Have in previous years SPOX and GOAL regularly honors the best young talents in world football. This year there is not one winner, but a circle of nine players who will still be heard from, the NXGN Nine!
We selected the nine best players from 25 finalists. Unlike the men, with Franziska Kett, a German made it into the NXGN Nine. The 18-year-old winger has been playing for Bayern Munich since 2020.
The ranking was compiled by a network of youth football experts in 37 countries. Several hundred experts were involved in the final selection.
(Note: All players were born on or after January 1, 2004)
NXGN 2023: Here you can find the 25 nominees for women
NXGN 2023: Here you will find the 50 nominees for men
NXGN Nine: Here you can find the winners among the men
The Women’s NXGN Nine 2023 (unranked):
- Linda Caicedo – Real Madrid
- Aoba Fujino – Tokyo Verdy Beleza
- Aline Gomes-Ferroviaria
- Wieke Kaptein – Twente
- Franziska Kett – Bayern Munich
- Vicky Lopez – Barcelona
- Monique Ngock-Reims
- Jaedyn Shaw – San Diego Wave
- Alyssa ThompsonAngel City
NXGN Nine: Why Franziska Kett is there
For a young player to make the leap into the first team of a top European club and cause a stir week after week, she has to be very talented. And Kett is exactly that in every sense of the word.
The young winger joined Bayern Munich after attracting attention at FC Edenstetten, where she excelled in a very good boys’ team. Unfortunately, a few years of injury followed, but the work that both the player and the club put in to overcome those setbacks is now paying off.
Since her debut in Bayern’s senior team at the start of the 2022/23 season, Kett has become a player that head coach Alexander Straus draws on regularly. She scored her first goal in the professional team on her first appearance in October against Meppen, followed only a few weeks later by a second goal.
The fact that she was in the squad for Bayern’s away trip to Barcelona in the Champions League in November also speaks for her high status.
Creative, explosive and two-footed, Kett is an incredibly dangerous forward who is also unpredictable. Coupled with her versatility and willingness to play her defensive roles, she’s one of those players that coaches are very keen to have in their squad.
At just 18 years of age, the experience she gathers with regular substitute appearances and occasionally even as a regular at Bayern is enormously valuable. It is precisely this experience that will help Kett hone her game and become one of the best wingers in the world.
