As it stands, 2023 has the semblance of a historic year for Portuguese women’s football. Having sealed World Cup qualification for the first time in February’s intercontinental play-off, the Seleção will make its debut on the global stage come July. Of course, one would hope said achievement to be a milestone on the pathway to an even more fruitful future.
Along that road, Francisca ‘Kika’ Nazareth could become one of the faces for both present endeavors as well as future prospects. A regular part of Benfica’s first team since 2020, the 20-year-old has already attracted credible excitement, also gaining continental recognition as one of the top ten nominees for the latest Golden Girl award.
What has been talked about less thus far is Kika’s profile and the ways in which she can contribute and elevate her sides. This piece attempts to open a little window into that.
Profile
While Benfica vary between a back three and back four, also with asymmetric use of their fullbacks, the role of Kika is marked by both clarity and a certain lack of restraint. If one was to classify it, she could be labelled a needle or connective player. This function can be expressed from multiple nominal positions, primarily as an interior and attacking midfielder. Not strict in her movements, Kika floats between the lines, drops deeper, drifts wide or loosens into one of the halfspaces. As a right-footer with such tendencies, she naturally feels at home in the left one. Especially there, Nazareth regularly moves lower when Cloé Lacasse is positioned high and wide.
The 20-year-old generally prefers passes into her feet and occasionally, one may find her dropping movements to be redundant. This is partly true, albeit not to an incessant degree. Though Kika likes to gravitate towards the ball, her support is usually purposeful. When showing for possession, she often displays a promising sense for the statics of situations. Kika comes short but also offers and holds between the lines, dismarks into open pockets of space and uses small sidesteps to subtly escape the opposition’s cover shadow. More times than not, she understands where she should be and adjusts when that place changes.
It does happen that the Portuguese international accidentally falls into misunderstandings, however, these cases can be categorized as exceptions. Aided by regular scanning of her surroundings, good orientation and contextual awareness, Kika is quite harmonic and varied in finding her position. Thereby, she constantly creates passing lanes, advantages, options to combine with and presence between the lines. In short, Kika provides continuity and facilitates progression.
It is not hard to see why one could quickly be impressed by Kika. One of the most striking aspects about her game is simply how technical she is. Her touch is exquisite, allowing her to cleanly process a range of passes, including the most difficult ones. The ball seems to glide, waver and rest just as her toes dictate it to. Besides its visual appeal, this smoothness eases and expands what the Benfica youth product can do upon receiving. If one finds Kika’s awareness of dynamics to be good, her ability to shift them is all the more sublime.
Beyond receiving on the turn, Kika tends to orientate herself towards the space she wants to drift into, both through her body shape and field of vision. In combination with her technical level, that brings dynamism to her actions as she can face play, carry into space or evade onrushing opponents.
In addition, the 20-year-old occasionally delays her first touch, trying to invite pressure which in turn vacates spaces for herself and others. Sometimes, her orientation appears to be inconvenient but even then, Kika fashions a solution by virtue of her technical finesse, notable balance and improvisational glimmer. She is practically elegant.
Moreover, Nazareth can also hold her own physically, having the upper body strength to withstand contact and shield the ball with her back. Perhaps, it is worth noting that she very clearly prefers her right foot and that the aforementioned false orientation may create situational difficulties. Nonetheless, Kika sparkles in congested spaces while also being press-resistant in lower areas of the field.
Unsurprisingly, these qualities also help Kika when dribbling. She does not possess enough explosiveness off the standstill to consistently separate herself from opponents in direct 1v1-situations. Rather, she shines when carrying the ball through intermediate spaces, when being surrounded and not isolated. As such, a fair part of Kika’s work as a dribbler aims at progressing play, whether that be driving forward from deeper areas or dancing between the lines. Given how she does this at a high volume, the 20-year-old still creates some danger off the dribble.
Governed by her glorious close control, Kika leads and shifts the ball proficiently with her right foot. In addition, one can spot a lot of subtle body feints which belie defenders as Nazareth’s stance hints at one direction before swirling to the other. That she also uses skill moves such as ball rolls or roulettes to get away from opponents should not be a shock.
Likewise, Kika’s strength comes in handy here, allowing her to block off people or draw fouls. And despite not standing out as a sprinter, the Portuguese prodigy can gain ground as someone with a solid step frequency and long legs. The on-ball gravity of Kika also frees up teammates when defenders are fixed or attracted by her actions.
There is a lot to like about Kika as a passer. As told, she can immediately face play and carry inside when receiving deep on the half-left. From there, she has a knack for catalyzing progression through combinations or opening play with more spacious actions such as switches. The quality of her long passing is very respectable in this regard. However, Kika also feels when to slow the game down or keep it moving at its current pace should circulating be the better option. An understanding which is quite useful for a team that dominates possession in the vast majority of league games.
Still, the Lisboa native loves to link up and engage in combinations, both as the initiator and by providing the connective touch in give-and-gos. Her vision and creativity also see her thread throughballs on a consistent basis, amplified by the deep runs of outlets like Lacasse or Jéssica Silva. When Kika receives between the lines and has a split second to think, she is likely to come up with something special.
While this ability to slice through defensive lines also boosts her threat in transitions, she is deliberate against lower blocks too. If a direct pass in behind is not on, Kika still knows how to filtrate the box or serve wide players and set them up for crosses. The former youth international usually weighs her deliveries well and even when not, they can be useful as a means of progression.
Once again, one can observe hints of Kika disguising her intentions through her body shape. As mentioned before with Anna Torrodà, maintaining an upright stance helps to manipulate opponents when movement flexibility of the hips allows different directions to pass and turn to what orientation and field of vision suggest. Despite all this, it does occur that Kika misses a passing window or picks a less promising decision. There might still be a little breathing room to the top, however, she already is a really good progressor and creator.
An interesting question might be to what extent Kika needs the ball to provide value. As explained, her off-ball qualities do add a lot when offering in pockets of space and facilitating link-up play. From time to time, she also produces runs behind the last line, particularly into the wider zones of the box. Her timing in these moments is required to be good and it usually is. Again, the creative effect is what stands out most.
An attacking movement which is commonly associated with an archetype like hers are second line arrivals into the box. In this respect, the 20-year-old offers occasional runs and instances of dismarking well just at the edge of the area. She also sneaks into dangerous positions at walking pace, at least in domestic competitions.
However, it equally happens that Kika is reluctant to attack the area when it is an option, instead offering to feet. That way, she misses out on potential opportunities. More vaguely, one could also argue that her positioning sometimes asks too much of the passer though she has great moments of setting herself off into space.
Now, this may seem like a harsh critique. Kika has scored 40 times in 46 league games without even being the primary goal threat. But a further leap in this area would raise the ceiling of what she can do for her sides. Maybe, this is also a figure where the dominant team context bears a mention. Kika clearly has a promising feel for time, space and situations. Ideally, she will be someone leveraging the gravity of her forwards to arrive in lucrative scoring spots.
When it comes to her shooting, the lack of available data and small sample size pretty much deny any robust conclusions. If anything, there are some visible tendencies with Kika’s ball-striking. She can fire off shots very quickly with little backlift while generating considerable amounts of power. A preference for the instep belongs to her habitus as well.
Some of these shots end up very central though Kika has enjoyed success with sharp strikes from the half-right of the box. The Benfica number 18 feels a bit like a high volume shooter but it would not be fair to label her too wasteful in her selection.
Defensively, Kika is a very aware backpresser. Eager to hunt down opponents or surprise them from behind, she uses her neat footwork for tidy recoveries. Therefore, she is regularly tasked with covering opposition pivots or interiors. Her counterpressing seems solid as well, something which is obviously connected to team positioning in possession.
When pressing from the front, Nazareth can still become more coordinated, for example by angling her runs to cut off options and guide opponents. But in a team well set up for moments without the ball, one can expect Kika to do her job.
Résumé
Francisca ‘Kika’ Nazareth is a delightful prospect. Technically prodigious, she shines between the lines and enchants in intricate spaces. Her interior dribbling, passing and feel for dynamics make the Portuguese a highly substantial ball progressor with compelling creative gifts. When all herself, she is immersive on the ball and brimming with invention. Off the ball, Kika facilitates advantages and offers goalscoring value already and higher horizons seem possible.
There is a tendency to somewhat overestimate technically pleasing players with ball-dominant attributes compared to those whose value derives from more subtle or complementary contributions. Kika, however, is a real talent. Even when applying a more skeptical view, her individual production holds up well. Since the 2020/21 season, she has always surpassed the mark of 1.00 non-penalty goals and assists per 90 minutes in Liga BPI. This campaign, the 20-year-old has reached her most productive stage yet with 1.85 NPG+A in the league and 1.55 in all competitions. Sample size and team context have to be considered but still, that output is quite impressive.
The more burning point of discussion may be how scalable her qualities are. In comparatively less dominant or harmonious team surroundings, Kika would likely absorb more touches and shoulder vast responsibilities for progression and creation. An assumption which is backed up when looking at her usage (proportion of own possession-ending actions compared to team total) and shot-creation rate (proportion of own touches which are shots or key passes).
Kika seems most effective with a license to roam, alongside certain ball-dominant tendencies. Her being among the primary playmakers is probably a requirement to maximize the Portuguese international’s impact. She harmonizes perfectly with acute off-ball runners who offer her an outlet. But Kika facilitates play without the ball too. And out of possession, she appears reliable enough to work as an interior.
Moreover, Nazareth is already proving to be a credible performer in a very good side. Consecutive Portuguese champions, the team of Filipa Patão has at least had instances of competing solidly against UWCL knockout level teams. In many ways, Kika’s current context at Benfica looks ideal and shows us how profiles like hers can also enrich dominant environments. Beyond that, her role with Portugal seems sensible too. At the top of a diamond, she could be a creative hub with Jéssica and Diana Silva running the channels.
Their World Cup premiere, Kika’s role in that and her future as a whole all seem enticing. Whichever way you look at it, there are plenteous reasons for keeping track of Kika Nazareth.
