9 Top Strikers to Watch in the Olympics Women’s Soccer Tournament
The 2024 Paris Olympics are officially here! Women’s soccer starts on Thursday, July 25, with matches taking place in all three Groups. Before the action gets started, let’s take a look at some of the top women’s soccer strikers to watch in the Olympics.
Barbra Banda – Zambia
Banda has taken the NWSL by storm this season and has helped to lead the Orlando Pride to an undefeated start through the halfway point of the season. She’s been in terrific form, leading the Pride in goals with 12 through 12 games. Zambia is in a tough group with the United States, Germany, and Australia. With the form that Banda is in, though, Zambia could pull a couple of upsets.
Sophia Smith – United States
Smith and Mallory Swanson will lead the USWNT attack, and the team will rely on them to score goals. She’s been in good form during club play, scoring 10 goals and registering six in 14 games for the Portland Thorns. For the USWNT, she’s got 19 goals in 48 appearances. Despite being young, Smith will need to step up and be a leader for this USWNT and is under a lot of pressure to perform well on the Olympic stage.
Cortnee Vine – Australia
Vine’s role for Australia shifted when the Matildas were dealt a big blow with Sam Kerr missing the tournament due to injury. Vine is a young forward who could have a big impact on Australia at the game. She earned her first international appearance in 2022 and currently has three goals in 29 appearances. Up until now, she has spent her entire professional career in Australia, including the last four years with Sydney FC, where she had 30 goals in 65 appearances. After the Olympics, Vine will be moving to the NWSL to join the North Carolina Courage.
Marta – Brazil
Marta is one of the best players to ever play women’s soccer. The 2024 Olympics will be her sixth Olympic tournament representing Brazil. She’s Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 118 goals in 183 appearances. Marta’s leadership and goal-scoring ability will be valuable for Brazil. This will be the last international tournament for Marta, as the forward announced she would be retiring from international soccer at the end of 2024.
Mina Tanaka – Japan
Tanaka is a dangerous goal scorer. She spent the last four seasons playing club soccer with Kobe Leonessa in Japan where she scored 37 goals in 58 appearances. She’s been a part of the Japanese Women’s National team for quite some time, having earned her first cap in 2013. She currently has 30 goals in 74 international appearances. She’ll make the move to the NWSL and join the Utah Royals after the Olympic tournament.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto – France
Katoto has had a great career at Paris Saint Germain, where she’s appeared in 133 games and scored 119 goals since 2015. On the international stage, she earned her first appearance for the senior national team in 2018. Since then, she’s appeared in 41 games and scored 30 goals for France.
Lea Schüller – Germany
Schüller is in good form for Germany heading into the Olympics. She scored seven goals in eight matches for Germany in 2024. She’s spent most of her club career with Bayern Munich, where she’s appeared in 85 games and scored 57 goals since 2020. For Germany, she’s got 42 goals in 62 appearances.
Asisat Oshoala – Nigeria
Oshoala currently plays in the NWSL with Bay FC, but before that, she played for Barcelona for five years. With Barcelona, she scored 85 goals in 101 appearances. For Nigeria, Oshoala has 37 goals in 61 appearances.
Salma Paralluelo – Spain
Paralluelois an exciting young player to watch at the Olympics. She plays her club soccer with Barcelona where she’s scored 31 goals in 37 appearances since 2022. She earned her first appearance for the senior team in 2022 and has scored 12 goals in 24 appearances.
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