Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Hope Solo, Ali Krieger in FIFPro players' union's Global XI
From a purely American perspective, the timing of this is a bit awkward, as it comes in the wake of the U.S. women's national team's blowout loss to France. But it is International Women's Day, and that's why global soccer players union FIFPro picked Wednesday to unveil its latest Women's World XI.
From a purely American perspective, the timing of this is a bit awkward, as it comes in the wake of the U.S. women's national team's blowout loss to France.
But it is International Women's Day, and that's why global soccer players union FIFPro picked Wednesday to unveil its latest Women's World XI.
The team is voted on by the union's members. Some 3,200 players across 47 countries participated.
Here are those who were picked:
Goalkeeper: Hope Solo (United States, no club)
Defenders: Leone Maier (Germany, Bayern Munich); Nilla Fischer (Sweden, VfL Wolfsburg); Wendie Renard (France, Lyon), Ali Krieger (United States, Orlando Pride)
Midfielders: Dzenifer Marozsán (Germany, Lyon), Carli Lloyd (United States, Houston Dash/Manchester City), Marta (Brazil, FC Rosengård)
Forwards: Alex Morgan (United States, Orlando Pride/Lyon), Ada Hegerberg (Sweden, Lyon), Eugénie Le Sommer (France, Lyon)
It's hard to avoid acknowledging that all four Americans haven't been at their best in recent months. Solo hasn't even been part of the U.S. team since the U.S. Soccer Federation banished her in the wake of her ill-tempered outburst at the Olympics.
It's also hard to avoid noticing some major absence. One is Germany's Melanie Behringer, the top scorer in Rio a few months after winning the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich. Another is American winger Tobin Heath, U.S. Soccer's reigning player of the year. And there are no players from the national teams of England or Canada.
Name recognition is still a major factor in the global game, especially given the lack of big spotlights for women's players. Many games in top European leagues aren't broadcast domestically, never mind internationally, from England to Germany to the UEFA Women's Champions League.
It's even true of the Algarve Cup, the top international tournament outside of the World Cup and Olympics. Canadian fans wishing to watch their team in Wednesday's final can't do so, unless there's an illegal stream out there somewhere.
Contrast that with the SheBelieves Cup, which had every game produced for global broadcast distribution and offered to viewers on TV or online. It's one of the many benefits of the tournament's existence, even if the U.S. runs the risk of finishing last in it.
At club level, the National Women's Soccer League has won acclaim for putting all of its games on YouTube and making them free to fans around the world. The league has yet to confirm how it will distribute games under its new deal with A+E Networks, though it has said online streams will continue to be available worldwide.
We can spend more time lamenting the global game's flaws later. For now, let's turn back to the FIFPro honorees. The principle of the world's players rewarding their own is a good one, even if the results are imperfect.
"There are some amazing players on the women's side, and it's just great to see that we're being recognized," Lloyd said in remarks distributed by FIFPro. "I think that the game has evolved so much. Credit to my teammates for the help. For me, I just want to keep improving and getting better."
Morgan said she was "extremely honored because I worked really hard in 2016, and even though we didn't go very far in the Olympics, it's a great honor to be among some of the other names which are the best in women's football."
Krieger saluted her fellow winners as "fantastic players who I also look to as peers, as colleagues and role models for our sport."
Solo wasn't quoted. All the other winners were, and you can read their remarks here.
The United States is the most-represented national team in the XI with four players. All four play in the National Women's Soccer League, though Lloyd and Morgan are on loan to European clubs.
Lyon is the most-represented club, with five players. The French juggernaut is the world's biggest spender and the favorite to win this year's UEFA Women's Champions League title.
Click on the images below to see more details of how FIFPro's members voted.
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