Julia Woźniak

Woźniak started playing football at just five years old, initially because she simply found the game fun before gradually deciding she wanted to pursue it professionally.

Before she was a goalkeeper, she was a prolific striker. Woźniak played up front for UKS Victoria SP2 Sianów and once scored an extraordinary 23 goals in a single regional Tymbark Cup final, finishing as the tournament's top scorer.

Football was not her only childhood game — she spent three years learning chess at school.

Her childhood goalkeeper inspirations included Iker Casillas, Manuel Neuer and David de Gea.

At the 2024 U-17 World Cup, she did not concede a single goal during Poland's group stage, making 14 saves as the team advanced from a group containing Japan, Zambia and Brazil.