I really enjoy watching soccer, both men's and women's. And for those of you not from the US, soccer is really gaining in popularity here. Many of the English football teams have quite a following here.
As for women soccer (or football) players, they are very tough indeed. They are vicious. I know from watching men's soccer matches, on occasion if two men from different teams collide, or if one fouls the other and knocks him down, sometimes the one still standing helps the other man up. But I very seldom if ever see the women do that. They really go at each other. Take no prisoners.
So if they fight with the same intensity they display on the soccer field, they would make great fighters.