Birgit Prinz (Germany) - Birgit Prinz was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in October 25, 1977. As the top scorer of the Germany women's national team, the 30-year-old made 105 goals in her 165 caps. She was selected FIFA Women's World Player of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2005. She was also German "Women's Footballer of the Year" each year from 2001 to 2005. As a center-forward, Prinz scored seven goals for Germany in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003, and played for the Germany women's football team at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where Germany got bronze as same as they did in Sydney 2000.

In 2003, Prinz almost became the first woman to play in a professional men's league, the Italian Serie A, when she received an offer from Luciano Gaucci, president of AC Perugia. However, she denied the offer.

Kelly Smith (England) - As a striker, who has scored 21 times in 61 appearances for the Three Lions, Smith will be returning to the scene of arguably her first hour on the international stage when she lands in China. Back in January, she was part of the England squad which took part in the Four Nations Tournament and her displays earned her the player of the tournament.

Smith's competitive streak was nurtured in the United States, where she became the first and only English player to play professionally. Although her appearances were limited in the latter part of her spell due to a number of injuries, she was one of the league's most popular players.

Since returning from the United States in 2005, Smith signed up with her first club Arsenal and became the assistant Academy director of the club's women's side. As well as that, she was part of the history making Arsenal team which won the league title, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the UEFA Cup last season. A total of 57goals in 58 starts for the club in her second spell highlights her importance to the Gunners and to England.

Homare Sawa (Japan) - In a 1993 victory over the Philippines, Homare Sawa scored four goals. Sawa soon became the driving force behind the Japanese women's team, gaining worldwide praise for her performances at both 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden and the Olympic Women's Football Tournament at Atlanta 1996.

A key reason foe Sawa's success has been her down-to-earth personality and earnest appreciation of the game. Steadfastly refusing to let her achievements get to her head, she has never stopped working hard to improve her skills.

Maria Belen Potassa (Argentina) - Maria Belen Potassa was born on December 12, 1988 in Canada Rosquin, a town of about 5,000 inhabitants situated 138 kilometers from the city of Santa Fe, capital of the eponymous region.

On November 26, 2006, aged just 17, Potassa fired home Argentina's clinching second goal in a 2-0 win against their rival Brazil on the final match day of the South American qualifying tournament. Quite apart from being the first time that the Albiceleste women had beaten their Canarinha counterparts, the win also sealed qualification for the FIFA Women's World Cup China 2007.

A few month prior to that memorable moment, in August 2006 to be precise, Potassa was over on Russian soil proudly representing Argentina at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship. Though Argentina may not have made it beyond the group phase, Potassa underlined her potential with her side's consolation goal against the mighty United States. The length young front-runner had already shown glimpses of her goal scoring prowess back in January 2006, scoring five times in the South American U-20 qualifying tournament.