Lucy Bronze, Mary Earps and the Lionesses' 25 best players of the 21st century so far - ranked

Including Euro 2022 champions, but also runners-up from Euro 2009 and the 2023 World Cup, GOAL ranks England's best women's players since 2000...

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  25Rachel Unitt

  One of only six players to be named England Women's Player of the Year more than once, Rachel Unitt racked up 102 caps for the Lionesses after making her debut back in 2000. From there, she'd establish herself as a regular under Powell, to the extent that when central contracts were first handed out by the Football Association back in 2009, the left-back was among the 17 players who received one. A few months after that, Unitt was part of the England team that enjoyed an historic run to the Euro 2009 final.

  Sadly, after hitting a century of caps in 2012, Unitt would be hampered by injuries which drew her international career to a premature end. A foot problem ruled her out of that year's Olympic Games, which provided a watershed moment for women's football in Great Britain, and an ACL injury ruled her out of Euro 2013. However, the disappointing conclusion to her time as an England player should not overshadow what a fantastic servant Unitt was to her country.

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  24Rachel Brown-Finnis

  England's starting goalkeeper for that run to the Euro 2009 final, Rachel Brown-Finnis spent the first few years of the 21st century battling it out with stalwart Pauline Cope for the No.1 shirt, racking up a decent number of caps along the way despite generally remaining an understudy until Cope's shock retirement in 2004. From there, Brown-Finnis emerged from the pack to become the Lionesses' new first-choice goalkeeper.

  After playing all four of England's games at the 2007 Women's World Cup, and keeping an impressive clean sheet against Germany, the Everton icon remained the Lionesses' go-to shot-stopper for a memorable, and somewhat unexpected, Euro 2009 campaign.

  Despite keeping five clean sheets in seven outings in qualifying for the 2011 World Cup, she would lose her starting berth at that tournament to Karen Bardsley. But Brown-Finnis was England's best goalkeeper for at least five strong years in this century, which is more than enough for a place on this list.

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  23Rachel Daly

  There is an argument to be made that there has been no greater servant to the Lionesses this century than Rachel Daly. Despite making her international debut in 2016, it wasn't until 2023 that the striker actually started to compete for game time with England in her natural position. Throughout the seven years prior, Daly played almost every outfield role possible. "I'm ready to play in whatever position I'm needed," she would say.

  While playing at right-back, left-back, out wide and even in a rather rogue No.10 role might have been tough at times, as it could stop Daly from really bringing her very best attributes to the table, it helped the team massively. Her six successive starts at left-back at Euro 2022 were her biggest contribution, helping Sarina Wiegman to plug a problem position as the Lionesses won their first-ever major tournament.

  After showing attitude and commitment that was absolutely second-to-none, Daly surprisingly called time on her international career in April 2024, and Wiegman's reaction summed up what makes her one of England's best players of this century. "It has been a privilege to work with her," she said. "I have never worked with a player so versatile, always with a smile on her face, always bringing energy, and trying to do her best for the team."

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  22Sue Smith

  While Sue Smith's time as an England player didn't overlap with their most successful era, there are many that would pick her out as one of the most talented women's footballers that the country has ever produced. A tricky forward with a knack for the spectacular, she made her international debut back in 1997 and would enjoy 15 years as a Lioness, with the pinnacle certainly the run to the Euro 2009 final.

  There were some real lows in that decade-and-a-half, too, which Smith had to bounce back from. Be it a broken leg, torn ligaments or omissions from major tournament squads, she always rebounded in a big way in an international career which returned three Player of the Year awards, 93 caps and plenty of magical moments.

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  21Leah Williamson

  The first of a flurry of current players who are sure to rocket up this list over time, Leah Williamson's England career doesn't actually have the extensive archive that one might first think. Having had to show patience to break into the starting line-up, such was the centre-back talent ahead of her in the pecking order when she first started to make the squad, Williamson also suffered a brutal ACL injury just before the 2023 Women's World Cup which ruled her out for 10 months. As such, she's got fewer caps than any other player on this list, played at just two major tournaments and made only seven appearances at those finals.

  However, what Williamson has achieved in the six years since her England debut is more than most ever will. At Wembley in 2022, it was she who hoisted the European Championship trophy above her head to signal the Lionesses' first-ever major tournament title, having shone throughout their triumphant campaign as both a player and a captain. Still only 27 years old, time is certainly on her side when it comes to creating more iconic memories, too.

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  20Alex Scott

  A veteran of seven major tournaments across a marvellous 13-year England career, before Alex Scott introduced herself to the wider footballing world as an excellent pundit and presenter in her post-playing days, she was a stalwart on the right-hand side of the Lionesses' defence.

  Her country's fourth-most-capped footballer of all-time, Scott was there when England went on that remarkable run to the Euro 2009 final, and her role in laying the foundations for the next generation continued beyond that success, as she was also present for a 2015 Women's World Cup which set a new bar for what this nation could achieve in the women's game.

  At that point, Scott was sharing right-back duties with an exciting young defender named Lucy Bronze, but she remained a vital player as the Lionesses reached a maiden Women's World Cup semi-final and then, in the third-placed play-off, beat Germany for the first time ever. Unsurprisingly, just a few months after hanging up her boots, Scott was inducted into the English Hall of Fame, a worthy feat for a player whose endeavour, leadership and tireless work-rate was influential on and off the pitch.

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  19Ellen White

  The Lionesses' all-time top goal-scorer, with 52 goals in 113 appearances, Ellen White's career saw her transition from amateur to semi-pro to full professional status, and the eras that she saw as an England player followed a similar trend. Debuting a year after an unlikely run to the Euro 2009 final, she was there when the Lionesses couldn't get out of their group at major tournaments, and her playing days came to an end off the back of two successive World Cup semi-finals and a European Championship title.

  It is the 2019 Women's World Cup with which White is most associated, after her six goals in as many games helped England come so close to reaching the final. It was only because of assists that she missed out on the Golden Boot, with U.S. stars Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan accumulating more to leave the Lionesses' No.9 with a Bronze Boot that remains an eye-catching feature of her trophy cabinet.

  But the forward was impressive at so many different points of her England career, too. A three-time Lionesses Player of the Year, a feat no one else can match, White called time on her playing days in the aftermath of the undisputed high point of it all, having just helped her country win a first-ever major tournament title on the women's side at Euro 2022. She wasn't at her most prolific as an individual then, but her consistently hard-working approach to leading the line more than played its part in the success.

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  18Millie Bright

  One of only two players in history to captain England in a senior World Cup final, Millie Bright has more than made her mark with the Lionesses since debuting back in 2016. Slotting into the heart of defence alongside Steph Houghton, the Chelsea star would form an important partnership with the England captain, helping the team reach back-to-back major tournament semi-finals at Euro 2017 and the 2019 Women's World Cup.

  When Williamson started to get the nod ahead of Houghton, Bright seamlessly bonded with the Arsenal defender too, with them establishing a formidable foundation on which the Lionesses were able to build so successfully that they won Euro 2022. It was a tournament at which Bright was particularly outstanding, with such top form helping England to concede just two goals.

  When the 2023 Women's World Cup came around, it had been a tough few months for Bright. Injury had ended her season back in March and there were concerns that rust could be her undoing in Australia. But, sporting the captain's armband, she rose above that obstacle and led with conviction in a new-look back line to help the Lionesses reach a World Cup final for the first time.

  Over and over again, she has come up big for her country, and with many more years surely left in her international career, there are sure to be further occasions on which she does so.

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  17Georgia Stanway

  It's remarkable to think about what Georgia Stanway has already achieved in an England shirt despite only being 25 years old. After getting her first taste of major tournament football as a fringe player at the 2019 Women's World Cup, Stanway would blossom into a key player by the time the Lionesses' next big event came around, at Euro 2022. There, she played a significant role in helping her team to an historic triumph.

  The midfielder was superb throughout that Euros, but will always be remembered for one moment in particular. When England's quarter-final tie with Spain went to extra-time, it was Stanway who came up with the magic in such a pressurised situation, firing in a spectacular winner to ensure the Lionesses' tournament went on.

  Perhaps it was her World Cup campaign a year later that was even more impressive on an individual basis, though. England were by no means at their best in Australia, grinding out win after win to get to the final, but Stanway consistently delivered top performances in midfield and was one of the best players on show Down Under.

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  16Keira Walsh

  When it comes stand out moments from England's Euro 2022 triumph, Keira Walsh's otherworldly assist for Ella Toone in the final is right up there as one of the very best. After coming to the fore as a consistently outstanding player at the base of the Manchester City midfield, Walsh had a difficult first major tournament, at the 2019 Women's World Cup, and the criticism she received during that event sadly affected her. However, she bounced back in memorable fashion when she got back on the big stage three years later, starring as England won the Euros. This time, her performances hit the headlines for all the right reasons, earning her a place in the Team of the Tournament and the FIFPRO World XI.

  An important member of the team when the Lionesses made that run to the World Cup final just a year later, Walsh is another who is sure to rise up this list in time, with there plenty more to come from her in an England shirt at just 27 years old.

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  15Fran Kirby

  It's fair to say that England have probably never quite got the best out of Fran Kirby. While Emma Hayes gave the forward a free role at Chelsea, one which maximised her talent dramatically, she's been something of an enigma for the Lionesses, never quite fitting into fixed positions. Yet, she certainly still ranks among the best players in the history of the national team, as she has still managed to produce wonderful moments for her country and play key roles in big tournaments.

  It's relatively unheard of for players to be called up for England while playing in the second-tier, but then-head coach Mark Sampson just could not overlook Kirby's mesmerising talent when picking his squad for the 2015 Women's World Cup. Just 21 years old at the time, she would show why she got the nod too, scoring in the group-stage win over Mexico to earn comparisons to Lionel Messi from her coach.

  After helping England to break new ground in Canada, when they reached a first-ever Women's World Cup semi-final and won a bronze medal with an historic win over Germany, Kirby was an experienced head when Euro 2022 rolled around. She'd helped the Lionesses to two previous semi-finals, and used all her major tournament nous to help them finally win one of these things, on home soil, at Wembley.

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  14Eniola Aluko

  With the early iterations of the Women's European Championship not featuring a group-stage format, and instead starting at the semi-final stage, it wasn't until 2009 that England formally won through to a major tournament semi-final and, when they did so, it was a brace from Eniola Aluko that secured that historic feat.

  The Lionesses' quarter-final encounter with Finland was a thriller for the neutral, and certainly a nail-biter for both sets of fans, but after opening the scoring after 15 minutes, Aluko's second strike, 23 minutes from time, proved enough to give her team a first semi-final berth since a two-legged affair against Denmark at the first-ever Euros, in 1984.

  It was a big goal from a forward who was really announcing herself to the whole footballing world at that time, coinciding with time in the U.S. top-flight, and one of many she would score in an England career that came to an end shortly after she helped them reach another semi-final, at the 2015 Women's World Cup. Indeed, Aluko's 33 strikes for the Lionesses have long kept her high up the all-time list of scorers, on which she currently sits seventh.

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  13Beth Mead

  Level with Aluko when it comes to the Lionesses' all-time top goal-scorers, Beth Mead certainly has the upper echelons of that list in her sights and, at 29 years old, plenty of time to keep creeping her way up it. After debuting for her country in 2018, when she had already completed the transition from prolific No.9 to deadly winger at club level, the Arsenal star gradually became more and more dangerous in front of goal in international football, culminating in a 2022 to remember.

  Heading into England's Euros campaign with six international goals to her name already in the first half of the year, Mead went up to incredible levels once the tournament began, scoring another six and providing an astonishing five assists in just six games. It helped propel the Lionesses to the title, earned her the Player of the Tournament and Golden Boot awards and saw her finish second in the Ballon d'Or voting, beaten only by Alexia Putellas.

  Having already established herself as a consistent and important player at the 2019 Women's World Cup, Mead's 2022 ensured that she will always rank highly on these lists, and although a cruel ACL injury prevented her from taking that form to the 2023 Women's World Cup, there should be many more tournaments to come for her to shine in.

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  12Karen Carney

  One of only two players on this list to play at eight major tournaments, Karen Carney's incredible England career began with the 2005 Euros and ended with the 2019 Women's World Cup. In that time, she helped her national team transform into one that could go toe-to-toe with any opponent, as they went from also-rans to genuine title contenders.

  What Carney brought to the pitch was often mesmerising. A wonderfully talented footballer who could make an impact in a variety of roles, that she was nicknamed 'the Wizard' said it all. She brought substance as well as style, too, and became the first England player ever to score in a European Championship final when she netted against Germany in 2009.

  Towards the end of her remarkable England days, Carney's magic was married with valuable experience, as she helped the Lionesses progress to three successive major tournament semi-finals, laying the groundwork for that Euro 2022 triumph. When that came, she had already hung up her boots, but England's third most-capped player of all-time certainly played her part in helping them become a force.

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  11Karen Bardsley

  England's longest serving No.1 goalkeeper of the 21st century, Karen Bardsley went to six major tournaments with the Lionesses and was the first-choice shot-stopper for five of them. At her first, she watched from the bench as Brown-Finnis helped England reach the Euro 2009 final, but by 2011, it was Bardsley who took the reins and it was quite some time before she let go.

  A consistent and reliable presence in between the sticks, and a big personality in the Lionesses group, Bardsley's 2015 Women's World Cup was arguably her most memorable and impressive tournament. As England went further on the biggest stage than ever before on the women's side, her contributions were huge, particularly the superb save in the third-place play-off which denied Sara Dabritz and helped the Lionesses not only win bronze, but beat Germany for the first time.

  Named to the All-Star Squad for that tournament, Bardsley still had some big moments ahead of her as well, helping England to reach semi-finals at Euro 2017 and the 2019 World Cup before injury cruelly forced her career to come to a premature end. Still, at 37 years old and with 81 international caps to her name, it was one she got plenty out of.

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  10Rachel Yankey

  Sixth on England's list of most-capped players, Rachel Yankey enjoyed a fantastic 16-year career with the Lionesses after debuting back in 1997. It might be easy to overlook her case to be in this top 10 because she wasn't present at any of England's biggest moments this century, having been shockingly left out of the Euro 2009 squad and already retired when the team really started to break through at the Women's World Cup. But that would be a mistake.

  Previously described by Houghton as "one of the best players England has ever produced", Yankey was a tricky winger but a hard-working one. Her approach to football got fans off their seats, and yet she was never one to neglect her duties to the team. It's that which made her such a respected team-mate as well as one the Lionesses knew they could turn to when a moment of magic was required.

  Briefly the most capped England player of all-time, male or female, Yankey was an obvious inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame after her retirement. She was a brilliant player but, because of the way she played the game, a fantastic ambassador for the sport, too.

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  9Mary Earps

  Mary Earps might have only been England's No.1 goalkeeper since late 2021, but what she has done in that time is more than enough to propel her into the upper echelons of this list. Always regarded as a very solid shot-stopper, when she became first-choice under Wiegman, it took her game to new heights. Through her exploits with England, she became a genuinely world-class goalkeeper.

  It was at Euro 2022 when it first became apparent that Earps was on that almighty path. Again, she had always shown great traits through her career, but becoming England No.1 seemed to install new levels of confidence that helped her to reach new levels in a footballing sense, too. The former Manchester United star conceded only twice as the Lionesses became European champions and pulled off some remarkable saves to keep four clean sheets in six games. Those didn't go unnoticed when it came to individual accolades either, with Earps named to the Team of the Tournament before winning The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper award.

  Twelve months later, it was more of the same. Once again, Earps was outstanding as England broke new ground at the Women's World Cup and reached the final. She saved a penalty in that game, becoming just the second goalkeeper to do so, and claimed the tournament's Golden Glove after the full-time whistle. Unsurprisingly, she retained her FIFA award and also finished fifth in the Ballon d'Or voting - the highest a goalkeeper ever has on the women's side.

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  8Katie Chapman

  Despite a four-year absence from the national team in the middle of her career, and two maternity breaks, Katie Chapman still put together a rather impressive resumé in England colours. The two-time Lionesses Player of the Year made her international debut back in 2000 and would go on to win 94 caps, appear at five major tournaments and play a crucial role in two of her team's greatest ever achievements.

  The first of those was back in 2009, when she started all six games, and played all but 30 minutes, of England's Euros campaign. Chapman's battling qualities were vital in the heart of midfield as the Lionesses upset the odds to reach the final. But perhaps her finest hour came six years later, after it seemed unlikely she would ever play for England again.

  Ahead of the 2015 Women's World Cup, then-head coach Sampson brought Chapman back into the fold, and her incredible winning experience had a huge impact on a team that made new history. Aged 33, she started five of the Lionesses' seven matches and, though not the official captain, used her leadership qualities to help guide the team through some huge moments.

  A reliable player who never shied away from the big occasion, Chapman's presence in any team only enhanced her qualities and helped mark her out as one of the best England players of the 21st century.

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  7Casey Stoney

  Another player who watched the Lionesses transition from an also-ran in the international women's game to a team that could battle with the world's best in the latter stages of major tournaments was Casey Stoney. Before she was a renowned coach in the sport, she was a commanding centre-back who would put her body on the line for club and country.

  An important player as England reached the Euro 2009 final, Stoney would be named captain in 2012. It was an honour befitting of a player with her leadership and attitude, traits she continued to bring to the table even after the armband was given to Houghton when Sampson became head coach.

  A two-time England Player of the Year who went to seven major tournaments and racked up 130 caps, Stoney had a lot of memorable moments in her country's colours, and even when her on-pitch role was reduced, she still sprinkled her experience and leadership onto the Lionesses in a big way. Be it as a regular substitute at the 2015 Women's World Cup or a squad player at Euro 2017, Stoney helped her country reach back-to-back major tournament semi-finals and, after losing to them in that Euro 2009 final, beat Germany for the first time.

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  6Faye White

  England have been blessed with an array of top-class centre-backs in the 21st century, and Faye White was one of the very best. The Arsenal icon was just 24 years old when she was handed the captain's armband back in 2002, and she wore it with distinction from the get go, going on to become the longest-serving England captain in history before her retirement in 2012.

  In that 15-year international career, the unquestionable highlight was Euro 2009. It was there that White scored her only major tournament goal, in a 1-1 draw with Sweden that helped the Lionesses progress from the group stage as one of the two best third-placed teams, and became the first player since Bobby Moore in 1966 to captain England in a major tournament final. That she played in that game at all, just six days after having surgery on a broken cheekbone sustained in the quarter-final win over Finland, said it all.

  White doesn't have the major international titles that some of the other names on this list do, but it's impossible to overstate what an incredible captain, player and servant she was to the Lionesses.

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  5Steph Houghton

  At the start of it all, Steph Houghton could have been forgiven for feeling like things just weren't going to fall for her on the international stage. Forced to miss the 2007 World Cup with a broken leg, and then absent from that famous Euro 2009 campaign due to a knee injury, it wasn't until the 2011 World Cup that she finally played at a major tournament. However, she would spend the next 10 years making up for lost time.

  Named the Lionesses' captain in 2014, her time with the armband coincided with a period that saw women's football in England change dramatically, thrusting Houghton and her team-mates into the limelight like never before, with external expectations and the pressure of the moments they would experience also levelling up.

  Amidst it all, Houghton always stepped up. She captained the Lionesses to a first-ever World Cup semi-final in 2015, scoring her first goal at the tournament in the round of 16 before being named Player of the Match in their quarter-final win over Canada. When she and her side reached that stage again four years later, and there was a late penalty to be taken, it was the captain who stepped forward. Her inability to convert was, for a long time, a 'what if' moment in this team's history, but not one Houghton wasn't willing to front up to post-match.

  It was this ability to bounce back and face the difficult moments that made Houghton a wonderful leader, a characteristic complemented by her excellent footballing talent. Her England career did not end how she would have liked, with her absence from the triumphant Euro 2022 campaign a real heart-breaker, but her fortunes in recent years should not take away from her legacy. She is a true Lionesses great.

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  4Fara Williams

  No man or woman has ever represented England on more occasions than Fara Williams, who did so a remarkable 172 times in an international career that spanned 18 remarkable years. The two-time Lionesses Player of the Year was a consistent and dependable central midfielder who never seemed to feel pressure, with her ice cold penalty-taking a quality that paid dividends for her country in some of the biggest moments.

  For most fans, Williams will always be associated with one memory in particular, that the bronze medal match at the 2015 World Cup. England were taking on Germany in the battle to claim third place, which may seem trivial to some onlookers, but not those who know the history of the Lionesses. It was an historic tournament for this team, as they reached a World Cup semi-final for the first time, and they wanted to go out on a high after a dramatically cruel loss to Japan which prevented them from reaching the final. But, to do so, they needed to beat Germany, something the Lionesses had never done.

  When England won a penalty in extra time then, they needed someone to show incredible composure from 12 yards. Fortunately, they had Williams to call upon. Her cool conversion gave the Lionesses one of their most historic days, helped England lay a foundation for an incredible few years to come but, above all, was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what Williams delivered for her country across 18 years, seven major tournaments and a record-breaking number of appearances.

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  3Lucy Bronze

  It's crazy to think that Lucy Bronze almost ended up playing for Portugal, not England. After finding senior call-ups hard to come by, the full-back decided that, if a Lionesses debut didn't come by the time she was 22 or 23 years old, she would represent the country of her father. Fortunately for England, it wouldn't come to that.

  Since winning her first cap back in 2013, Bronze has matched an elite club career with an incredible international one. For a long time, she repeatedly stated that she would swap all of her titles with Lyon for success with the Lionesses. But at Euro 2022, she got the international glory without having to give up any of her Champions League titles.

  Bronze has been an important figure throughout England's rise in the women's game, too. Tasked with usurping Alex Scott for a place in the team, she enjoyed a breakout tournament at the 2015 Women's World Cup, scoring winning goals in her team's last 16 and quarter-final ties. Such exploits earned her the first of two Lionesses' Player of the Year awards and began a run of three successive tournaments in which she was named to its version of the best XI.

  By the time England broke through that semi-final ceiling, Bronze had become one of the best full-backs in the world, an experienced head and one of the real leaders of her team. The guidance she's been able to offer some of the younger players as the Lionesses have had increased pressure and attention on them has been invaluable, adding another reason to an extremely long list which easily makes her one of the very best players in England history.

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  2Jill Scott

  Some players this century have had slightly longer Lionesses careers than Jill Scott, from debut to retirement, but how the iconic midfielder remained a key player for so long and was important at essentially every stage of England's development as a women's national team is unmatched. Through her 16 years, Scott saw it all.

  She saw the lows, be they group-stage exits or comprehensive defeats to the higher-ranked nations in the first knockout rounds; she saw the progress, as England started to make semi-finals a regular occurrence; and she saw the ultimate high, when the Lionesses beat Germany at Wembley in 2022 to be crowned champions of Europe.

  It all started back in 2006 for Scott and England, and she had a big part to play in their first proper high of this century, scoring the extra-time winner which sent the Lionesses to the Euro 2009 final. From there, she blossomed into an integral member of the midfield, her athleticism, incredible hard work and neat technique marking her out as a key player. When England bowed out in the quarter-finals of the 2011 Women's World Cup, Scott made such an important in just four games that she was named to the tournament's All-Star Squad.

  That only continued through the major events - the bronze medal campaign at the 2015 Women's World Cup, the run to a second successive semi-final at Euro 2017 and that huge 2019, when England went toe-to-toe with the U.S. in their ultimately unsuccessful, but admirable, bid to reach a World Cup final.

  By the time Euro 2022 came around, Scott's role was different. She wasn't starting every game and she wasn't one of the key figures anymore. But her experience was important for Wiegman, be it in the dressing room or off the bench, and not only did it add to the magic formula which helped the Lionesses bring football home, it also added to Scott's credentials as one of the greatest players ever to wear that England shirt.

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  1Kelly Smith

  When discussing the greatest players in any field, there are some who are marked out because of what they've achieved, the roles they've played in helping teams to win things and reach new heights. But often, when it comes to picking the No.1, there's an outright candidate, one who jumps to mind straight away because of their otherworldly talent. Ask any England fan who the Lionesses' greatest player of all time is, never mind of this century, and most will say Kelly Smith.

  Smith's footballing ability always stood out. A remarkable technician, able to do things many players could only dream of, she had an eye for goal that would, until 2021, make her the Lionesses' all-time top goal-scorer, but also the creativity to be a dynamic centre-forward who contributed much more to her team.

  Described by former England boss Powell as "one of those players who come along only once or twice in a lifetime", Smith earned incredible respect from her peers in a career that began and ended before the women's football boom really took place in England. As such, when she wasn't lighting things up for Arsenal, she played a lot of her club career in the U.S. and mesmerised some of the greats of their game, prompting the likes of Mia Hamm to wax lyrical about her incredible ability.

  In an England shirt, there weren't so many of the history-making moments for Smith. In her 19 years as an international player, she played at only six major tournaments, because there were three in that time which the Lionesses didn't even qualify for. But when she did get to shine on the big stage, she took her chances, scoring an iconic hat-trick at the 2007 Women's World Cup which earned her a place in the All-Star Squad and, a few months later, one of four top-five finishes she would secure in the voting for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award.

  Smith didn't win a major title with England, though she did score in that Euro 2009 final. She didn't reach a World Cup final, or even a semi-final. She was long retired by the time those feats started to be achieved by the Lionesses. However, it's almost undisputed that she is the greatest women's player that her country has ever produced - and with very good reason, too.