GOAL selected the 10 best talents in women’s football born on or after January 1, 2001 – but are they living up to their potential?
Since the first NXGN list centred around women’s football back in 2020, GOAL has profiled the best wonderkids in the world on an annual basis. Some of those recognised have gone on and justified all of the hype, while others are still working hard to make their way to the top.
And so after the NXGN 2025 list was revealed, let’s take a look at where the stars of 2020 are now:
Every NXGN list
Dembele, Tielemans & 2016's best wonderkids
Mbappe, Donnarumma & 2017's best wonderkids
De Ligt, Kluivert & 2018's best wonderkids
Haaland, Sancho & 2019's best wonderkids
Saka, Rodrygo & 2020's best wonderkids
Pedri, Ansu Fati & 2021's best wonderkids
Le Tissier, Bennison & 2021's best women's wonderkids
Bellingham, Musiala & 2022's best wonderkids
Dumornay, Fowler & 2022's best women's wonderkids
Gavi, Garnacho & 2023's best wonderkids
Shaw, Thompson & 2023's best women's wonderkids
Yamal, Mainoo & 2024's best wonderkids
Caicedo, Moultrie & 2024's best women's wonderkids
10Linda Caicedo (Deportivo Cali)
2020: Having made her senior Colombia debut in 2019, Caicedo made a controversial transfer later the following year when she switched from America de Cali to rivals Deportivo Cali, after leading the former to their first-ever Championship title.
2021: Unable to make her Copa Libertadores debut the year before with America due to age restrictions, Caicedo did so in 2021, scoring four goals in four games. She helped Deportivo win the league, too, and netted her first senior international goal in a 2-0 win over Chile.
2022: The busiest year of her young career saw Caicedo star as Colombia were Copa America runners-up, winning the tournament’s Golden Ball award while also being named Player of the Match in the final. She also helped fire her country to the U17 World Cup final a few months later, scoring four goals in six games.
2023: Just days after her 18th birthday, Caicedo joined Real Madrid and played in the club's first major final a few months later. She then starred at the Women's World Cup as Colombia enjoyed a best-ever run to the quarter-finals, winning Goal of the Tournament for her strike against Germany.
2024: Caicedo's stock continued to rise in a year where she became an Olympian for the first time and her Colombia team came so close to eliminating Spain, the world champions, in the quarter-finals, only to lose on penalties.
2025: It's another big year for Caicedo, who looks set to play in a fourth senior major tournament in four years this summer at the 2025 edition of Copa America. Club success remains on the cards too, with Real Madrid into the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League for just the second time.
Advertisement9Yuzuki Yamamoto (Tokyo Verdy Beleza)
2020: After an excellent showing at the 2019 AFC U19 Championship, it felt like 2020 could be a great year for Yamamoto to build on that. However, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the lack of football that took place as a result, largely limited her opportunities.
2021: Yamamoto made her first appearance in a league match for Tokyo Verdy Beleza in late 2021, in the newly-formed WE League. It would go on to be an excellent season for her, in which she played 20 games in all competitions for the senior team, scoring four goals.
2022: After scoring her first goal for Tokyo Verdy Beleza in March, Yamamoto had an excellent U20 Women’s World Cup in 2022, scoring three goals and registering three assists in six games as Japan reached the final. Those numbers won her the Bronze Boot.
2023:Yamamoto was a regular at Tokyo Verdy Beleza, either as a starter or from the bench, and played for Japan at the Women's Asian Games, helping her nation to win the gold medal.
2024: Now a key player in her club's starting XI, Yamamoto had a fantastic 2023-24 season and was one of her team's top players for goals and assists in the WE League.
2025: Yamamoto has continued that form into the 2024-25 as Tokyo Verdy Beleza look to make up for last year's trophy-less season, something they are in a strong position to do right now.
8Kate Wiesner (Penn State)
2020: The college programme in the U.S. was hit heavily by the Covid-19 pandemic, with Wiesner seeing little action as a result.
2021: Wiesner didn’t see any action in the spring due to injury, but returned for the fall, starting nine of her 19 appearances for Penn State.
2022: The following year, for her senior season, Wiesner started 22 games and led the Big Ten in assists, with 11 in her 23 appearances. She also netted two goals.
2023:Wiesner started the year with an U23 camp with the national team and completed her final season at Penn State, going out strong by being selected for the Third Team All-Big Ten squad.
2024: With the seventh overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft, Wiesner was chosen by the Washington Spirit and helped the team reach the Championship game in her rookie year in the top league in the United States. She was also called up as a training player to Emma Hayes' first USWNT roster.
2025: Wiesner will be looking to establish herself more firmly in the Spirit's starting XI in her second year in the NWSL, while hoping that can help her USWNT chances.
7Gift Monday (FC Robo)
2020: After making her senior international debut in 2019, Monday continued to excel in Nigeria with FC Robo, named Player of the Month twice in succession in the 2020-21 season.
2021: Monday left Robo in 2021, for Bayelsa Queens, and would fire them to the 2021-22 league title, top-scoring in the league and winning the Player of the Season award.
2022: The forward would soon earn a big move abroad, signing for Tenerife in the summer of 2022 to play her football in the top-flight in Spain. She was part of Nigeria’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, too, as the Super Falcons finished fourth.
2023: In her first season outside of her home country, Monday became a regular starter in Tenerife’s team and finished her first Liga F campaign with three goals and three assists. She also earned a place in Nigeria's Women's World Cup squad.
2024: Monday registered a team-best and individual-best tally of goals in the 2023-24 season, though her goal-scoring form sadly could not help Nigeria qualify for the Olympic Games in the summer.
2025: Monday has started 2025 in an explosive manner, scoring six times in her first league five games of the calendar year, and will hope to keep that up ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations in July.
