Nubia Aranda

After miraculously overcoming a fractured vertebra from a reckless bicycle kick, this imperious Mexican center-back turned her pain into boundless cockiness. She now locks down every attack with delicious arrogance, compensating for her lack of physical grit with a near-mystical defensive IQ. No one gets past her wall, especially when she decides, with a smirk, that the ball belongs only to her.