‘My dreams came true’: England star Ellen White bows out at the top

Given that Ellen White has spent so many years perfecting the art of being in the right place at the right time, it perhaps should not come as a total surprise that England women’s record goalscorer is retiring from football at the zenith of her career.

Three weeks after helping Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses win Euro 2022 by beating Germany at Wembley, the 33-year-old has gone out on the high she strove so hard, for so long, to achieve. After scoring 52 goals for England in 113 senior matches, White can be left harbouring few, if any, regrets about a CV which includes appearances at three World Cups and three European Championships, in addition to representing Great Britain at two Olympics.

When England reached the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup in France, White was the tournament’s joint top scorer with six goals. This summer she started all six Euro 2022 games as the Lionesses won their first major trophy, scoring twice.

Last November, a forward who blended exceptional movement and positional sense with stellar link and hold-up play, exceeded Kelly Smith’s previous Lionesses’ record of 46 goals during England’s record 20-0 World Cup qualifying win against Latvia. Only Wayne Rooney, with 53, has scored more frequently in an England shirt.

White bows out with a year remaining on her contract with Manchester City where she will be much missed. The same goes for Wiegman and England, whose preparations for next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand are bound to feel slightly strange without the presence of the Lionesses’ “third captain”.

Centre forwards rarely wear the armband but England’s manager identified White’s leadership qualities as so strong that she asked her to assume the captaincy on those occasions