Female Soccer Player of the Year Candidate Russo

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

The talented forward made history with Arsenal as they emerged as the first English team to win the Women's Champions League since the Gunners did in 2008, and also helped guide the Lionesses to the defence of their European Championship crown.

Russo found the net in the Euro 2025 final and found her groove for her team, playing a crucial role throughout the season as an attacker and with her defensive efforts.

The forward was honored as the FWA's women's footballer of the year for the previous campaign.

Russo finished as the WSL's joint top scorer, earning a share of the top scorer award with Khadija Shaw.

She scored twelve league goals for Arsenal and set up for a couple more.

She was also nominated for the 2025 Ballon d'Or and named in the Professional Footballers' Association and the European season's best XIs.

Russo on how she feels she has improved over the past year:

"My top performances come when I'm enjoying myself and I know I'm training hard and completing my tasks, so that's something that I can always control.

"There's so many different aspects to a striker's role, it's so detailed and there are tiny differences. I'm always still learning. We have great coaches here at the club. There are top teammates to learn off as well. Then when the important matches come around, the greater your experience, the more comfortable you become."

On winning Euro 2025 with England:

"The whole tournament was a total emotional ride. It was highs and lows. It was emotionally really hard. We were physically drained.

"I recall after the Sweden [quarter-final] game, a lot of us were really, really battered and bruised. The pressure was immense. But recovery had to be swift. It moves so fast.

"In my view the way that we won during the event was just grit and resilience. And we were aware that we had the team, we knew that we had the necessary qualities.

"You're playing against the top sides in the world, the best players in the world and sometimes you have to win a little bit dirty."

On the Champions League final:

"The overriding feeling that I can remember from that entire occasion was just being so calm, like we were confident we'd done the work, we knew that we had the ability, and we knew that we trusted the strategy and what we aimed to achieve.

"Obviously playing against a team like Barcelona, you must accept not possessing the ball because they're so talented. When they do have the ball, they don't give it away frequently.

"As players in the high press and defensively, we were highly concentrated on our assigned tasks. There was extensive movement and plenty of defending. But ultimately that's what got the job done. In my opinion you have to be content securing victories in that manner as well."

Regarding her inspiration, Kelly Smith:

"I got the pleasure of seeing her play a couple of occasions with my father. Watching her internationally, 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 think anyone that has played with Kelly would say the same thing and I never got the pleasure of experiencing that. But watching her was someone that I always used to love."

The striker notched twelve goals in twenty-one games in the WSL last season to share the scoring award.

Not only was she one of the most clinical players in the league but Russo was also a persistent danger in the penalty area throughout the campaign, attempting more efforts (seventy-three) and having a higher expected goals tally (9.7) than all her peers.

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

Fellow player a teammate regularly played forward balls into Russo, so strong hold-up play was essential.

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

If a defender got in tight, she used her body well to win free-kicks, assisting the side secure the ball in the enemy territory. In the European tournament last season, nobody was fouled more than the Arsenal striker (15).

When the play settles, her control are highly effective. Her regular awareness of her environment means she remains aware of where opponents are.

She uses few contacts on the ball, directing it away from opposing players applying player-to-player pressure, before locating close colleagues oriented forward.

By retaining the ball in tough situations, Russo is often capable to act as an release option for her side in trouble.

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