There was no shortage of big names on show when Manchester City hosted Arsenal in a bumper Women’s Super League clash in early October. A quick look through the teams and most would’ve been drawn to the likes of Chloe Kelly, Khadija Shaw, Alessia Russo, Vivianne Miedema and Mariona Caldentey, especially if they were picking out a potential match-winner. In the end, though, it was a rising teenage star who took up that role, one by the name of Iman Beney.
With two minutes of the 90 remaining, the 19-year-old nipped in to steal the ball from Lotte Wubben-Moy before arrowing it beyond Daphne van Domselaar, giving Man City their third lead of a thrilling afternoon, one they would ultimately hang onto to secure a huge three points against a title rival.
It was a big game and a big stage for the teenager to announce herself on, following a summer move to the league widely regarded as the best in the women’s game. In that sense, it was also in keeping with Beney’s year, one highlighted by her starring role in Switzerland’s historic home European Championships.
Getty ImagesWhere it all began
Beney was born in Yverdon-les-Bains, a picturesque town in French-speaking Switzerland, into a footballing family. Her father, Nicolas, is a former goalkeeper who represented seven clubs and won caps for the Switzerland youth teams, while her aunt, Noemie, won 45 caps for the senior women's team. Her older brother, Romeo, also currently plays for FC Basel.
Beney started playing the sport herself when she was eight years old, first with FC Saviese before arriving at Young Boys via spells with FC Sion and Saxon Sports. It was with the Bern club that she would get her senior breakthrough, impressing so much in her debut campaign that she was voted into the Swiss Women's Super League team of the season, aged 16.
At the same time, Beney was thriving in the Switzerland youth national teams, named to the best XI at the Under-17 Euros in 2023. Inka Grings, then head coach of the senior team, took great notice of her performances and called the teenager into camp a few weeks later, just before La Nati were heading to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Beney took full advantage of the opportunity, too. Granted a debut in a friendly with Zambia, the versatile forward bagged an assist and was a surprise inclusion in Grings’ World Cup squad three days later. However, a devastating ACL tear in training the very next day robbed her of the chance to star at the tournament and sidelined her for a year.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe big break
Beney made up for that cruel turn of events this past summer. After missing the entire 2023-24 season, she was back with a bang for Young Boys in 2024-25, named to the Swiss league’s team of the season again after helping them win the title, and that form would be carried into the 2025 European Championships, which Switzerland hosted.
Named in La Nati’s starting XI for all of their four fixtures, Beney showcased her versatility as a full-back and wing-back as her team made it beyond the Euros group stages for the first time. Only Spain, the eventual finalists and reigning world champions, would end a run that had captured the hearts of the nation in the quarter-finals.
Fortunately for Man City, they had got a deal for Beney’s summer move to England done before the tournament began, otherwise they might’ve had a bit more competition for her signature, given she was one of the breakout stars of the summer.
Getty Images SportHow it's going
Beney has clearly taken confidence from that huge experience, with there is plenty to like about how she has started her time in Manchester. After debuting on the opening weekend of the new season, in a narrow defeat to champions Chelsea, the teenager has looked more and more comfortable as each week has passed. That has culminated in her first goal involvements in City blue, with an assist in the League Cup win over Everton at the end of September followed up with that composed match-winner in victory over Arsenal.
“I’m so happy for her,” City boss Andree Jeglertz said after Beney’s first goal for the club. “She’s taken so many big steps, from moving to Switzerland and coming to this big club. There’s a lot of things going on just to do that but what she’s shown, I’m so impressed.”
Getty ImagesBiggest strengths
Beney has all the traits that make a winger great. "She's fast, but not just from A to B, but also when changing direction, with or without the ball, and she can vary the pace,” Switzerland boss Pia Sundhage explained last year, referring to one of her main strengths. Perhaps unsurprisingly given her idolisation of Neymar, Beney has the skill to beat a marker as well as the speed, and despite being so young, her decision-making in the final third is quite advanced, no doubt thanks to the big experience she has already accumulated.
Another impressive element to Beney’s game was on show at the Euros, when she brought those qualities to a more defensive role. In an interview with Blue Sport, her father revealed that the teenager had little to no experience as a full-back, making her adaptation to the position all the more impressive. “As a 12-year-old, Iman played on the right side of defence, but only for one game, then she ended up in attack,” he explained.
To play so well there, then, highlighted Beney’s great athleticism, her team-first attitude and her footballing intelligence. With her also having played as a central striker in the past, the 19-year-old is certainly adding versatility to her game.
