9781422275955

Martens was named FIFA Best Women’s Player in 2017.

PERNILLE HARDER: ALSO THE BEST? In 2017, striker Pernille Harder of Denmark won the first-ever female version of the Goal 50 award for being the best player of the season. Goal. com is a UK-based soccer website that is the second-largest online sports publication in the world. Being named top player by Goal.com is a less- prestigious honor than winning FIFA Best Player, but it shows that some experts think Harder is better than Martens. Harder was also the runner- up in the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award in 2016–2017, losing out to Martens. Ironically, Martens defeated Harder in the 2017 UEFA Women's Euro tournament, which is likely why she, and not Harder, won the award. Harder, who like Martens is just twenty-six, debuted on the Denmark national team in 2009 at the age of seventeen. Since then, she has

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