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England

Nickname(s)	Three Lionesses The Lionesses
Association	The Football Association
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Phil Neville
Captain	Steph Houghton
Most caps	Fara Williams (170)
Top scorer	Kelly Smith (46)
FIFA code	ENG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	4 1 (7 December 2018)[1]
Highest	2 (March 2018)
Lowest	14 (June 2004)
First international
Scotland 2–3 England  (Greenock, Scotland; 18 November 1972)
Biggest win
Hungary 0–13 England  (Tapolca, Hungary; 27 October 2005)
Biggest defeat
Norway 8–0 England  (Moss, Norway; 4 June 2000)
World Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 1995)
Best result	Third place (2015)
European Championship
Appearances	8 (first in 1984)
Best result	Runners-up (1984, 2009)

The England women's national football team has been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first international match in November 1972 against Scotland. Although most national football teams represent a sovereign state, as a member of the United Kingdom's Home Nations, England is permitted by FIFA statutes to maintain its own national side that competes in all major tournaments, with the exception of the Women's Olympic Football Tournament.

England have qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup four times, reaching the quarter-final stage on the first three occasions in 1995, 2007, and 2011, and finishing third in 2015. They reached the final of the UEFA Women's Championship in 1984 and 2009.

History

Early years

The success of the men's national football team at the 1966 FIFA World Cup led to an upsurge of interest in football from women within England. The Women's Football Association (WFA) was established a few years later in 1969 as an attempt to organise the women's game.^[2] That same year, Harry Batt formed an independent English team that competed in the Fédération Internationale Européenne de Football Féminine (FIEFF) European Cup.^[3]:43 Batt's team also participated in two FIEFF World Cups held in Italy (1970) and Mexico (1971).^[4][5]

Following an UEFA recommendation in 1972 for national associations to incorporate the women's game, the Football Association (FA) rescinded its fifty-year ban on women playing on Football League grounds.^[6][7] Shortly after, Eric Worthington was tasked by the WFA to assemble an official women's national team. England competed in its first international match against Scotland in Greenock on 18 November 1972, almost 100 years after the first men's international.^[2][8] The team overturned a two-goal deficit to defeat their northern opponents by 3 goals to 2, with Sylvia Gore scoring England's first international goal.^[9]Tom Tranter replaced Worthington as long term manager of the women's national football team and remained in that position for the next six years.^[3]:94

1979–1993: Progress under Reagan

Martin Reagan was appointed to replace Tranter in 1979.^[3]:100 England reached the final of the inaugural European Competition for Women's Football, after beating Denmark 3–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. Despite resolute defending, including a spectacular goal line clearance from captain Carol Thomas, the England team lost the first away leg 1–0 against Sweden, after a header from Pia Sundhage, but won the second home leg by the same margin, with a goal from Linda Curl.^[10] England lost the subsequent penalty shootout 4–3. Theresa Wiseman saved Helen Johansson's penalty but both Curl and Lorraine Hanson had their spot kicks saved by Elisabeth Leidinge.^[11]

At the 1987 European Competition for Women's Football, England again reached the semi-finals but lost 3–2 after extra time against holders Sweden, in a repeat of the previous final. The team settled for fourth, after losing the third place play off against Italy 2–1.^[12] Reagan was sacked after England's 6–1 quarter-final loss against Germany at UEFA Women's Euro 1991, which left them unable to qualify for the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup. John Bilton was appointed as head coach in 1991 after Barrie Williams's brief tenure.^{[3]:103–104}

1993–1998: FA involvement

In 1993, the FA took over the running of women's football in England from the WFA, replacing Bilton with Ted Copeland as national team manager.^[3]:105 England managed to qualify for UEFA Women's Euro 1995, having previously missed out on the last three editions, but were beaten 6–2 on aggregate over two legs against Germany.^[13] Reaching the European semi-finals granted England a place at the World Cup for the first time. The team advanced from the group stages of the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden, but lost out again to Germany 3–0 in the quarter-finals.^[14]

1998–2013: Development under Powell

Hope Powell became the team's first full-time head coach in June 1998, succeeding her former coach Copeland.^[15] The European Championship expanded in 1997 to eight teams and moved from a biennial event to a quadrennial one. England qualified via the play offs for the 2001 competition held in Germany, despite recording their biggest loss (away against Norway 8–0) during qualification, but did not advance past the group stages.^[16] England automatically qualified as hosts in 2005, but again did not make it to the semi-finals.^[17]

Qualification for the World Cup changed for the 1999 edition. European qualifiers were introduced, so that teams no longer needed to rely on advancing to the latter stages of the European Championship. England qualified unbeaten for the 2007 World Cup in China, winning Group 5 in the European qualifiers and recording their biggest win (away against Hungary, 13–0) in the process, ending a 12-year hiatus from the competition.^[18][19] After coming second in their group, they advanced into the quarter-finals to face the United States but lost 3–0.^[20]

In May 2009, central contracts were implemented to help players focus on full-time training without having to fit it around full-time employment.^[21][22] Three months later, at the European Championships in Finland, England marked their return to the recently expanded twelve team competition by reaching the final for the first time in 25 years. They advanced from Group C to the quarter-finals by virtue of being the top third placed team, beating both the hosts and the Netherlands in the knockout stages on the way to the final. There they lost 6–2 to reigning champions Germany.^[23]

England reached their third World Cup in 2011, having won Group 5 and their play off 5–2 over two legs against Switzerland.^[24][25] In Germany, they topped Group B – ahead of eventual winners Japan.^[26] England were paired with France in the quarter-finals, with the match ending in a 1–1 draw. England had taken the lead with Jill Scott's chip, only to have Élise Bussaglia equalise with two minutes remaining. After extra time ended in stalemate, they lost the ensuing penalty shootout 4–3. Karen Bardsley had saved Camille Abily's initial penalty but misses by Claire Rafferty and Faye White sent England out of the competition.^[27]

Powell left the role in August 2013 after a poor showing at the UEFA Women's Euro 2013, with England bowing out early at the group stages.^[15]

2013–2017: Sampson era

Mark Sampson succeeded Powell as England manager. England qualified for their third successive World Cup in August 2014 with a game to spare, winning all ten matches and topping Group 6.^[28] England played their first international match at the new Wembley Stadium, home to the men's national team, in a friendly against the reigning European champions Germany on 23 November 2014. England had not played Germany since their heavy defeat in the European Championship final five years earlier. They lost the match 3–0, marking the 20th attempt at which England had failed to record an official win over Germany.^[29][30]

At the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, England lost their opening group game to France but won their remaining group games against Mexico and Colombia, easing through to the last 16 to play 1995 champions Norway. A 2–1 win set up a meeting with hosts Canada in the quarter-finals. Despite facing not only a strong Canadian team but a capacity partisan crowd at BC Place in Vancouver, England progressed to the semifinals of the Women's World Cup for the first time in their history with another 2–1 win. Playing reigning World Cup holders Japan in the semi-finals, England conceded a penalty kick, which Aya Miyama converted past Karen Bardsley. Japan then conceded a penalty as Yuki Ogimi clipped Steph Houghton and Fara Williams slotted it past Ayumi Kaihori to level the game. However, in the last minute of the game, Laura Bassett scored an own goal to send Japan through to the final.^[31] England eventually finished in third place by beating Germany 1–0 after extra time.^[32]

England qualified for the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 in the Netherlands and won all three of their group games at the tournament. England beat France 1–0 in the quarter-finals before meeting hosts and eventual champions, the Netherlands. In the semi-finals, England conceded three goals without reply and were knocked out of the tournament.^[33]

In September 2017, Sampson was sacked from his role as manager by the FA after evidence of "inappropriate and unacceptable" behaviour was uncovered during his tenure at Bristol Academy.^[34] He was replaced by Phil Neville.

2018–present: Neville's arrival

After being appointed manager, Neville's first games in charge were at the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. In their first game, England defeated France 4–1, then had a 2–2 draw against Germany. They went into the final game against the United States with the opportunity to win the tournament, but they fell 1–0 to the US. Second place was the highest England has ever finished at the SheBelieves Cup.^[35]

England continued with 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification in 2018. On 6 April they played to a 0–0 draw against Wales. After the qualifying games in June, England and Wales were guaranteed the first two spots in qualifying Group 1.^[36]

Competitive record

England women's team in February 2015

World Cup

England have qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup four times (1995, 2007, 2011, 2015) and failed to qualify for three competitions (1991, 1999, 2003). The England team reached the quarter final stage on three occasions, losing out to Germany in 1995, the United States in 2007 and France on penalties in 2011. In 2015, however, England earned the bronze medal for the first time, under Mark Sampson, by beating Germany in the third place play-off.

World Cup finals
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1991	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1995	Quarter-finals	4	2	0	2	6	9	−3
1999	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2003	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2007	Quarter-finals	4	1	2	1	8	6	+2
2011	Quarter-finals	4	2	2	0	6	3	+3
2015	Third Place	7	5	0	2	10	7	+3
2019	Qualified
Total	5/8	19	10	4	5	30	25	+5

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

European Championship

England first entered the UEFA Women's Championship in 1984, reaching the final that year and in 2009. The team have reached the semi-finals on three other occasions (1989, 1995, 2017), but failed to make it out of the group stages in three other editions (2001, 2005, 2013). England did not qualify in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1997.

Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1984	Runners-up	4	3	0	1	4	2
1987	Fourth Place	2	0	0	2	3	5
1989	Did not qualify	–	–	–	–	–	–
1991	Did not qualify	–	–	–	–	–	–
1993	Did not qualify	–	–	–	–	–	–
1995	Semi-Finals	2	0	0	2	2	6
1997	Did not qualify	–	–	–	–	–	–
2001	Group Stage	3	0	1	2	1	8
2005	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	4	5
2009	Runners-up	6	3	1	2	12	14
2013	Group Stage	3	0	1	2	3	7
2017	Semi-Finals	5	4	0	1	11	4
2021	Qualified as hosts
Total	9/13	28	11	3	14	40	51

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Red border colour denotes tournament was held on home soil.

Olympic Games

England do not participate in the Women's Olympic Football Tournament, as the country does not have its own National Olympic Committee (NOC). Members of its team have played for the Great Britain women's Olympic football team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Since England falls under the jurisdiction of the British Olympic Association, remit for an Olympic football team requires support from all four Home Nation associations. The Scottish Football Association (SFA), the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and the Irish Football Association (IFA) have all previously objected to the premise over fears that the team would erode the independence of their individual football associations.^[37]

Minor tournaments

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1976 Pony Home Championship	Winners, group stage	1st	2	2	0	0	9	1
1969 Unofficial European Championship	Third Place	3rd	2	1	0	1	5	4
1979 Unofficial European Championship	Semi Final	4th	4	2	1	1	6	4
1981 Mundialito	Group Stage	3rd	2	1	0	1	4	1
1984 Mundialito	Semi Final	3rd	4	0	2	2	3	6
1985 Mundialito	Winners	1st	2	3	1	1	13	5
1988 Mundialito	Winners	1st	4	3	1	0	8	2
1990 North America Cup	Group Stage	3rd	4	1	1	2	3	7
2002 Algarve Cup	Group Stage	9th	4	1	0	3	8	12
2005 Algarve Cup	Group Stage	8th	4	3	1	0	13	0
2007 Four Nations Tournament	Group Stage	4th	3	0	2	1	3	0
2009 Cyprus Cup	Winners	1st	4	3	1	0	14	3
2010 Cyprus Cup	Group Stage	5th	4	2	1	1	6	5
2010 Peace Queen Cup	Group Stage	2nd	2	0	2	0	0	0
2011 Cyprus Cup	Group Stage	5th	4	2	0	2	4	4
2012 Cyprus Cup	Group Stage	4th	4	2	0	2	5	7
2013 Cyprus Cup	Winners	1st	4	3	1	0	12	7
2014 Cyprus Cup	Final	2nd	4	3	0	1	7	2
2015 Cyprus Cup	Winners	1st	4	3	1	0	8	2
2016 SheBelieves Cup	Group Stage	3rd	3	0	1	2	1	3
2017 SheBelieves Cup	Group Stage	3rd	3	1	0	2	2	3
2018 SheBelieves Cup	Runners up	2nd	3	1	1	1	6	4
Total		6 titles	72	36	17	22	135	78

Team

For all past and present players who have appeared for the national team, see List of England women's international footballers (alphabetical)

Caps, goals, and recent players may not be current as the FA does not maintain an easily accessible database of historical statistics.

Current squad

The following 28 players were named to the squad for a training camp at Doha, Qatar, in January 2019.^[38]

Head coach: Phil Neville

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Karen Bardsley	(1984-10-14) 14 October 1984 (age 34)	73	0	Manchester City
	1GK	Mary Earps	(1993-03-07) 7 March 1993 (age 25)	4	0	Wolfsburg
	1GK	Ellie Roebuck	(1999-09-23) 23 September 1999 (age 19)	1	0	Manchester City
	1GK	Carly Telford	(1987-07-07) 7 July 1987 (age 31)	14	0	Chelsea
	2DF	Hannah Blundell	(1994-05-25) 25 May 1994 (age 24)	3	0	Chelsea
	2DF	Millie Bright	(1993-08-21) 21 August 1993 (age 25)	25	0	Chelsea
	2DF	Lucy Bronze	(1991-10-28) 28 October 1991 (age 27)	62	7	Lyon
	2DF	Rachel Daly	(1991-12-06) 6 December 1991 (age 27)	17	3	Houston Dash
	2DF	Gabrielle George	(1997-02-02) 2 February 1997 (age 21)	2	0	Everton
	2DF	Alex Greenwood	(1993-09-07) 7 September 1993 (age 25)	32	2	Manchester United
	2DF	Steph Houghton (captain)	(1988-04-23) 23 April 1988 (age 30)	100	11	Manchester City
	2DF	Abbie McManus	(1993-01-14) 14 January 1993 (age 26)	9	0	Manchester City
	2DF	Demi Stokes	(1991-12-12) 12 December 1991 (age 27)	47	1	Manchester City
	2DF	Leah Williamson	(1997-03-29) 29 March 1997 (age 21)	4	0	Arsenal
	3MF	Karen Carney	(1987-08-01) 1 August 1987 (age 31)	135	31	Chelsea
	3MF	Isobel Christiansen	(1991-09-20) 20 September 1991 (age 27)	29	6	Lyon
	3MF	Jade Moore	(1990-10-22) 22 October 1990 (age 28)	37	1	Reading
	3MF	Jill Scott	(1987-02-02) 2 February 1987 (age 31)	132	22	Manchester City
	3MF	Lucy Staniforth	(1992-10-02) 2 October 1992 (age 26)	5	1	Birmingham City
	3MF	Georgia Stanway	(1999-01-03) 3 January 1999 (age 20)	2	1	Manchester City
	3MF	Keira Walsh	(1997-04-08) 8 April 1997 (age 21)	9	0	Manchester City
	4FW	Toni Duggan	(1991-07-25) 25 July 1991 (age 27)	66	22	Barcelona
	4FW	Fran Kirby	(1993-06-29) 29 June 1993 (age 25)	34	12	Chelsea
	4FW	Melissa Lawley	(1994-04-28) 28 April 1994 (age 24)	11	1	Manchester City
	4FW	Nikita Parris	(1994-03-10) 10 March 1994 (age 24)	28	10	Manchester City
	4FW	Jodie Taylor	(1986-05-17) 17 May 1986 (age 32)	35	16	Seattle Reign
	4FW	Chioma Ubogagu	(1992-09-10) 10 September 1992 (age 26)	1	1	Brisbane Roar
	4FW	Ellen White	(1989-05-09) 9 May 1989 (age 29)	71	24	Birmingham City

Recent callups

The following players have also been called up to the England squad within the last twelve months.

This list may be incomplete.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Siobhan Chamberlain	(1983-08-15) 15 August 1983 (age 35)	50	0	Manchester United	v.  Australia, 9 October 2018
DF	Anita Asante	(1985-04-27) 27 April 1985 (age 33)	70	2	Chelsea	2018 SheBelieves Cup
MF	Jordan Nobbs	(1992-12-08) 8 December 1992 (age 26)	56	7	Arsenal	v.  Sweden, 11 November 2018
MF	Fara Williams	(1984-01-25) 25 January 1984 (age 34)	170	40	Reading	v.  Australia, 9 October 2018
FW	Lauren Bruton	(1992-11-22) 22 November 1992 (age 26)	0	0	Reading	v.  Kazakhstan, 4 September 2018
FW	Beth Mead INJ	(1995-05-09) 9 May 1995 (age 23)	7	2	Arsenal	January 2019 training camp
INJ Player withdrew due to injury

Records

Carol Thomas was the first player to reach 50 caps in 1985, before retiring from representative football later that year, having amassed 56 caps. Fara Williams holds the record for England appearances, having played 165 times since 2001. She overtook previous record holder Rachel Yankey in August 2014, in a friendly against Sweden.^[39] Yankey had passed Gillian Coultard's 119 record England women caps in September 2012, in a European qualifying match against Croatia, and Peter Shilton's 125 record England international caps in June 2013, in a friendly against Japan.^[40]Alex Scott is currently the second highest capped female England player with 140 caps, followed by Karen Carney with 132 and Casey Stoney with 130. Rachel Yankey has the fifth highest number of England caps.

Kelly Smith has scored the highest number of goals for England, with 46 over a twenty-year international career. She surpassed Karen Walker's 40 goal record in September 2010, in a World Cup qualifying play off against Switzerland.^[41]

Most capped players

Fara Williams is England's most capped player and second highest goalscorer with 40 goals in 165 appearances since 2001.

Top goalscorers

Captains

Recent schedule and results

All times are listed in GMT except where noted.

2018

England  v  France

1 March 2018 SheBelieves Cup	England	4–1	France	Columbus, United States
21:00 ET	Duggan  7' Scott  28' Taylor  39' Kirby  46'	Report	Thiney  77'	Stadium: Mapfre Stadium Attendance: 7,566 Referee: Christina Unkel (United States)

Germany  v  England

4 March 2018 SheBelieves Cup	Germany	2–2	England	Harrison, United States
20:00 ET	Kayikçi  17' Bright  51' (o.g.)	Report	White  18', 73'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 7,882 Referee: Karen Abt (United States)

United States  v  England

8 March 2018 SheBelieves Cup	United States	1–0	England	Orlando, United States
18:00 ET	Bardsley  58' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Orlando City Stadium Attendance: 12,351 Referee: Carol Anne Chenard (Canada)

England  v  Wales

6 April 2018 WCQ-G1	England	0–0	Wales	Southampton, England
		Report		Stadium: St Mary's Stadium

Bosnia and Herzegovina  v  England

10 April 2018 WCQ-G1	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0–2	England	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
		Report	Duggan  56' Taylor  90+3' (pen.)	Stadium: Bosnia FA Training Center

Russia  v  England

8 June 2018 WCQ-G1	Russia	1–3	England	Moscow, Russia
	Danilova  31'	Report	Parris  22' Scott  27', 36'	Stadium: Sapsan Arena Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Riem Hussein (Germany)

Wales  v  England

31 August 2018 WCQ-G1	Wales	0–3	England	Newport, Wales
19:45		Report	Duggan  57' Scott  60' Parris  69'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Referee: Katalin Kulcsár (Hungary)

Kazakhstan  v  England

4 September 2018 WCQ-G1	Kazakhstan	0–6	England	Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
		Report	Mead  9' (pen.) 82' Daly  35' Christiansen  54' Staniforth 66' Bronze  87'	Stadium: Tsentralniy Referee: Hristiana Guteva (Bulgaria)

England  v  Brazil

6 October 2018 Friendly	England	1–0	Brazil	Nottingham, England
12:30	Kirby  2'			Stadium: Meadow Lane Attendance: 7,864

England  v  Australia

9 October 2018 Friendly	England	1–1	Australia	London, England
	Kirby  21'	Report	Polkinghorne  84'	Stadium: Craven Cottage Referee: Florence Guillemin (France)

Austria  v  England

8 November 2018 (2018-11-08) Friendly	Austria	0–3	England	Maria Enzersdorf, Austria
19:00		Summary Report	Ubogagu  26' Stanway  71' Daly  81'	Stadium: BSFZ-Arena

England  v  Sweden

11 November 2018 (2018-11-11) Friendly	England	0–2	Sweden	Rotherham, England
13:30		Report	Jakobsson  20' Anvegård  33'	Stadium: New York Stadium Attendance: 9,561 Referee: Petra Pavlikova (Slovakia)

2019

England  v  Brazil

27 February 2019 SheBelieves Cup	England	v	Brazil	Chester, Pennsylvania
16:00 EST				Stadium: Talen Energy Stadium

United States  v  England

2 March 2019 SheBelieves Cup	United States	v	England	Nashville, Tennessee
16:30 EST				Stadium: Nissan Stadium

Japan  v  England

5 March 2019 SheBelieves Cup	Japan	v	England	Tampa, Florida
17:15 EST				Stadium: Raymond James Stadium

England  v  Scotland

9 June 2019 2019 FIFA WWC	England	v	Scotland	Nice, France
18:00 CEST				Stadium: Allianz Riviera

England  v  Argentina

14 June 2019 2019 FIFA WWC	England	v	Argentina	Le Havre, France
21:00 CEST				Stadium: Stade Océane

Japan  v  England

19 June 2019 2019 FIFA WWC	Japan	v	England	Nice, France
21:00 CEST				Stadium: Allianz Riviera

See also

• Women's football in England


• England men's national football team


• Great Britain women's Olympic football team

References

External links

• Official website


• FIFA profile