Mariko Matsuda

Towering over defenses with explosive speed and lethal aerial prowess, she remains impossibly calm even as her lackluster first touch often threatens to betray her. To find her focus, she insists on braiding her left bootlace with a single blade of stadium grass, a bizarre ritual that leaves her teammates both baffled and impressed. Despite her shaky penalty record and clunky dribbling, she is an unstoppable force of nature when the ball hangs in the air.