The 25 Hottest Female Soccer Players

The United States's hopes for reliving the glory of 1999 were dashed yesterday in a match the ultimately saw Japan as FIFA Women's World Cup Champions for the first time in history. The U.S.'s Hope Solo, Abby Wambach and the rest of their squad fell to the underdogs in a series of penalty kicks, losing three to one. Undoubtedly, Japan's win has uplifted the nation which has had one of its most difficult years following the devastation caused by the unforgettable massive earthquake that struck the country last March.

But a nation's pride doesn't necessarily need to come soley from its success on the soccer field; it can be motivated by its roster of players as well. No, we're not talking about individual talent. We're talking about aesthetic appeal, i.e. their team's hottest players. Just try to deny the fact that seeing an attractive face representing your country can be as uplifting as win. OK, we may be trying to console ourselves a little bit for Sunday's loss, but just check out the 25 hottest female soccer players and we guarantee you that the crushed feeling in the pit of your stomach from your team losing will disappear, at least temporarily.

Team: Norway
For Giske, the Norwegian midfielder, soccer isn't just a passion—it's in her blood. She's the daughter of Ander Giske, who use to captain the Norwegian National Football Team. After suffering a series of injuries for two years, last year Giske claimed her goal was to be part of the World Cup in 2011. The world gladly welcomed her.

Team: Sweden
This 24-year-old Swedish forward was a key player in Sweden's World Cup run this year. With 55 international game appearances and 17 goals since her tournament debut in 2007, it's hard to imagine Sweden's success without Landstrom, their sexiest player.

Team: Australia
As captain of the Australian national team, nickamed the "Matlildas," this goalkeeper led her team to this year's quarter finals. After their loss against Sweden, Barbieri noted that their team's new focus is the 2012 Olympics in London. Meanwhile, Australian men noted that all of their focus was still on Barbieri.

Team: Brazil
She's most known for her "injury" during the U.S. versus Brazil quarterfinal match, where she dramatically fell to the ground, for what appeared to be no reason, and ran out the clock. Her plan backfired, however, when the U.S. scored a goal during the final seconds of extra time. Well, here's to her redeeming quality: those inarguable good looks.

Team: Colombia
Ariza played midfield for Colombia, but, despite having the talented scorer, the team failed to score a single goal during the group phase of the tournament. They were eliminated early with one draw and two losses. Tatiana isn't the only talented soccer player with a pretty face last-named Ariza, though; her twin, Natalia, is one, too.

Team: France
According to a poll of French fans, Thiney is the hottest girl on France's team. She deserves the title based on looks alone, but her skills as a player no doubt helped. Scoring two of France's four goals, she was the key element in her country's win over Canada, which allowed them to advance to the quarterfinals.

Team: Netherlands
Hoogendijk has only two words of wisdom to help others reach her level of success: "Work hard." After overcoming a childhood illness, she appeared on the show Never Give In at age 12 to announce her intention to play for the all-boys' team, FC Utrecht. Her determination and hard work made her dream of playing for her hometown's soccer club a reality; she has been playing internationally with the Netherland team since 2004.

Team: France
Franco is the base of France's strong defense, but she's also known as an excellent deep-lying (er, soccer terminology) playmaker. She had scored points in two qualifying matches for the World Cup, giving her team a 7-0, and 12-0 victory. Continuing her dedication to her team, on Sunday, during the match against Sweden for third place, she carried injured goalkeeper Berangere Sapowicz on her back.

Team: Sweden
Schelin will go down as one of Sweden's most notable players in every other facet of the game besides pure aesthetics. The 27-year-old, who made her World Cup debut in 2004, has 56 caps (international games played) and 22 goals with the Sweden national team, won the Diamond Ball (Sweden's best female player) in 2006, and even played in the 2008 Olympics, amongst other noteworthy accomplishments.

Team: Canada
This 20-year-old forward, who's dubbed as "Canada's next great," is one-half of an impressive strikeforce, alongside teammate Sinclair. Filigno didn't get to show her skills after losing the opening match to Germany, but it's because of her that Canada made it there in the first place, starting in the FIFA qualification match, in which Filigno scored four goals and earned three assists.

Team: Mexico
This midfielder's team may have lost, but the coaches explain that the team is young; Mexico wasn't expected to win, but it was a good learning experience. So, thankfully, this won't be the last time we get to root for Rangel.

Team: Germany
It seems that with their World Cup hosting duties, Germany was looking to build a team they'd be proud to show off to the rest of the world, and we're not just talking talent. Kulig, a 21-year-old blonde beauty, was arguably the most promising new addition to Germany's World Cup roster this year, not only bringing skills as a midfielder but also a face for international television. Despite her strong performance, Kulig was taken out during the fourth minute in this year's quarterfinals due to a torn ACL; she won't be able to play for the next six months. Don't you wish you were an ice-pack right about now?

Team: France
While she's one of France's newest additions to their starting lineup, defender Boulleau is already acquiring a huge fan-base. On top of her soccer career, she's a model for Nike's "Live for the Game" campaign in France.

Team: England
Unitt has been voted England's "Player of the Year" twice, and scored three goals in the 2011 World Cup qualifying campaign. Additionally, not many players can say that they won the FA Women's Cup and the Premier League Cup three times. Unitt has quickly become a goalie's worst nightmare, not to mention a man's preferred dream.

Team: Sweden
Sweden may have lost to Japan in the semi-finals, but that doesn't necessarily mean Oqvist is out of the headlines. Her first controversy, appearing in Slitz magazine, is now shadowed by a video of her trading jerseys with a fan during a game. What's a better souvenir? The jersey or the memory of Oqvist with her top off? What a no-brainer.

Team: Australia
Simon might be Australia's biggest star at the moment because of her ability to score under pressure. The 20-year-old scored both of her team's points against Norway in their 2-1 victory, which ensured Australia's place in the quarterfinals. Our girl Kyah, he top scorer in the 2010 and 2011 W-League, is most recognized for scoring abilities, which previously won her the titles of Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, and Players' Player of the Year. Clearly, she's not a bad player.

Team: U.S.A.
After losing both of her opportunities to make the U.S. team for the World Cup due to injuries (in 2003 and 2007), Mitts became the oldest player to make her debut in the tournament this year. At 33, she joined the roster as a key defender with over a decade's worth of experience, including an NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in 1998 with her alma mater, the Florida Gators.

Team: Australia
Although Gill, the reigning AFC Player of the Year, secured Australia's World Cup berth by scoring the winning goal in the Asian Cup versus Japan last year, she tore a ligament playing for her regular team, Linköpings FC, just prior to the tournament. Gill, a striker who ranks just behind Cheryl Salisbury as Australia's all-time highest goal scorer (with 32 goals), forfeited her spot for surgery and unfortunately watched as her team fell to Brazil.

Team: Mexico
Mexico recruited this University of San Diego defender, and California native, to play for this year's national team. She may not have scored any goals, but she did make the 21 games she played in a little more enticing to watch.

Team: Germany
They say that soccer is the closest sport to ballet, a very intricate dance of graceful players. To help promote the tournament, and show how beautiful soccer can be, Wagner posed for a German edition of Playboy magazine. Sure as hell convinced us.

Team: Sweden
Asllani, who aided her national team as a forward during their World Cup qualifying matches last year, was not chosen for the final squad. Could it have been her shift in loyalty to the Chicago Red Stars last season? Or, given she's returning to her homeland with the Linkopings FC next season, was it the fear that her distracting good looks would take the media's focus away from the team? Hey, it's a valid argument!

Team: Canada
Canada's midfielder looks entirely harmless. In fact, she' seems like the kind of girl you'd be too nice to tackle. But the 22-year-old finished her third World Cup appearance with 35 international game appearances and two crucial goals.

Team: U.S.A.
Regardless of having yesterday's heartbreaking loss at her hands, the general population is still in love with the national team's goalkeeper. Tweets and Facebook statuses reading "I still love you Hope Solo" flooded timelines following Japan's winning goal. It's a radical shift in public opinion from her days as the blond who was infamous for the criticisms against her former coach, Greg Ryan, following their 2007 loss against Brazil, which got her immediately kicked off the team. Never doubt the power of hot looks, folks.

Team: Brazil
Clearly, Brazil not only screwed up once this tournament (with Erika Christiano dos Santos' "injury" during the match versus the U.S.), but twice by not including their hottest player ever in the final lineup. Andriolo, the striker for the Brazilian national team who has actual skill to back up her surprising good looks, was undoubtedly missed on the field by her loyal male following with forums blowing up and questioning her absence. Although the world wasn't exposed to her this year, she still has that 2008 nude (NSFW) pictorial for non-Brazilians to ogle.

Team: U.S.A.
Morgan, the youngest player on the United States roster (she's only 22), scored the first goal in yesterday's championship against Japan. Known as the team's fastest runner, she's depended upon whenever Team U.S.A. needs strong offense in quick spurts. After the loss against Japan, she quickly tweeted, "I am a little heart broken. But we left it all on the field, and I am proud of this team." We're willing to bet that there are thousands of guys who've already direct messaged her offering to personally console her. If not, dudes are slacking.