Five women I’d like to play football with – by England International, Sue Smith

1. Mia Hamm – US International (retired)

I played against Mia at the FIFA All-Stars in 1999, just before the World Cup. At the time she was one of the biggest sporting superstars in America, male or female. She was a Nike-sponsored athlete and even had a doll made after her, which was pretty amazing at that time.

I remember when we all walked out, they announced her name and the crowd just went crazy. It was a bit of an eye-opener for me, as a 19 year old going over there a bit in awe. But she was lovely. Really down-to-earth, and really encouraging to young players, and that always stuck with me. That’s what you want from an experienced player. I hope that now – me being the experienced player – I’m doing a similar sort of thing, helping the youngsters come through.

2. Katie Chapman – Chelsea FC and England International

Katie’s in the limelight at the minute, as she’s just been called back to the England squad – she missed a few World Cups due to having kids. She’s a great player, had done fantastic in World Cups previously – but she just felt that she couldn’t both be with her kids and play football at that point.

I didn’t actually realise how much goes in to having children and training full-time until I did an interview with Katie recently for the Women’s Football Show. She trains every morning for Chelsea. She lives an hour away from the training ground, and she’s got to get her three kids ready and out of the house beforehand. Every time I’ve played with her for England, she’s so mentally strong, no matter what game you’re playing. She always expects high standards in training, in matches. She’s the sort of player that you want in your team.

3. Christie Rampone - Sky Blue FC and US International

This is Christie’s fifth World Cup and she’s 39 years old. It still gives me hope. She’s my role model to keep going! She’s not showed any signs of slowing down. You’re watching her play, and she’s still as good as she was in 1999 [when she won the World Cup with the USA].

She is the ultimate professional. She knows exactly what she needs to do so that she’s 100% fit for the game. She’s also a mum with two kids. And I think it would be good to play with someone like that – I like playing with winners and people that work hard and play hard.

4. Birgit Prinz – German International (retired)

Birgit is a prolific goal scorer, and played most of her career at Frankfurt. She’s just an absolute powerhouse. I remember a game we played against her, and at the time we had two quick centre-halves and I remember her bursting through and it was like they were running in quicksand. They just couldn’t keep up with her!

When we played in the Euros in 2001, we stayed in the same hotel as the German national team. We all knew Prinz as this strong player that took no prisoners on the pitch, but when she came down with a few of the players she was holding a little teddy bear that she carried around for luck. We couldn’t believe it!

5. Marta – FC Rosengärd and Brazilian International

Marta is probably the best female footballer I’ve ever seen play. She can do things with a football that most players can only dream of. I can imagine her playing in a men’s team and not being pushed off the ball. She’ll play in a massive game and be the star player and she’s definitely someone to watch out for in the World Cup.

She’s won FIFA World Player of the Year five times – that just shows what calibre of player she is. She’s also quite funny, she likes to play tricks and jokes on people, but as soon as the game’s on she’s serious and focussed. She’s still got a few more World Cups in her too.

Sue Smith is an England football player and commentator for the BBC's Women's World Cup coverage.

The Women's World Cup begins on Saturday 6 June at 10.35pm on BBC Three and continues until Sunday 5 July on BBC Two, BBC Three and Red Button. Each episode will be available in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

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Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.