My FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Best Hair XI
Awarding the women who went above and beyond a simple ponytail or pixie
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I’ve been thinking about writing this post ever since I mentioned in my first post about Les Lionnes Indomptables that one of the reasons they’re my favorite team of this Women’s World Cup is how many spots they’d occupy in my Best Hair XI. At the time of that original post, I had in mind a few other players from different countries who would be deserving of that (fictitious) award, but as the tournament went on and I got a better look at more of the players, I found myself adding more and more notes re: who else I’d include.
While researching Gaëlle Enganamouit for the two posts I’ve written about the Cameroon women’s national team, the second result, always under Enganamouit’s Wikipedia page and a row of image results, was this post crowning Enganamouit as “hair champion of the 2015 Women’s World Cup”. The author, Miriti Murungi, has as much fun with his article as the Indomitable Lionesses had in this Women’s World Cup. Gaëlle Force is my favorite player of the tournament, and I appreciate Murungi’s celebration of her.
Which brings me to a recently manufactured controversy via Yahoo. In the guise of social justice — calling out something as “problematic” was a dead giveaway — we’re treated to mock moral outrage over an article on FIFA’s website that dares to comment on Alex Morgan’s looks as part of an obvious character profile for a player who the USWNT — and, given the USWNT’s significance to women’s soccer, FIFA as well — wishes will be their next star. Yahoo’s article is obvious clickbait, with the title, “FIFA Website Praises USWNT Star Alex Morgan As ‘Very Easy On The Eye’”, willfully misreading what the FIFA article says:
Alex Morgan is one of the most popular players in USA women’s football. A talented goalscorer with a style that is very easy on the eye and good looks to match, she is nothing short of a media phenomenon.
Though FIFA says Morgan has “good looks” — hardly controversial and a huge part in why she appears in so many commercials despite a sub-par campaign this year — they call her playing style “very easy on the eye”. It’s as if Yahoo (or the Fox Sports pundits whose tweets were embedded in that article) hasn’t ever heard soccer referred to as the beautiful game — or they’re just peddling in even worse Women’s World Cup coverage than they accuse FIFA of offering. FIFA’s an easy target to attack, especially this past month or so, but I’ve really appreciated the content they’ve provided throughout Canada 2015.
I could break down how the rest of that Yahoo piece is so off the mark, but it’s not worth my or your time. Yes, the media and society at large focus on visual appearance for women more than for men, and yes, those same groups correspondingly undervalue women’s sports, but that doesn’t mean that every mention of a woman’s appearance undermines her value as an athlete. You should be able to celebrate both aspects of her humanity, especially when a player obviously spends serious consideration on her appearance — such as Enganamouit’s attention-grabbing hairstyle that seems to have a life of its own or even Morgan’s understated yet still crafted commercial-friendly looks.
And so, I present to you my FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Best Hair XI (plus a few reserves):
Starting XI
Gaëlle Enganamouit (Cameroon): Gaëlle Force arrived on the scene this tournament. Playing all 90 minutes in each of Cameroon’s 4 matches, Enganamouit scored 3 goals — a hat trick in the opening match against Ecuador — , assisted another, and relently pressured her opponents’ defenses. She’s also the unquestioned Hair MVP, sporting this majestic blonde perm-hawk. Who else has the confidence to give her all in every match with a hairstyle bound to come undone as the minutes tick on? Maybe her teammate, Onguene, but Enganamouit stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Madeleine Ngono Mani (Cameroon): Ngono Mani and Manie are both 31 years old and, accordingly, the two leaders of this Cameroon women’s national team. Appearing in all 4 of Cameroon’s matches, Ngono Mani scored 2 important goals: the first of the tournament against Ecuador and, in doing so, Cameroon’s Women’s World Cup history, as well as the game-winner against Switzerland that secured Second Round qualification for Cameroon. I’ve heard this ponytail called pink, red, and purple, and though I tend to consider it red simply because that’s the only one of those colors that’s part of the Cameroonian flag, I think they’re all sufficient in suggesting how bold the look is, especially when the ponytail’s whipping back and forth as Ngono Mani’s streaking down the field.
Christine Manie (Cameroon): Manie’s the captain of Cameroon and had to (wo)man the defense as a center back despite allegedly playing as a forward for her club team. She played all 90 minutes in each of Cameroon’s 4 matches, and even though the back four (and keeper) looked suspect on crosses early in Cameroon’s losses to Japan and China, they repeatedly stuck in afterward and kept Cameroon’s hopes alive up until the final whistle. Manie’s severe pulled-back hairstyle with the shaved sides is completely unique in this tournament, and its coolness perfectly matches the player sporting it.
Gabrielle Onguene (Cameroon): Onguene’s never-ending runs as a winger combined with Enganamouit doing the same down the center channel to fuel Cameroon’s positive style, especially when that positivity was borne out of necessity from going down early. Onguene appeared in all 4 of Cameroon’s matches and scored 2 goals — including the inspiring equalizer against Switzerland that won her woman of the match — and assisted 2 others. Her rock star medium-length layered perm got even more crazy than Enganamouit’s hair as the match went on, adding all the more joy to watching the tournament’s most fun team.
Raissa Feudjio (Cameroon): After representing Cameroon as a 16 year old at the 2012 London Olympics, the now 19 year old Feudjio (wo)manned the midfield for all 90 minutes of each of her country’s 4 matches in this Women’s World Cup. Her permed shock with full bangs seemed to symbolize her youth, standing out amidst every African player. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Feudjio captain Les Lionnes Indomptables in 2027.
Cathy Bou Ndjouh (Cameroon): Outside the pitch, Bou Ndjouh seems as friendly as can be, which may contrast with her on-the-pitch toughness as a center back. She played for the full 90 minutes in Cameroon’s first 2 matches before sitting on the bench for the rest of the tournament — I’m not sure why. Her hairstyle seems to along the same line as Japan’s Ogimi’s, but I prefer Bou Ndjouh’s execution: those short, tight curls and that one bleached subsection.
Lianne Sanderson (England): Sanderson was a promising striker for England before quitting the national team in August 2010 because of then-coach Hope Powell, only to return after current coach Mark Sampson was hired in December 2013 — meaning she missed the historic 2012 London Olympics. This Women’s World Cup, then, was her first major tournament since returning, and although England recorded an unprecedented 3rd place finish, capped off by the win against #1 (though recently deposed) Germany, the tournament must be sort of a let-down for a player whose future seemed so bright years ago. She appeared in only 2 matches, logging a total of 76 minutes, during which she committed 3 fouls and took 1 shot (which was on-goal, at least). As to why she’s still included in my Best Hair XI, she seems to have had fantastic hairstyles her whole career, starting this tournament with the bleached mohawk you see pictured, before toning it down to a more honey-brown color midway through. Maybe she figured that she should have a more reserved color given how little she was featuring, but I prefer the near-white mohawk, and so that’s why I’ve chosen to include it.
Kadeisha Buchanan (Canada): Your (deep breath) FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Hyundai Best Young Player (inhale). Buchanan played the full 90 minutes in each of Canada’s 5 matches, (wo)manning a defense that gave up only 3 goals, including just 1 goal leading up to their 1–2 loss to England. Who didn’t love her long ponytail of braids with a few on the left side dyed red all on top of an otherwise shaved head (and that shaved-in maple leaf that I only noticed after seeing this close-up!)? At only 19 years old, Buchanan’s making me look forward to watching Canada for the next decade or so.
Wendie Renard (France): How did a 24 year old captain the national team that many felt were the darlings of this tournament to a quarter-final loss against then #1 Germany in soccer’s uniquely cruel fashion? Playing every minute of France’s 5 matches while acting as a nearly impenetrable wall (not to mention patrolling the air for every set-piece and incoming cross) should just about do it. France posseses a sexy level of skill at basically every position, and will host the next Women’s World Cup in 2019, when Renard may be in her prime, so watch out. Her blow-out looks as majestic as Enganamouit’s perm-hawk, but where Enganamouit’s exudes cool in an almost glam/punk rock way, Renard’s epitomizes refined French cool.
Larissa Crummer (Australia): At only 19 years old with 7 international caps and 1 goal to her name, Crummer’s career is just starting to take off. The striker had a Women’s World Cup at least statistically similar to Sanderson’s, appearing in 2 matches for a total of 50 minutes, in which she recorded 1 foul and 1 shot (which was on-goal). Her Matildas impressed everyone this tournament, surviving the group of death — during which they scored the only goal on the USWNT until the final and tied with historically good Sweden — and then shocking the world by defeating Brazil 1–0 in the round of 16 only to lose 0–1 to eventual runner-up Japan in the quarter-final. Look out for Crummer in the coming years as 30 year old national goalscoring leader Lisa De Vanna’s career winds down, although Australia has several strikers who Crummer will have to vy with, including heroine of the Brazil match and trailblazer for indigenous Aussies, Kyah Simon, as well as fellow-Best Hair XI teammate Michelle Heyman. Crummer’s hairstsyle is possibly the most complicated and therefore unique in this Women’s World Cup. Not only does she have a braid in the front-left and a side-pony in the back-right, but she also has the bottom half of the back of her head shaved. If she can show off that sort of creativity on the field, she’ll surely earn more caps and score more goals.
Michelle Heyman (Australia): Heyman appeared in each of Australia’s 5 matches, consistently logging minutes as a substitute forward for a total of 168. Unfortunately, she only had 1 shot (which was off-target) but she did record an assist. Her asymmetric bleached swoop with the sides shaved and kept brunette makes for a very good look. (Heyman uses this photo as her profile pic on Klear — whatever that is — so I don’t feel as guilty using it, even though I’ve tried to use in-game or official pre-Women’s World Cup FIFA promo pics in this post, as opposed to unabashedly sexy training pics.)
Reserves
Yuki Ogimi (Japan): Ogimi will probably best be remembered in this Women’s World Cup for cutting short the USWNT’s shutout streak seconds before they would have claimed the record outright from 2007 Germany. She scored 1 other goal this tournament while playing the full 90 minutes in each of Japan’s 7 matches, a feat that seems improbable for most forwards. Her two differently-colored sections on the left side of her hair — one bleached and the other dyed an auburn sort of shade, extending through her ponytail — created an interesting look. And, though she always played with her hair up, her hair looked pretty good while down as well.
Angela Clavijo (Colombia): Las Cafeteras may have been the villains of this Women’s World Cup, but they had to have surprised everyone’s expectations in order to become such a talking point. Clavijo played the full 90 minutes in each of Colombia’s 4 matches, (wo)manning a streaky defense that gave up a goal to poor Mexico, had a clean-sheet against ascendant France, and then had back-to-back matches where they gave up 2 goals, against eventual 3rd place England and then eventual 1st place USA. Her blue-tinted ponytail doesn’t take much work compared to the other hairstyles in my Best Hair team, but its unique color and simple embracement of the idea that the players should have fun representing their countries in a spectacle as grand as a World Cup are what merit its inclusion.
Zhao Rong (China): Zhao played the full 90 minutes in each of China’s 5 matches, which is impressive for a forward, as I mentioned, but she only tallied 1 shot (which was off-target) in a Chinese attack that averaged less than a goal a game. This Women’s World Cup marked a an approaching return to China’s former glory, after a period of decline, so hopefully Zhao can continue to ascend with her national team and score some goals in France 2019. Her purple-tinted ponytail lands her in my Best Hair Reserves for similar reasons to Clavijo, though Zhao seems to have one-upped her by braiding her hair.
Karina LeBlanc (Canada): LeBlanc is the only player in my Best Hair team to have not logged any minutes in Canada 2015. She’s one of those keepers who were only in their national team’s 23 for security, though she earned plenty of caps for Canada in her day — 110, in fact. At 35 years old, it was a treat seeing how much chemistry she had with 19 year old Buchanan in the pre-Women’s World Cup official FIFA promo shots. Like Buchanan, LeBlanc has a maple leaf design shaved-in to the side of her head, and though I think LeBlanc’s is more legible, the fact that the rest of her hair is a pretty simple short swoop and that she didn’t play in this Women’s World Cup keep her relegated to my Best Hair Reserves.
Kheira Hamraoui (France): France came to Canada 2015 not just to play, but to play beautifully, and to look beautiful while playing beautifully. Hamraoui only appeared in 2 of Les Bleues’ matches for a total of 32 minutes (during which she managed to pick up a yellow card), and technically she “just” wears her hair in a ponytail, but look at that! Long, flowing, wavy/curly. Gigaaantic, gigaaantic, gigaaantic — a big, big love. I’m technically cheating by using a pic of her with her hair “down”, since she does wear it in a ponytail on the field, but I hope you’ll forgive me with how good it looks that way. If she could play with her hair like that, I’m sure she would, considering she tends to appear that way in her promo shots.
