The NXGN Awards are back for another year, but in 2023, we're doing things a little differently!

In previous years, GOAL has ranked the world's top teenage talents in women's football, with the likes of Lena Oberdorf, Melchie Dumornay and Hanna Bennison finishing as the eventual winners.

This year, though, the top 25 women's players will NOT be ranked. Instead, we've selected an elite group that we believe are the very top of the class, who will be known as the inaugural NXGN Nine.

Check out the full list of 25 finalists for NXGN 2023 below:

Getty/GOALAline Gomes (Ferroviaria)

When Pia Sundhage, the head coach of Brazil’s senior national team, was interviewed by FIFA last year, she was asked which members of the Selecao’s team had impressed her most at the U20 World Cup. “The youngest one, actually,” she replied.

Sundhage was referring to 17-year-old Aline, the only player born in 2005 in Brazil’s squad for the tournament in Costa Rica.

A forward who attacks brilliantly from out wide, last year was a big one for Aline. She caught the eye at the U17 and U20 World Cups, nailed down a regular role as a starter with Ferroviaria in Brazil's top flight and was selected as the league’s 'Revelation of the Season'.

AdvertisementGetty/GOALJulia Bartel (Barcelona)

The fifth-youngest player to debut for Barcelona in its professional era, Bartel has all the qualities that the club demands from its midfielders.

Energetic, positive on the ball with good dribbling skills and the composure needed for the club’s style of play, that the 18-year-old's minutes with the first team have been limited is simply a reflection of the quality head coach Jonatan Giraldez has available to him in the middle of the park.

The positive is that Bartel has the opportunities to learn from some of the world’s best – from Alexia Putellas to Keira Walsh. With names like that in Catalunya, it will be tough to break into Barca’s team, but there is confidence that, in the end, this talented teenager will.

Getty/GOALChiara Beccari (Juventus – loan at Como)

There is a lot of attacking talent coming through Juventus’ youth ranks, and Beccari may well be the pick of the bunch.

A serial goal-scorer in Italy's youth national teams, forward Beccari joined Como on loan for the 2022-23 campaign and has been making a real impression in the first season in which she has been exposed to senior football week in, week out.

Skilful with great footwork and off ball movement, the 18-year-old has added a touch of quality and class to a team battling relegation, most notably winning a penalty and scoring a brilliant equaliser against parent club Juventus back in November.

Getty/GOALHaley Bugeja (Orlando Pride)

A player who stands out for her dribbling ability in particular, the ambidextrous Bugeja has been generating real buzz ever since her brilliant breakthrough into senior football as a 16-year-old at Sassuolo.

She burst onto the scene with a goal against Napoli that would go viral and ended her first campaign in Serie A with 12 goals, all while breaking records at international level for Malta. After two seasons in Italy, though, the young forward opted for a change in scenery.

In the summer of 2022, the 18-year-old signed for the Orlando Pride in the United States. She has so far been slowly introduced to that new environment, but will hope to make an impact on the NWSL in 2023.