The season is approaching with that exciting electricity that only football can create, and in Benfica's women's team, there's a rare balance between competitive maturity and a hunger for victory. There's a solid foundation, clear ideas, and talent in every area of the pitch. The squad for 2025 combines homegrown talent with international players who raise the level of training and play, all under a technical leadership that has already proven its ability to build winning strategies.
Context and ambition for 2025
The objective is twofold: domestic hegemony and European impact. The Liga BPI once again features a three-way race with Sporting and Braga, the League Cup demands fine-tuned minute management, and the Champions League requires peaks of intensity capable of withstanding 90 minutes of pressure.
It's impossible to sustain all of this without a balanced squad. Benfica enters 2025 with clear advantages: tactical continuity, a maturing Portuguese core, and a methodological umbrella that has brought the team closer to the best standards on the continent.
Team structure and positional balance
The team's strength lies in its reliability. Between Rute Costa and Lena Pauels, the team has two high-level options with complementary profiles: competent footwork, depth reading, and command of the penalty area. In domestic games, playing short passes under pressure is no longer a threat; in Europe, the decision to accelerate into space avoids traps.
In defense, the full-backs are the engines of width and rhythm. Catarina Amado brings a competitive edge, Lúcia Alves offers composure and sharp crosses. In the center, Ana Seiça is visibly improving, and Sílvia Rebelo maintains her positioning and leadership. The back four is the base formation, but the group is well-versed in adjusting to a back three during build-up play.
In the midfield, the identity. Christy Ucheibe provides balance, Andreia Faria dictates the tempo, and Pauleta orchestrates the attacks. Ahead of them, Kika Nazareth creates from inside areas, connects sectors, and finishes. When a different approach is needed, the team moves closer to a double pivot, with Kika dropping back to receive the ball between the lines and free up the wings.
In attack, variety. Jéssica Silva unbalances the opposition in one-on-one situations, Nycole Raysla attacks the space with ferocity, Valéria Cantuário adds physicality to the area, and Marta Cintra offers mobility and high pressure. This flexibility allows you to play on the outside, inside, and behind the defense.
Core by position
The idea is not to create a definitive list, but to map the pieces that form the backbone and the profiles that provide different answers to distinct problems.
| Sector | Key players | Main features |
|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Rute Costa, Lena Pauels | Reflexes, footwork, courage in the depths. |
| Defenses | Catarina Amado, Lúcia Alves, Ana Seiça, Sílvia Rebelo | Width, game reading, aerial duels, crossing. |
| Averages | Christy Ucheibe, Andreia Faria, Pauleta, Kika Nazareth | Coverage, criteria, progressive pass, creativity |
| Advanced | Jessica Silva, Nycole Raysla, Valeria Cantuário, Marta Cintra | Speed, rupture, presence in the area, pressure |
These names support a model that prioritizes rhythm, rapid circulation, and controlled verticality.
Filipa Patão's role and the game matrix
The coaching staff developed a set of principles where the ball moves at the pace of the training session. The 4-3-3 formation is used as a platform, and the dynamics are carefully worked on.
- High wingers, inside forwards to connect from the inside and attack the last line.
- Medium coverage protecting the loss zone, compensating for projections.
- Inside the ball's side, dropping into the middle of the space to speed up combinations.
- The center forward alternates between supporting the attack and making runs forward to draw the central defenders in and open up corridors.
When the pressure from the opposing team increases, there's an immediate Plan B: a long, strategic attack to the offensive target, followed by a second ball with a prepared screen. It's not a last resort, it's a practiced sequence.
Creation and goal in the final third.
Benfica creates chances through patterns, not just inspiration. Kika receives the ball between the lines and holds up the full-backs, Jéssica and Nycole attack the space behind the opposite full-back, Valéria draws defenders and opens up play at the near post.
Three golden zones:
- Right half-space. Quick combinations between the wing, inside and wing, with three-touch variations.
- Second post. Tense crosses from Lúcia Alves for the late entry of the opposing wing.
- Front zone. Shots from medium range, born from short runs by Kika and Pauleta.
The diversity of finishing options reduces predictability. If the flank closes down, the team finds a way to shoot from the outside; if the penalty area is congested, there's patience to recirculate the ball and attack from the opposite side.
Defensive solidity and risk management
Defending high doesn't mean taking risks without a safety net. The block moves up with close lines and simple rules:
- First, pressure is directed towards the opponent's weak side.
- Immediate cover ahead of the defense to stop the transition.
- A four-way line with quick tilting and constant communication.
In more demanding matches, the height of the back line is lowered a few meters to prevent balls from getting behind the defense. The key remains coordination: central defenders attentive to depth, full-backs disciplined in closing down the far post, and a goalkeeper ready to act outside the area.
Set pieces as a difference
There is no winning season without effectiveness in corner kicks and free kicks. Benfica is working on:
- Short corners to create a better crossing angle.
- Legal blocking moves to free up the main header.
- Free kicks from the sides, varying between the near and far posts.
- Direct free kicks with two players to scramble the barrier.
Defensively, mixed marking, zonal marking at the near post and man-to-man marking on the opposing team's target men.
Calendar, rotation and physical management
The density of games forces choices. The rotation plan gives minutes to those who need rhythm and protects those who carry more weight. There are times when the intensity of the workout drops without loss of quality, because intelligent repetition replaces high-volume repetition.
Small details matter:
- Distribution of minutes per block of five games.
- Planned substitutions to preserve wingers in the final 20 minutes.
- Alternating in goal in different competitions, maintaining confidence in both goalkeepers.
- Managing European travel to ensure post-UWCL freshness.
The bank has to tell the story. And it does, because the competitive culture created within the group doesn't tolerate false starts.
Training, scouting and integration
Benfica Campus is not just a symbol. It's a real pipeline. Kika and Andreia are the faces of a process that places national talent in an elite context. The leap to the first team is carefully planned: minutes in specific games, clear objectives, individualized feedback.
External recruitment adds specific profiles. The arrival of players with complementary skills to the Portuguese youth system has been surgical, striking a balance between international experience and room for growth. Integration involves a common language, support outside of training, and metrics that help understand where to accelerate and where to simplify.
Leadership is also built with voices within the locker room. Veterans like Sílvia Rebelo and goalkeeping icons like Rute Costa offer stability and high standards in daily operations.
Metrics that matter
Tactical discussions take shape with numbers. Not out of statistical fetishism, but because they help calibrate what we see.
Indicators to follow throughout the season:
- Passing progressions per 90 minutes above the league average.
- Low PPDA in home series, a sign of well-coordinated pressure.
- Shots allowed in the central corridor are controlled by design and positioning.
- Opportunities created after regaining possession in the attacking midfield are a sign of effective pressing.
- The percentage of goals scored from set pieces is increasing as patterns solidify.
- Minutes U-23 in medium-level games to accelerate development without disrupting results.
Numbers don't play the game, but they help you train better.
Three games that could set the competitive pulse.
- Classics against Sporting. Two organized teams, intense individual duels on the flanks. Winning the flank is almost like winning the game.
- Visits to Braga. Dangerous transitions from the opponent demand maximum concentration on defensive balance and composure in the final pass.
- European nights in Seixal. Emotional management during periods of high pressure from rivals and courage to maintain possession.
Preparing for these moments, through training and video, creates antidotes to the difficulties that invariably arise.
Tactical adjustments ready to be pulled out of the sleeve.
The basic plan is stable, but there are variations trained to respond to specific scenarios:
- 3-4-3 formation countering aggressive individual pressing, with the full-back dropping back to act as a third center forward.
- A double pivot with Ucheibe and Pauleta in games that require more cover, freeing up Kika as a second striker.
- The wide player on the weaker side is positioned further out to pin down the opposing full-back and create space inside for short passing combinations.
These changes gain impact when they are implemented without loss of momentum, something that can be seen in well-organized teams.
Emotional management and competitive culture
A winning streak creates habits. The risk is relaxing. The coaching staff has been insisting on weekly goals and clear micro-objectives. This maintains focus and distributes responsibility to everyone.
Simple practices, big results:
- Short, focused meetings with three key points.
- Individual video with positive clips and two areas for improvement.
- Goals per unit: defense, midfield, attack, goal.
When everyone knows exactly what you expect, the margin for disengagement is smaller.
Where depth can grow
No one is immune to unforeseen events. The squad has depth, but two areas deserve attention:
- Alternative left foot on the central axis, useful for clean outputs under asymmetrical pressure.
- An additional solution for the role of 6 in physically demanding games.
It's not a problem; it's room to expand if the schedule dictates.
What does it mean to have references in each sector?
A great team needs role models who push the level up in training and serve as a compass in the game:
- In the goal, a voice that commands and calms.
- In defense, a center forward anticipates and organizes the line.
- In the middle, a beacon of possession that chooses the right rhythm.
- In attack, someone who decides the game in half a second inside the penalty area.
Benfica has these types of players. And when those key players are in form, the team feels different.
Ideas for workouts that generate quick impact.
Without going into the details of the microcycle, there are exercises that fit the model:
- Posse 4v4+3 in central corridor, with conditions to break through lines.
- Finishing from late crosses, alternating points of contact.
- Pressure after losing possession with a 6-second countdown to recover and kick.
You practice what you want to see in the game. And you repeat it until it becomes automatic.
The fan at the center of the experience.
The stands have an influence. The support in Seixal changes the energy of the game and, on Champions League nights, that wave pushes the team forward when their legs are heavy. The club's communication, access to the players, actions with the youth academy and the girls' soccer schools spread throughout the country create an ecosystem that fuels the future.
When the girls on the lawn during recess look at Kika, Jéssica, and Lúcia and see a possible mirror in themselves, the project takes on another dimension.
Looking ahead
The squad for 2025 holds the essentials: talent, hard work, and hunger. There are solutions for clean football days and for fighting afternoons, there are prepared tactical variations and a bench that responds. The season will demand a cool head, strong legs, and a big heart. The team has all of that within them.
The rest is about games, goals, details that decide championships and European nights. And the healthy feeling that this group is ready to experience them.
