#WCW: Fran Kirby

The FA WSL is one of the best leagues in the world and we all know that England is a soccer-crazy nation. Their women’s soccer program has grown tremendously both domestically and internationally which has led to the creation of some tremendous young talent. One of those players is Fran Kirby and our WCW this week. She is one of the more productive goal scorers for her country and for Chelsea making her an easy choice for our Women Crush Wednesday (WCW) series.

Kirby is considered to be one of the best British players of her generation. The Chelsea star came from humble beginnings and had to overcome quite a bit of hardship on her journey to pro soccer. The striker began her youth career with her hometown club, Reading FC, a team currently in the FA WSL. When she was sixteen, Kirby made her first team debut for the Royals. She was able to persevere after dealing with depression due to the death of her mother.

After takin time off to get her mind right, she was able to rejoin the club in 2012. Clearly, Kirby was playing with the mentality of someone who was free with nothing holding her back. She tore it up for Reading over the next three years scoring 68 goals in 42 appearances. That level of production simply did not go unnoticed and Mark Sampson gave her the nod to join the World Cup Squad for the 2015 World Cup when she was 21-years-old.

Based on her prior work, she received the dream transfer offer of moving to Chelsea Ladies FC after the World Cup. Kirby is largely considered to be one of the best players that England have and she’ll be a critical player for their success under Phil Neville this summer at the 2019 World Cup. Ever since joining Chelsea, Kirby’s proven her worth time and time again. She can score so many different types of goals in so many different ways.

Pick that out! ?

What a goal by @FranKirby during last season’s game v Birmingham at Kingsmeadow! ? pic.twitter.com/zm92ZhEFit

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) January 26, 2019

Earlier last week, Kirby went crazy in front of goal, recording a hat-trick against Bristol City. This goal was her best finish of the night.

? @frankirby has her shooting boots on tonight…@ChelseaFCW #FAWSL pic.twitter.com/S4XG9LPWVJ

— The FA Women’s Super League (@FAWSL) February 20, 2019

Kirby is the type of playmaker and goal-scorer that can change the game at any moment. She has averaged a little more than a goal every two games for Chelsea and she’s a mainstay for the Blues when she’s healthy. Expect her to conjure up some world-class play and if she’s in the lineup for every game, they might just get further than a World Cup Semifinal this time around.

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