Why NWSL’s Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga are some of the best strikers in the league

The most anticipated clash from this semifinals is set. Orlando Pride will face Kansas City Current and along with that, the top goalscorers of the NWSL will have the opportunity to prove who’s best.

Both share similarities but at the same time, they’re different. What are their characteristics? Let’s dive in and see.

Photo by Dustin Markland/Getty Images

Barbra Banda

Since African and Chinese soccer are not well known on this side of the world, people were wondering why the Pride was willing to pay Shanghai Shengli $740,000 to acquire the Zambian forward in a four-year deal.

Banda finished second in the Golden Boot race with 13 tallies, among 43 goals total her team scored in the regular season—16 more than in their 2023 season. How did Banda do it?

An unselfish player

Top goalscorers usually prefer to take the shots themselves. In the following videos, you’ll see two examples of Banda recognizing her teammate is in a better position.

First, she could’ve beaten the defenders with her speed but instead chose to pass the ball to teammate Ally Watt directly in front of the goal. And then, you’ll see how she assists Marta inside the box, although she had a clear chance to shoot and finish her night with a hat trick. Maybe that’s why Banda finished her season with six assists, one more than Chawinga.

Crossing

Banda finished her season with nine completed crosses while Chawinga registered only three. In othe first clips below, she sends the ball to Angelina.

In the second, she sends it to Watt. Both finished finding the back of the net.

Aerial game

Out of her 13 goals scored, almost half came from headers. Banda knows how to win her aerial duels inside the box.

Look in the following video how first she arrives to the second post to score a header while being unmarked and then how she wins an aerial duel against two center-backs.

Banda has other great traits such as her acceleration and explosion that helps her sprint and leave her defenders behind and put herself in goalscoring positions or set her teammates for it as you’ve seen in the videos above. She also can control long, difficult passes while being surrounded by defenders and find the space to break through or pass the ball.

When you look at the chart below, we can see she’s great in progressive carries (second in the league with 112), successful take-ons (fourth with 48), % of dribblers tackled, and progressive passes. She’s not that good in the defensive department, although she can be good with tackles.

All those traits make her a more well-rounded player in the attack than Chawinga. But what about the Kansas City striker?

Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Temwa Chawinga

The 2024 NWSL Golden Boot winner is on a quest to get a Championship in her first season in the league. She already established a new record in the goalscoring department, passing WHOTK’s old record of WHATTK from YEAR TK.

A clinical striker

She’s first in shots (106) and shots on target (58), having a shooting accuracy of 71.9%, and a conversion rate of 23.6%. She scores a goal every 106.4 minutes against Banda’s 16.5% conversion rate and 122 minutes per goal average.

And you can see that on the field. Chawinga doesn’t usually miss sitters while we’ve seen Banda missing some very clear goal opportunities like the one she missed in the playoff quarterfinal.

Shot taker

The Malawian doesn’t hesitate She’s not afraid to shoot if she sees an opening.

She’s confident in her skills and knows that she’s inevitable.

Fearless attacker

The striker is never afraid to take on defenders no matter how many they are or how late in the game it can be. Her control of the ball, her motor, and her stamina are remarkable. That’s also what enables her to be so effective in counterattacks that make the opponent’s defenses pay. Look in the clips below how she does this in not only the 10’ but also in stoppage time.

Composure

Chawinga’s cool head inside the box allows her to usually win in 1v1 situations either against defenders or the goalkeeper. She can lose the ball but the Malawian will keep pressing to get it back and find the back of the net.

The traits mentioned above are just some of her characteristics but when you look at the chart below you’ll see that although Banda can be a more well-rounded player in the attack, Chawinga contributes more in other parts of the field, including the defense. We can name especially two: the number of players tackled and the number of interceptions (Tkl+Int in the chart), and blocks.

It is interesting too that she has a better percentage of aerial duels won but at the same time, she hasn’t scored a single header. That’s because her aerial duels are more defensive-prone.

Conclusion

Banda’s zen unselfishness and Chawinga’s relentless efficiency are core to what the league is now. Athleticism is not enough anymore in women’s soccer nowadays, and that’s why other teams cannot replicate what Chawinga and Banda have done this season.