KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Heralded as one of the best and most-recognizable soccer players in the world, Kansas City Current midfielder Debinha added another NWSL Best XI First Team honor Monday, the league announced.
It’s the second Best XI honor for Debinha, who scored a franchise-record nine goals in her debut season with the Current and made the NWSL Monthly Best XI in March/April, June and August.
“Deb is one of the best players in the world,” Current General Manager Camille Ashton said in a statement. “Her creativity, vision and ability to impact any game is incredible. More than that, she is an unbelievable leader, a true team player and we are so proud of her and excited to see her receive the recognition she deserves.”
Players; owners, coaches and GMs; media; and fans vote on the Best XI.
Signed last offseason as a free agent, Debinha, a Brazilian star who played the previous five seasons with the North Carolina Courage, notched the first multi-goal game in Current history in her fourth regular-season game with the club.
She had three more goals during the NWSL Challenge Cup and also scored for Brazil in the SheBelieves Cup and FIFA World Cup.
Debinha was the only Current player to receive first- or second-team honors after the 2022 NWSL runners-up crashed to 11th in the league this season and missed the playoffs.
Matt Potter was fired three games into the season, all losses, and the Current went 8-9-2 the rest of the season under interim coach Caroline Sjöblom.
The Current — who will move into CPKC Stadium, the first game-day facility purpose-built exclusively for a women’s professional team, next season — parted ways with Sjöblom after the season.
Former FC Kansas City and U.S. Women’s National Team coach Vlatko Andonovski was introduced as the Current’s next coach in late October.
Former Current forward Lynn Williams, who was traded to the NJ/NY Gotham FC in the offseason, also made the Best XI First Team.
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