2019 Women's World Cup: Getting to know Team England
With the 2019 Women’s World Cup less than a month out, we here at For The Win wanted to preview every team that will feature in this tournament. Next up is the England women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews, and read about the USWNT, here.
England Group D schedule
Sunday, June 9, Noon ET vs. Scotland
Friday, June 14, 3 p.m. ET vs. Argentina
Wednesday, June 19, 3 p.m. ET vs. Japan
Key players
Jodie Taylor
A striker with World Cup experience, Jodie Taylor scored five goals – including a hat trick against Scotland – to win the Golden Boot at UEFA Women’s Euro 2017. Taylor was fifth in the NWSL during the 2018 season with nine goals for the Seattle Reign.
Lucy Bronze
A former All-American and NCAA champion at North Carolina, Bronze has established herself as one of the best defenders in the world with England, and earned the captain’s armband in 2018. Bronze plays her club soccer for Lyon, and just collected a second Champions League winner’s medal this month.
Recent World Cup history
England will be playing in its fifth World Cup, having missed the inaugural tournament and both World Cups staged in the United States. England made the quarterfinals in both 2007 and 2011, and missed out on a World Cup final clash against the United States in Canada with a 2-1 loss to Japan. England went on to beat Germany in the third-place match.
What experts are saying about England
England is favored to go through to the knockout rounds, along with 2015 finalist Japan.
Via the The Guardian:
“Phil Neville is now in charge and presiding over his first major tournament. Neville preaches an attractive, attacking, passing game and would ideally like to turn England into a female version of the Manchester United side he played in under Sir Alex Ferguson. In reality, his aim of winning the World Cup may entail unlocking his inner-Sampson and turning a little more pragmatic.
A comprehensive 2-0 friendly home defeat to Sweden in November indicated a need for a plan B.”
How to be a fan
The England women’s national team is nicknamed the “Three Lionesses.” You can follow the team on Twitter @Lionesses.