With 2025 at its close, it is time to reflect on the stand-out stars of the year in English Football.
In a year which belonged to animals, Newcastle ended a 56-year trophy drought with Carabao Cup success before Crystal Palace soared high with maiden FA Cup and Community Shield titles, whilst Tottenham won the UEFA Europa League title – only to then dispose of Ange Postecoglou weeks later.
Liverpool and Chelsea meanwhile won the Premier League and Women’s Super League titles respectively, albeit under the reins of new managers in Arne Slot and Sonia Bompastor; who both had tough acts to build upon in Jurgen Klopp and Emma Hayes.
England Women meanwhile became England’s first senior team to win a major title on foreign soil as they defended their UEFA Women’s Euro title in Switzerland, even though they put the nation through Tennis’ Andy Murray style emotional wringer in the process.
England Men’s Under-21s defended their UEFA Under-21s Euro title as they saw off the nation’s historic rival, Germany in a tense final.
It is therefore appropriate that we take a moment to celebrate the individual stand-out stars of 2025 in this English Football XI.
Goalkeeper
In a year which saw plenty of outstanding goalkeeping displays from James Trafford to Grant Smith and Jordan Pickford, there is little doubt that Hannah Hampton has been the class of the goalkeepers throughout 2025.
In a year which saw her keep 18 clean sheets for Chelsea and England and help the Blues achieve a domestic treble, Hampton’s shot-stopping skills have been a joyful watch especially against Spain in the UEFA Women’s Euro Final shootout with two crucial saves to defend England’s title.
I however was more impressed with her Quarter-Final performance against Sweden because without her in the wake of Mary Earps’ retirement, England could of easily crashed out early if not for her superb saves and blocks to literally save her defence’s bacon in a nervy game for the nation’s health.
It is therefore no surprise that she was the first female goalkeeper to win the inaugural Women’s Yashin Trophy at the Ballon d’Or.
Defence
At right-back, there is no easier pick this year than Lucy Bronze because like Hampton, she has had a brilliant year with the domestic treble at Chelsea then Women’s Euro success with England, although she played unbelievably well with a broken leg across the tournament.
Bronze’s eight goals and five assists are also impressive stats for someone who is in the twilight years of their career, of which five of her goals this calendar year came for England – which marked her best goalscoring year for the Lionesses where she was a huge part of their title defence in Switzerland.
In central defence, Bromley’s Omar Sowunmi has quietly been consistently impressive with seven goals and one assist this calendar year, but his defensive play in particular has been a highlight from an aerial perspective whilst he too hasn’t been afraid to chip in up front with circa 50 shots.
Another player who has enjoyed a strong year akin to Sowunmi is Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi who captained the Eagles to FA Cup and Community Shield titles, whilst he proved to be a defensive rock for both his club and England with four goals and seven assists.
We shouldn’t also forget his mature handling of transfer speculation surrounding a move to Liverpool and its deadline day collapse, which is an example for all players because he knuckled down and didn’t let the gossip or failed move affect his performances or relationship with Palace fans.
Across at left back, it has been a relatively quiet year with obvious instinctive stand-outs springing to mind, but Arsenal’s versatile Emily Fox has been a quiet star with her all-round contributions both defensively and in attack, particularly in regards to her passes which had high completion percentages.
Midfield
Focusing on the wide midfield positions, Eberechi Eze stood out as an instant pick because his performances have been great, especially at the back end of last season which saw him net crucial goals in the Quarter, Semi and Final as Palace won the FA Cup.
He continued that form at Arsenal this season with seven goals plus three assists – including a hat-trick against their North London rivals, Tottenham, meaning that he finished the calendar year with an impressive 18 goals and 10 assists.
Manchester United again had another tumultuous year in attack but there is no doubting that they would be in a worse position if didn’t have Bruno Fernandes, who has been an exception midfield rock across the year even amidst rumours over his future.
Although his year ended with a hamstring injury, his 18 goals and 15 assists underlined just how important his presence has been to United, as they otherwise would of been in even more of a relegation scrap in the second half of last season if not for his leadership skills and contributions on the pitch.
In the left winger role, it is impossible to not plump for Mitch Pinnock because with 12 assists in combined total for Northampton and Bromley this year, he has been a great watch and specifically at the latter where his movement, crosses and assists has been integral to their continued progress to the League Two summit.
Forward
2025 has certainly been packed with plenty of goalscoring action up front, from the trickery of Eze to fire Crystal Palace to FA Cup glory to Alessia Russo’s equalising header for England in the 2025 UEFA Women’s Euro Final, to the emergence of Michelle Agyemang.
The second half of the year however belongs to Erling Haaland who has been back to his vintage best – yet he still managed 14 goals in the first half despite a period of injury, showing exactly why he is one of the best strikers around with his finishing touches and aerial threat.
40 goals and eight assists in total consequently underlines why he belongs in this XI because he has just been exceptional across the year as a whole.
Bromley’s Michael Cheek is another player who has caught my eye consistently across 2025 because his 33 goal involvements (25 goals & 8 assists) for the Ravens at 34-years-old is impressive, yet his work rate is similar to Harry Kane off the ball but to me more noticeable than the England captain.
In fact I don’t think Bromley would be fighting as high up the League Two table if it hadn’t been for Cheek’s quality because when not scoring, he has still had a menacing presence which oppositional defences have struggled to isolate at times so it is hard to justify leaving him out.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah completes the XI because although he suffered a dip in form this season with just five goals, he has nevertheless been a stand-out across the overall year with 20 goals and 10 assists, which was enough to pip Arsenal Women’s Mariona Caldentey after she too lost form this season.
Manager
In a year which saw plenty of impressive managerial achievements from Eddie Howe and Oliver Glasner leading Newcastle and Crystal Palace to respective Carabao Cup and FA Cup titles, to Sonia Bompastor’s debut domestic treble with Chelsea Women, there has been stand-out managers to celebrate.
Andy Woodman also deserves a shoutout after he led Bromley to 11th in their first-ever EFL season in League Two, and has them now sat top of the table at the end of the year with continued growth.
Sarina Wiegman for me though has stood out if consider the wider context of her achievements with England Women, especially given that she didn’t have any friendlies to experiment with her team given the move of UEFA Women’s Nations League to the first half of 2025.
That particular move meant that England faced competitive action throughout the first half of the year with little room for experimentation, whilst Wiegman also had to deal with a transitory squad which was further hit by Mary Earps’ international retirement pre Women’s Euro and Millie Bright’s absence.
Bright subsequently went on to retire from international football in October to prolong her club career.
Throw in the fact that England became the first team across any senior Euro tournament to lose the group opener of their title defence once the tournament began in a 2-1 loss to France, Wiegman stayed calm to her credit and hit back with wins over Netherlands and Wales to reach the Quarter-Finals.
The Lionesses however did make life incredibly difficult for themselves throughout the knockout stages, yet I was impressed at how Wiegman handled the fact that they conceded first in all three knockout games, especially in her substitution timings and tactical tweaks to turn things around.
Although she was the first manager to guide a senior England’s squad to a major title on foreign soil, there is no doubting that Wiegman had learned from the Euro to trust young players, with youngsters like Anouk Denton and Lucia Kendall handed opportunities in the Homecoming Series.
Wiegman now is focused on England’s Qualifying campaign for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup but 2025 won’t be a year that she forgets in a hurry, especially with her honorary damehood.
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