Given all the trades and movement in the NWSL before the transfer window closed, which included several international players joining the NWSL or moving teams, we thought it would be a good time to check out the impact of the international players and fantasy points.
One way to look at this is how many fantasy points each team has gotten from their international players. It’s quite a range – with the Houston Dash earning a high of 646, and the Washington Spirit a mere 77:
| Team | International Team Points (as of Round 15) |
| Houston Dash | 646* |
| Angel City | 501 |
| Portland Thorns | 468 |
| North Carolina Courage | 410 |
| San Diego Wave | 397 |
| OL Reign | 326 |
| Orlando Pride | 266 |
| Racing Louisville | 257* |
| NJ/Ny Gotham FC | 163 |
| Kansas City Current | 133 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 133 |
| Washington Spirit | 77 |
*Includes Ebony Salmon’s points: 86 for the Houston Dash and 7 for Racing Louisville
While every team utilizes their international players, there’s a significant difference in how many each team has – as many as 10 and as few as 3. Canada has the most international players in NWSL (17) followed by England with 9. Japan and Brazil each supply the NWSL with 6 players, with 4 from Australia, 3 from Sweden, 2 from Nigeria and Wales, and 1 from Spain.
| Team | # International Players |
| Angel City | 10 |
| Houston Dash | 10 |
| Racing Louisville | 9 |
| Orlando Pride | 9 |
| North Carolina Courage | 8 |
| NJ/Ny Gotham FC | 8 |
| San Diego Wave | 7 |
| OL Reign | 6 |
| Kansas City Current | 6 |
| Portland Thorns | 5 |
| Washington Spirit | 4 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 3 |
Let’s take a look at the International players in each division who are earning their teams the top points. Check out the ShePlaysNWSL Round 15 Team of the Week and you’ll see all 3 forwards are the fantasy point leaders on their teams!
Western Division
All four Western Division teams make excellent use of their international players and is the only division where every team has at least one international player earning 100+ points. Two players from Japan lead the west: Portland’s Hina Sugita with top NWSL International fantasy points- 141 out of 453 – followed by Angel City’s Jun Endo earning 125 out of their 501 points. The Reign’s Jess Fishlock (Wales) has 123 of their 326 points, and Emily van Egmond (Australia) has 119 out of the Wave’s 397 points.
Central Division
Houston Dash is making a clear run at the playoffs, and their 10 international players have already brought in a league high of 646 fantasy points! (If you haven’t already, it may be time to stock up on a few Dash players). Maria Sanchez (Mexico) leads the Dash with 130 points, and not too far behind is Nichelle Prince with 110. Racing Louisville’s captain Gemma Bonner (England) has earned the team 104 out of 257 points. A Chicago fan favorite Yuki Nagasato (Japan) leads the 3 internationals on the team with 73 points. While Kansas City and Chicago each have a total of 133 points from their international players, the Current just traded away their top international, Victoria Pickett (Canada) with 62 points.
Eastern Division
North Carolina is also hoping to move up in the table and their international players. While it’s no surprise that Debinha (Brazil) is the international player with the most points with 122, Diana Ordonez has recently changed her affiliation to Mexico so we have to give her credit for 119 out of 370 of Courage’s points. Orlando Pride’s Celia is the NWSL’s sole player from Spain, with 88 points, and Gotham’s Ifeoma Onumonu (Nigeria) is next with 59. The Spirit only have four international players, and Julia Roddar (Sweden) leads the team with 30 out of their 70 points.
Which international players would you like to see in NWSL? Let us know!