The last eight teams in the Women’s Euros will soon be back out on the pitch, but which players will steal the limelight? And how might these players use their capabilities to score?

Game insights analyst, James Cook, unpacks the three most goal-threatening players in the group stage, and how they each use their individual capabilities to do so.

What are player capabilities? How can we recognise what players need to do before, during, and after receiving the ball? To build understanding of what these are before we delve into some real-life examples from the women’s Euros, read our article on ‘The FA’s six core capabilities’.

Sweden’s Stina Blackstenius 

Topping group C, Sweden’s Blackstenius recorded 15 shots and 2 goals – including the first goal against Poland and a pivotal equalising goal against Germany in the final game of the group stage.

Stina Blackstenius’ passes received in the attacking third across all three group games at Euro 2025. Shown are the passes that she successfully received, passes that became assists for her and passes which led to shots by her.

What patterns do you notice about the passes she is receiving in the attacking third, and where her shots are assisted from? A high number of shots are assisted from crosses from the right-hand side. Let’s break down how she uses the six core capabilities in this repeated pattern of goalscoring moments.

In the example below, Blackstenius creates an opportunity from clever movement, timing and deception.

The second shot (below) resulted in a goal occurred only five minutes after the first goalscoring moment against Poland. Blackstenius uses variety in her movement to be unpredictable in the box making it extremely difficult for defenders to mark her and stop her from scoring.

Spain’s Esther Gonázlez 

Spain also topped their respective Group, winning all three games against Portugal, Belgium, and Italy. Esther González is the tournament’s current leading goal scorer with four goals in total, scoring in every game.

Before the ball arrives, González uses her timing to avoid being offside on both occasions. Her movement varies between a straight run and a curved run depending on the space she has to exploit. When receiving the ball, she uses different techniques to finish from a volley on a first-time finish or using a touch to control the ball before taking her shot. González is great at readjusting her positioning n the box, following in after taking her shot.

Spain’s Alexia Putellas

As a midfielder, Putellas is able to impact the game more frequently by having more involvements. Those situations look different to the ones previously highlighted for Stina Blackstenius and Esther González.

Alexia Putellas passes received across all three group games at Euro 2025. Shown are the passes that she successfully received, passes that became assists for her & passes which led to shots by her. Alexia Putellas shot map across all three group games at Euro 2025, showing the location and outcome of the shot (off target, on target, or goal).

Putellas takes her shots from central locations and often receives the ball to feet from a short sideways pass. Before receiving the ball, Putellas uses scanning to know where the pressure is coming from and how much time she has before taking a shot.

Additional Insight: ‘A Spanish superstar shines bright in Switzerland’ How Putellas uses the six core capabilities to create chances.

Summary

The differences between individual player capabilities in front of goal is part of what makes football exciting to watch, each player has their own unique skillset. As coaches we can develop our players through knowledge and understanding of their capabilities, using elite examples of best practice to refer back to. Blackstenius, González, and Putellas are all set for massive quarter-final games against England, and the host nation Switzerland. Watch out for how they use their player capabilities in front of goal in the next game.