Albion defender Maya Le Tissier is one of ten players who have been named the best young footballers in the world in the prestigious Goal's 2021 NXGN awards. The 18-year-old is the only player from the UK to be named in the top ten. NXGN ranks the best young footballers in the world, with separate lists for the male and female players. For this year's list, eligible players needed to be born on or after January 1, 2002, with players aged predominantly 18 and under.
The NXGN list is compiled by Goal's global network of journalists operating in 44 countries, with hundreds of football experts contributing to the final list of talented teenagers.
Maya said, “To be considered among the top ten young players in the world is a tremendous honour, and I would like to thank Goal for nominating me.
“I am really enjoying my football at the moment. We've put together a run of four straight wins and hopefully this can continue for the rest of the season.
“Personally, I am really enjoying working with Hope Powell and the coaching team at Brighton and this award will inspire me to keep on developing and improving every aspect of my game.”
The 2021 Women's NXGN List in full
1
Hanna Bennison
Rosengard
2
Nikita Tromp
Ajax
3
Alison Gonzalez
Atlas
4
Alexis Missimo
University of Texas
5
Melchie Dumornay
AS Tigresses
6
Mary Fowler
Montpellier
7
Maya Le Tissier
Brighton & Hove Albion
8
Haley Bugeja
Sassuolo
9
Juliet Nalukenge
Kawempe Muslim
10
Maika Hamano
Cerezo Osaka Sakai
Goal is the largest digital football publication the world, with more than 80m football fans visiting Goal's website every month. It is available in 17 languages with 44 local editions producing content tailored to their audience which includes 60m fans across its social media channels.