8 Young Players You Need to Watch in the SheBelieves Cup
The SheBelieves Cup starts this afternoon, with the US, Brazil, Canada, and Japan ready to compete. Canada has seen some turmoil leading up to the tournament, with their federation’s removing funding, but they are still playing in protest. Although all four of these teams have pretty experienced rosters, here we’ll highlight some of the younger stars you should watch!
Brazil
Kerolin
Kerolin is a name we’ve begun to grow familiar with as she’s dominated in the NWSL with the North Carolina Courage. She scored in half the matches she appeared in last season.
At 23 years old, Kerolin already boasts 24 Brazil national team call-ups and five goals. She’s learning from the best of Brazil in Marta and Debinha, so she’s definitely a player to watch in this tournament.
Bruninha
Bruna Santos Nhaia, or Bruninha, is a 20-year-old right back who just signed with Gotham FC in the NWSL. She’s had various call-ups to Brazil’s youth national teams and already six with the senior team.
With her former club team in Brazil, she won the Silver Ball award as the “revelation of the tournament,” and she’s been praised for having an advanced understanding of the game and her position at such a young age. We’ll be eager to see Bruninha get some minutes this tournament!
Canada
Simi Awujo
Midfielder Simi Awujo is the youngest player on this list at 19 years old. However, she’s had 20 call-ups to Canada’s U-20 national team and already three for the senior national team, and she was awarded the Canada Soccer Young Player of the Year in 2022.
Awujo has been a standout player at USC. She was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in her first year. She’s relatively inexperienced on the senior national team level, but with three games ahead, this could be her chance to prove herself.
Jade Rose
Jade Rose is another Canada U-20 mainstay, with 20 call-ups. She earned four senior team call-ups so far since 2021.
As a defender, she’s known for being a player to frustrate Australian star forward Sam Kerr and was a break-out star in her first few matches.
She just finished her second season at Harvard, where she was named to the Mac Hermann Trophy watch list and received various other awards.
Japan
Jun Endo
Endo became a fan favorite for Angel City last year. She plays as a forward for the American side and is known for her creativity and strength on the ball.
At only 22, she has 26 call-ups and two goals for Japan’s national team. The roster lists her as a midfielder in this tournament, but we’ll be watching to see her get far up the field into the attack. Jun Endo is a young star who will definitely be one to watch this tournament.
Fuka Nagano
Another midfielder, Fuka Nagano, has 16 national team call-ups and one goal. She briefly played for the North Carolina Courage last season, where she made 11 appearances and scored twice.
Nagano received the Asian Young Footballer of the Year award in 2017. She’s pretty much a regular on the national team now, and she’ll be another exciting player to keep an eye out for in the midfield.
United States
Taylor Kornieck
In the last year, USWNT fans have seen Kornieck more and more on the team. She now has nine appearances for the Stars and Stripes and will be out to prove she deserves even more during this tournament.
Kornieck revealed she’s been training in the role of the 6, a defensive midfield position. She usually plays higher on the field and with a little more freedom. At only 24, she is a young player with a lot of potential for club and country. So, she’ll be one to keep an eye on at this tournament.
Trinity Rodman
Like Kornieck, we’ve been seeing Trinity Rodman a lot this year. Her work rate is nearly unparalleled on the pitch, but we haven’t seen her consistently break into a starting lineup position.
Rodman will be looking to secure her place on this team, and watching her play in this tournament will be a treat.
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