Head to Head: Kirby v Miedema (Opta comparison)

She Kicks asks Opta to set the two finalists’ leading forwards side by side, and the numbers do more than settle a pub argument – they describe two different footballers. Vivianne Miedema, at twenty-one and already on fifty goals for the Netherlands, has played more, scored more and converted more efficiently, and created twenty-six chances to Fran Kirby’s nine while attempting more than twice as many dribbles at a better success rate. Kirby, at twenty-four, tackles more and concedes more fouls. Both are close on passing accuracy. The magazine is careful to note that numbers only mean so much and that both are big-game players, which was prescient: Kirby would take both major player-of-the-year awards that season.