* Fans’ open voting round through link: https://bit.ly/4g1suEb is in the process closing tomorrow 3pm ET
* The final round will also include voting for the NWSL 2024 Best XI honoring a 1st and 2nd team representation of top 22 players
By Duncan Mlanjira
Malawi Scorchers and US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) club, Kansas City Current forward, Temwa TC6 Chawinga is in the final 5 nominated for NWSL Most Valuable Player (MVP) 2024 award.
She is together with fierce competitor, Zambian Barbra Banda, who plays for Orlando Pride and alongside Marta (Orlando Pride), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit) and Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns).
According to NWSL website, NWSL Awards are voted upon in two rounds, with fans having the opportunity to participate in the final round of the voting process — that is currently open through the link: https://bit.ly/4g1suEb and closing tomorrow at 3pm ET.
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Other NWSL 2024 Awards include Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year and a newly-introduced category of Midfielder of the Year.
The final round will also include voting for the NWSL 2024 Best XI, honoring a first and second team representing the top 22 players in the league.
Ahead of the announcement of the nominees for the NWSL MVP award, as nation.com presented a special analysis on the fierce competitors, Temwa and Zambian Barbra Banda: https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2024/11/12/24294898/nwsl-barbra-banda-temwa-chawinga-best-strikes-womens-soccer entitled ‘Why NWSL’s Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga are some of the best strikers in the league’.
Temwa Chawinga and Barbra Banda are set to meet when Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride clash in the semifinals — and the two are meet in the semifinals and they are top goalscorers of the NWSL with an opportunity to prove who’s best, says the report.
It analyses that “both share similarities but at the same time, they’re different” — thus dives in to share their characteristics using video clips to emphasise a point.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Although Barbra Banda can be a more well-rounded player in the attack, Chawinga contributes more in other parts of the field, including the defense.
It is interesting too that Chawinga 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.
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 US$740,000 to Shanghai Shengli 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 videos, two examples show Banda recognising 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.
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Crossing
Banda finished her season with nine completed crosses while Chawinga registered only three and in aerial game, out of her 13 goals scored, almost half came from headers — she knows how to win her aerial duels inside the box.
She 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.
She also can control long, difficult passes while being surrounded by defenders and find the space to break through or pass the ball.
In conclusion, the report says Barbra Banda’s unselfishness and Temwa’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.
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