cast an eye over Dutch defender Aniek Nouwen. The 22-year-old put pen to paper on a switch from PSV in May and will join the club on a three-year deal for the forthcoming season.
Arsenal – 9
Scotland’s Little returns to Olympic action with Team GB as one of four aforementioned current squad members to have competed at London 2012.
She will have the chance to link-up with club record signing Nikita Parris for the first time since the former FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year confirmed her switch from Lyon.
Defensive duo Leah Williamson and Lotte-Wubben Moy make it four Gunners in the British side.
The Netherlands will be looking for club top scorer and WSL golden boot runner up Vivianne Miedema to continue her sharp-shooting in Tokyo.
A trio of Arsenal stars can be found in the Australian side via the inclusion of Lydia Williams, Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord.
Lastly, attacker Mana Iwabuchi returns to her native country as the sole WSL Japanese representative at the Games.
Everton – 4
Goalkeeper Sandy MacIver ensures that the Toffees will have a player in a Team GB squad dominated by rival teams.
Two new signings both make the Swedish squad via attacker Anna Anvegard and Nathalie Bjorn.
Forward Hayley Raso is also set for Tokyo following her inclusion in the Australian squad.
West Ham United – 3
Call-ups for Mackenzie Arnold and new signing Tameka Yallop to the Australian squad rounds off the seven total WSL players in Tony Gustavsson’s squad.
Forward Adriana Leon has been registered for the Canadian team, having fired 19 goals in 79 caps.
Manchester United – 2
21-year-old forward Ella Toone ensures Team GB will feature a player from the red half of Manchester, joining the squad after a nine-goal league campaign.
Midfielder Jackie Groenen has been called up to the Netherlands side, having been capped 71 times for her country.
Tottenham Hotspur – 2
The inclusion of New Zealand midfielder Ria Percival and Canadian defender Shelina Zadorsky means that Spurs will have players spread across two nations.
Percival has made an impressive 150 appearances for New Zealand, the most in the squad, whilst Zadorsky has turned out 72 times for her country.
Brighton and Hove Albion – 1
The inclusion of Brighton’s Inessa Kaagman makes it five WSL players in the Dutch side.
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