Ranking The Best England Women’s Footballers Of All-Time

As women’s football continues to explode in stature it’s high time we celebrated the greatest English players who have done more than most to make the sport a modern-day phenomenon.

Karen Carney

Now a familiar face on our screens as a respected pundit, discussing everything from Manchester City’s declining Premier League odds to tactical analysis of a failing back-four, Carney’s playing career took her from Birmingham to the capital (twice), and across the pond to Chicago where they exhibited her rare wizardly for the Red Stars.

A playmaker of high repute, she inspired Arsenal and Chelsea to silverware and gained 144 caps for her country. In 2021 she was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.

Steph Houghton

The former Manchester City and England skipper was widely admired for her leadership qualities and defensive acumen, while off the pitch she remains one of the most popular figures in women’s football.

In 2014, she became the first female footballer to grace the cover of Shoot magazine, and such is her heightened status from making 121 appearances for her country the classy centre-back can lay claim to being a household name.

This great servant of the game retired in the summer of 2024 to focus on media work.

Carol Thomas

In 2021, Thomas was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, an honour that felt long-overdue for a winger-turned-defender who did more than anyone in pushing the women’s game forward.

At the age of just 21, the Hull-born star was handed the England captaincy, a position she remarkably held for over 26 years, as the Lionesses reached seven consecutive international tournaments, with Thomas playing in every game.

Off the pitch, the keen hill-walker – who in retirement has trekked across the Andes and Himalayas – was a true pioneer, promoting womens’ football when it was a little-known entity.

Lucy Bronze

Twice voted the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year and the recipient in 2019 of the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year, Bronze is without question one of the finest right-backs to ever grace the game.

Her ability to invert into midfield has led to comparisons with Philipp Lahm but to be clear so high is her bar, and so great her consistency, in the future it will be Bronze who excelling full-backs will be likened to. She has set the standard for others to aspire to.

Two successful spells at continental giants – Lyon and Barcelona – has only confirmed her world class stature.

Gillian Coultard

Before the sport turned professional, Coultard would work long hours on a production line in a Castleford factory then turn out for Doncaster Belles each weekend, a superstar of the fledging game.

Considered by former England boss Hope Powell to be a ‘genuinely world class player’ the highly respected box-to-box midfielder was the first female to reach the landmark of 100 caps for England, at a time in the late-nineties when the feat was rare and exceptional.

Indeed, the only other players to do this back then were Billy Wright, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore and Peter Shilton. That’s esteemed company to be in for sure.

Jill Scott

Straight-of-back and patrolling every square inch of the pitch, the former Manchester City midfielder, nicknamed ‘Crouchy’ by her team-mates for her tall frame, lifted a trio of League Cups and FA Cups apiece as well as claiming the WSL title in 2016.

She also made an incredible 161 appearances for England.

A competitive long-distance runner in her youth, Scott used her stamina to good effect for Everton before switching to the ‘mini-Etihad’ in 2014 whereupon her levels and reputation rose even higher.

She has unquestionably been one of the finest all-action talents in women’s football across the 21st century.

Casey Stoney

In May 2021, Stoney surprisingly stepped down as Manchester United manager, taking her coaching credentials to San Diego on America’s west coast.

It was as a player however, where the Basildon-born defender really made her name, a stalwart of the Arsenal side from the turn of the Millenium that has to go down as one of the best women’s football teams in recent times.

With the Gunners, Stoney won back-to-back Premier League National Division titles, surrounded by half of the England set-up.

Away from the action, the former England captain received overwhelming support in 2014 when she publicly came out. Stoney and her long-term partner have three children, the eldest twins.

Marieanne Spacey

The attacking midfielder was a generational talent who helped bring silverware in abundance to Arsenal and Fulham Ladies throughout the Nineties and early 2000s.

Spells in Italy and Finland broadened her repertoire of skills, all of which greatly aided England as they embarked on their first World Cup campaign in 1995. Naturally, Spacey ran the show and scored in the opening game.

Her propensity to fire home long-range efforts may have Spacey forever pegged as a spectacular player and she undoubtedly was that.

But really, her most substantial gift was her footballing intelligence which made everything she did appear off-the-cuff and natural.

Fara Williams

Williams was just 17 when she won her first England cap. An astounding 176 subsequent appearances followed for her country.

This incredible haul doesn’t solely explain why the midfielder is regarded as a bona fide legend of women’s football, a player widely known as ‘Queen Fara’.

The same goes for her league titles with Liverpool, and the two International Player of the Year awards in her medal’s drawer. Not even her sublime touch and unerring vision fully shines a light on why the 40-year-old is so hugely respected.

It’s because when the likeable Londoner was a teenager, and gaining international recognition, she was homeless and remained so for six years.

To overcome such obstacles and reach the very top makes her story a truly remarkable one.

Kelly Smith

If the former Arsenal forward was still playing today, she would be a real favourite of the football betting community.

That’s because at any given moment, in any give game, Smith could produce a moment of magic, usually taking the form of a lethally struck shot – from either foot – that would have the keeper flailing.

Across three spells with the Gunners, the Watford-born hit-woman won every major trophy several times over, while on the international stage her prolificacy was phenomenal, bagging 46 goals in 117 outings.

There were also successful stints in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Boston as England shared its finest ever talent with the world.