Scarlett Camberos reached the 2026 Women’s Ballon d’Or shortlist by cutting through two of the NWSL’s strongest teams. She scored a hat trick against Gotham FC’s championship-caliber side, then produced a goal and two assists against Washington Spirit as Club América completed its continental breakthrough.
The Mexico international is one of 30 nominees for the individual award. América is also among the five candidates for Women’s Club of the Year, joining Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and OL Lyonnes as the shortlist’s only club from outside Europe.
SCARLETT CAMBEROS 🔟 pic.twitter.com/R4Bif5Bgvr
— Club América Femenil (@AmericaFemenil) May 21, 2026
The Ballon d’Or’s season profile credits Camberos with 27 goals and seven assists in 47 appearances during 2025/26. Her campaign ended with two trophies in six days. América first erased a first-leg deficit against Monterrey, winning the Clausura final 3-1 on aggregate after a 3-0 second-leg victory in which Camberos converted a penalty.
Three days later, the newly crowned Mexican champion met defending continental champion Gotham in Pachuca. Camberos opened the scoring in the 21st minute, restored América’s lead in the 57th after Esther González had equalized, and converted an 89th-minute penalty to complete a 4-1 semifinal win.
It was the first hat trick in a knockout match in Concacaf W Champions Cup history. The finishing belonged to Camberos, but the pattern was collective. Geyse created all three of her goals and also supplied Aylín Aviléz for América’s third.
The week América became continental champion
The final demanded a different kind of influence. América led Washington 2-0 before the Spirit scored three straight goals. Geyse punished a goalkeeping error to make it 3-3, then Camberos drove down the left and delivered the low cross Irene Guerrero finished in the 79th minute.
Club América y Washington Spirit a un paso de la grandeza.
— Concacaf W (@ConcacafW) May 22, 2026
Compra tus boletos ahora ▶️ https://t.co/okvDrvDSU3 🔗 pic.twitter.com/QHWN9fSr6h
Camberos wasn’t finished. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, she joined Geyse on a counterattack and slid in América’s fifth goal to seal a 5-3 victory. She ended the final with a goal and two assists, then received the competition’s Best Player award after recording five goals and three assists across the tournament.
América became the first Mexican club to win the Concacaf W Champions Cup, succeeding Gotham in the competition’s second edition. The title also secured a place in the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, where the club will get another measure of its progress against champions from beyond the region.
Camberos’ path back to this stage has crossed the border twice. Born in San Diego, she played college soccer at UC Irvine and began her professional career with América in late 2021. Persistent harassment and safety concerns forced her departure in 2023, when she moved to Angel City’s NWSL project. Bay FC acquired her later that year before transferring her back to América in July 2024.
Two years after returning, she captained América through the week that changed the club’s international standing. The Ballon d’Or nomination now places her season beside the game’s most celebrated individual campaigns, while América’s club nomination places Mexican women’s football inside a category otherwise occupied entirely by European powers.
The awards will be presented in London on October 26. Whatever the voting produces, the shortlists have already recorded the scale of América’s year: a Mexican champion that beat two NWSL opponents to win Concacaf, and a captain whose finishing and creation carried through both decisive matches.
