FIFPRO have come together once again to name their WORLD XI for 2016 which features three National Women's Soccer League players, one former NWSL player, and four players from the United States of America.
The US brings in the most players on the list
Of the eleven selected, the USWNT had four players come out on top, according to their peers. Hope Solo, Ali Krieger, Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan represent the USWNT on FIFPRO's World XI as, even though the team as a whole had a down year in 2016, these four were seen to have played to their best ability in the last calendar year.
Lloyd and Solo feature in the list for the second time running after also being named to the 2015 World XI while Krieger and Morgan make their first appearance in the list. Solo made 25 appearances for both club and country and finished her year with 20 clean sheets; Kreiger made 32 appearances in 2016 overall, scoring one goal and leading her club team, the Washington Spirit, to the 2016 NWSL Championship; Lloyd featured 27 times for both club and country, finishing her season with 22 goals and 14 assists; and Morgan, who made 36 appearances overall, finished her year off with 21 goals and four assists. All of these statistics seemed to have convinced other players around the world to include these four players in their list.
A case could be made for Tobin Heath and Becky Sauerbrunn being on this list but based on the final results, the 3,200 players who voted decided that the above four players were worthy of the honour this time around.
Some strong performers feature in the list for 2016
This time around FIFPRO, through its players unions, included votes from 3,200 female footballers across the globe that play at the highest level in 47 countries. All the players were asked to a pick a team with 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 3 midfielders and 3 forwards, that best reflected who they felt were the best in their position for 2016.
The final tally included players from six different countries, including two from Germany's Olympic Gold Medal team, and in that tally the closest contest came between strikers Eugénie Le Sommer and Alexandra Popp, where the French international got 31 more votes than her German counterpart. The full list is as follows:
Goalkeeper: Hope Solo (USA).
Defenders: Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride, USA); Nilla Fischer (VfL Wolfsburg, Sweden); Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyonnais, France); Leonie Maier (FC Bayern Munich, Germany).
Midfielders: Dzsenifer Marozsán (Olympique Lyonnais, Germany); Carli Lloyd (Manchester City, USA); Marta (FC Rosengård, Brazil).
Forwards: Eugénie Le Sommer (Olympique Lyonnais, France); Ada Hegerberg (Olympique Lyonnais, Norway); Alex Morgan (Olympique Lyonnais, USA).