TheEngland women's national football team, nicknamed theLionesses, has been governed bythe Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by theWomen's Football Association (WFA). England played its first international match in November 1972 againstScotland. Although most national football teams represent asovereign state, England is permitted byFIFA statutes, as a member of the United Kingdom'sHome Nations, to maintain a national side that competes in all major tournaments, with the exception of theWomen's Olympic Football Tournament.
England have qualified for theFIFA Women's World Cup six times, reaching the quarter-finals in1995,2007 and2011, finishing fourth in2019, third in2015 and as runners-up in2023. Since 2019, England, as the highest-ranked Home Nation, have been able to qualify an Olympic team on behalf ofGreat Britain; other British players may be selected in the event of qualification.
England reached the final of theUEFA Women's Championship in1984 and2009. They became champions in2022, marking the first time since1966 that any senior England football team had won a major championship. They retained their title in2025, marking the first time that any senior England team had won a major tournament away from home. England have also competed in theUEFA Women's Nations League since the inaugural2023–24 season. England is set to co-host the2035 FIFA Women's World Cup along withNorthern Ireland,Scotland andWales, earning them an automatic qualification as co-host.
Following aUEFA recommendation in 1972 for national associations to incorporate the women's game,the Football Association (FA) later that year rescinded its ban on women playing onEnglish Football League grounds.[8][9] Shortly after,Eric Worthington was tasked by the WFA to assemble an official women's national team. England competed in its first international match againstScotland inGreenock on 18 November 1972, 100 years to the month after thefirst men's international.[4][10] The team overturned a two-goal deficit todefeat their northern opponents 3–2, withSylvia Gore scoring England's first international goal.[11]Pat Firth scored ahat-trick in an international against Scotland in 1973 among the 8–0 scoreline.[12]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.[5]: 94
In 1993, the FA took over the running of women's football in England from the WFA, replacing Bilton withTed Copeland as national team manager.[5]: 105 England managed to qualify forUEFA Women's Euro 1995, having previously missed out on the last three editions, but were beaten 6–2 on aggregate over two legs againstGermany.[16] Reaching the European semi-finals granted England a place at the World Cup for the first time. The team advanced from the group stage of the1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden, but lost out again to Germany 3–0 in the quarter-finals.[17]
Hope Powell became the team's first full-time head coach in June 1998, succeeding her former coach Copeland.[18] 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 the2001 competition held in Germany, despite recording their biggest loss (away againstNorway 8–0) during qualification, but did not advance past the group stage.[19] England automatically qualified as hostsin 2005, but again did not make it to the semi-finals.[20]
Qualification for the World Cup changed for the1999 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 the2007 World Cup in China, winning Group 5 inthe European qualifiers and recording their biggest win (away againstHungary, 13–0) in the process, ending a 12-year hiatus from the competition.[21][22] After coming second in their group, they advanced into the quarter-finals to face theUnited States but lost 3–0.[23]
In May 2009, central contracts were implemented to help players focus on full-time training without having to fit it around full-time employment.[24][25] Three months later, at theEuropean Championships in Finland, England marked their return to the recently expanded 12-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 boththe hosts and theNetherlands in the knockout stage on the way to thefinal. There they lost 6–2 to reigning champions Germany.[26]
WelshmanMark Sampson succeeded Powell as England manager. England qualified for their third successiveWorld Cup in August 2014 with a game to spare, winning all ten matches andtopping Group 6.[31] England played their first international match at the newWembley 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 whichEngland had failed to record an official win over Germany.[32][33]At the2015 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, which also marked the first semifinal appearance by any England senior team since the men reached the last four of the1990 World Cup in Italy. Playing reigning World Cup holders Japan in the semi-finals, England conceded a penalty kick, whichAya Miyama converted past Karen Bardsley. Japan then conceded a penalty asYuki Ogimi clippedSteph Houghton andFara Williams slotted it pastAyumi Kaihori to level the game. However, in the last minute of the game,Laura Bassett scored anown goal to send Japan through to the final.[34] England eventually finished in third place by beating Germany 1–0 after extra time after a Williams penalty, their first time beating their archrivals in the women's game. It marked the best finish for any England senior team since the men's team famously won the1966 World Cup as hosts.[35]
England qualified for theUEFA 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, a great performance, given that England had not beaten France since 1974,[36] 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.[37]
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 atBristol Academy.[38] The FA in January 2019 agreed to pay a "significant" financial settlement to Sampson, on the week his claim for unfair dismissal was due to be heard in court.[39] He was replaced byPhil Neville, who had played at Manchester United – including in their 1999 treble winning season – and Everton and been capped by the England men but had never before held a high-profile managing job.
After being appointed manager, Neville's first games in charge were at the2018 SheBelieves Cup. In their first game, England defeated France 4–1, then drew 2–2 against Germany. They went into the final game against the United States with the opportunity to win the tournament, but lost 1–0. Second place was the highest England had finished at the SheBelieves Cup.[40]
England continued withWorld Cup qualification in 2018. On 6 April they drew 0–0 against Wales. After the qualifying games in June, England and Wales were guaranteed the first two spots in qualifying Group 1,[41] and England's 3–0 win against Wales in August 2018 saw them clinch the group and qualify for the World Cup finals.[42]
In the2019 SheBelieves Cup, England won the tournament for the first time after winning their first match 2–1 against Brazil, drawing 2–2 with the United States and defeating Japan 3–0.[43]
In the2019 Women's World Cup in France, England won group D, beating local rivals Scotland and archrival Argentina to qualify for the knockout phase, before beating Japan. England beat both Cameroon and then Norway 3–0 to advance to the semifinal against United States in Lyon – the team's third straight major tournament semifinal. However, similar to the previous two tournaments, England once again failed to make the final, losing 2–1.Alex Morgan scored the winner afterEllen White had equalised followingChristen Press' opening goal, while White had an equaliser ruled out by VAR and Houghton had a penalty saved byAlyssa Naeher. The team finished in fourth after losing thethird place play-off to Sweden 2–1.[44]
In March 2019Winsford was chosen for the site of the £70m Cheshire FA Centre of Excellence, which would have become the new home of the England Women's Football Team. It would also have acted as a training base for European teams playing in Liverpool and Manchester. The development was delayed by theCOVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. In October 2020 the Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave his support for the development to go ahead, and it was supposed to open in 2023.[45] However, the plan was scrapped in early 2024 due to increased construction and borrowing costs, as well as the lack of external grant funding.[46]
In the wake of the World Cup exit, England's form dropped as the team struggled in a series offriendlies to end the year including a 2–1 defeat by Germany atWembley Stadium on 9 November 2019. The game set a new record attendance for an England women's match at 77,768, becoming the second-biggest crowd for a women's game on English soil after the2012 Olympic final which was watched by 80,203 at the same venue.[47] The poor run continued into 2020 as England failed to defend their title at the2020 SheBelieves Cup in March. Losses to the United States andSpain made it seven defeats in 11 games, the team's worst stretch since 2003, mounting further pressure on Neville, who admitted he was personally responsible for England's "unacceptable" form amid increased media scrutiny.[48][49][50][51] In April 2020, Neville announced he would step down as manager when his contract expired in July 2021. Originally his tenure would have extended to England's hosting ofUEFA Women's Euro 2021, but the tournament was postponed by a year due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[52]
An FA budget restructure at the end of 2020 saw the women's team become independent from the men's team for the first time, allowing more strategic freedom.[53] In January 2021, Neville elected to resign early in order to take up the managerial position atInter Miami, theMajor League Soccer club founded by previous England men's captainDavid Beckham.[54][55] As it had already been agreed that incumbentNetherlands managerSarina Wiegman would be appointed to the role from September 2021,Hege Riise was named caretaker manager until then.[56] Riise oversaw a 6–0 friendly win overNorthern Ireland in her first game in charge.[57]
England women's team in October 2022; ten of these eleven players (#1–10) were in the July 2022 Euro-winning side
On 14 August 2020, the FA announced it had reached a four-year deal with Netherlands manager Sarina Wiegman, who agreed to take over the team from September 2021, becoming the first non-British permanent manager.[58][59] Entering as England began their2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Wiegman wanted the team to be ruthless, beginning a streak of large winning goal margins in both competitive and friendly matches, including a "humiliating" defeat of the Netherlands.[53] On 30 November 2021, during qualification for the2023 World Cup,Ellen White became England's all-time record goals scorer (overtakingKelly Smith), during a20–0 win overLatvia, in which she scored a hat-trick. The game was a multi-record breaking game as three other players scored a hat-trick (Mead,Hemp (scored 4), andRusso), marking the first time four players had scored a hat-trick in a senior England women's game. The game was also the largest victory for either the women's or men's senior England sides, surpassing the women's team's 2005 13–0 win againstHungary and the men's 1882 13–0 win againstIreland.[60]
No more years of hurt! No more need for dreaming, because dreams have become reality at Wembley!After 56 long years, it is glory against Germany once again, and this time, it yields history of its own because the Lionesses have finally won their first major trophy! England are European champions, and...(Pauses, crowd in background sings,"It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming, football's coming home!" chorus fromThree Lions)
On 31 July, England defeatedGermany 2–1 in extra time in theWomen's Euro 2022 Final at Wembley, withChloe Kelly's 110th-minute close-range goal from a corner being the decider after goals in normal time byElla Toone for England andLina Magull for Germany. It was the team's first-ever major trophy and was the first major international championship won by an England team (women's or men's) since1966.[67] The final was watched by a crowd of 87,192, a record for either the women's or men's European Championship.[68]
Soon after Euro 2022, the England players wrote an open letter toRishi Sunak andLiz Truss, the candidates in the ongoingConservative Party leadership election, in which they declared their "legacy and goal was to inspire a nation". They saw their victory "as only the beginning". The letter pointed out that only 63% of British girls could play football in school PE lessons and concluded: "We – the 23 members of the England Senior Women's EURO Squad – ask you to make it a priority to invest in girls' football in schools, so that every girl has the choice".[69][70]
As European champions, England contested the2023 Women's Finalissima against South American champions Brazil in April 2023, which they won on penalties.[74] The team then suffered their first defeat under Wiegman days later, losing to Australia, to end a 30-match unbeaten run.[75] Following the Euro win and a series of high-profile wins in the months afterward, the England squad was reported to newly carry the aura of top teams that reflects winning confidence.[76]
As defending champions, England repeated their victory atEuro 2025 by defeating Spain inthe final, the first time England had won a major tournament away from home. They recovered from being a goal down to draw 1–1 in normal time, with several saves made by goalkeeperHannah Hampton. Kelly, scorer of the winning goal in the 2022 final, provided the cross for the equalising header by Russo, and then scored the decisive penalty as England won 3–1 on penalties.[80] According to the BBC, having come from behind four times, the theme of the tournament was England being more resilient than any other team.[81]
The England women's national football team is widely nicknamed the Lionesses. The moniker was developed in-house by The Football Association'sdigital marketing department as a way of increasing the visibility and reach of the women's team to a dedicated women's football audience and community, particularly onsocial media. It was first used as ahashtag in June 2012 when the men's team was competing inUEFA Euro 2012 at the same time the women's team was playing a crucialUEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifier againstNetherlands in a bid to help differentiate the coverage and allow people to follow the women's team more easily without getting lost in conversation about the men which was using the same generic #ThreeLions branding at the time. The name started to be used organically by fans and media outlets before The Football Association adopted it as an official brand identity, including with commercial and licensing partners, ahead of the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.[82][83]
The name was also used in an updated version of the popular English anthem "Three Lions" during England's ultimately successful Women's Euro 2022 run, which Fara Williams, Rachel Yankey, Faye White, Rachel Brown-Finnis and Anita Asante performed along withChelcee Grimes and original artistsLightning Seeds andDavid Baddiel (with another original artist,Frank Skinner, in attendance).[84] Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds later also not only referenced the team and their Women's Euro 2022 championship in "Three Lions (It's Coming Home for Christmas)", a remake for themen's World Cup in Qatar that November and December, but also included footage of the players interrupting Wiegman's post-Euro final press conference singing the chorus and appearances fromBethany England andJess Carter.
In February 2024, when each of theLondon Overground lines were given names, the line from Watford Junction to Euston that includesWembley Central was christened the Lioness Line in the team's honour.[85]
The 2019 media campaign in announcing the World Cup squad was part of a broad marketing ambition to make the players into more recognisable stars to promote the team, the competition, and women's football. Using celebrities with connections to the players to make social media facing announcements, the marketing agency received praise for the campaign, which successfully increased social media engagement.[86]
A documentary film,The Lionesses: How Football Came Home, was produced about the 2022 Euro win and released later that year.[87][88] It has been reported that the team's campaign at the 2023 World Cup will also be given a documentary.[89]
England matches at selected international tournaments are currently broadcast byITV Sport (excludingEuro andWorld Cup finals) andBBC (major finals).[90][91] Previously, the Euro and World Cup finals were broadcast byChannel 4 (Euro 2017 only) andEurosport.
England have qualified for theFIFA Women's World Cup six times (1995, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023) and failed to qualify for three competitions (1991, 1999, 2003). The England team reached the quarter-finals 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, underMark Sampson, by beating Germany in the third place play-off. The team finished in fourth place in 2019 after losing to Sweden in the third place play-off. In 2023, the team achieved their best result, as runners-up to Spain in thefinal.
With the other Home Nations associations reluctant to give up autonomy in men's football, no agreement could be reached before the qualifying events forRio 2016, though the women's team would have qualified based on England's results.[141] In 2019, ahead of the qualifying event for Tokyo 2020, an agreement was reached for the women's team that allowed for England, as the highest-ranked Home Nation, to qualify an Olympic team on behalf of Great Britain,[143] which they achieved.[144]
England first entered theUEFA Women's Championship in the inaugural 1984 edition, and were runners-up that year and again in 2009. They won the tournament for the first time in 2022. They retained the title in 2025. The team have reached the semi-finals on three other occasions (1987, 1995, 2017), but failed to make it out of the group stage in three other editions (2001, 2005, 2013). England did not qualify in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1997.
England have competed in theUEFA Women's Nations League since its inaugural season in 2023–24. Then they narrowly missed out on qualification to the2024 Finals after finishing behindNetherlands on goal difference.
^The England women's team uses a variety of venues around the country, in part to promote women's football. As of May 2024 they had played home games at 87 different grounds. Wembley is typically used for games of major importance.[2]
^The Women's Football Association fielded their first England team in 1972, and was the governing body of women's football in England until the Football Association incorporated the team in 1993, marking a change in the formal organisation of it.[94] Few of the international matches contested by the team were considered official.[95] In 2019, women's sports history researcherJean Williams found that "many of the games before 1993 were not recognised as official internationals, [...] and, though recognised by the FA with a virtual cap as representative games, many women players do not have more than one or two caps for their country as a result."[96] The WFA had so little funding that one woman hand-stitched caps for players.[96] The FA announced in 2022 that it would seek to recognise all former women's internationals.[97]
^Reserve captains are players that have taken the captain's armband on a one-off match basis when the incumbent permanent captain is unavailable. Unlike unofficial captaincies the player is given the responsibility prior to the game and is officially recognised bythe FA as having officially captained England, whereas unofficial captains receive the armband part way through a match due to the substitution or the receiving of a red card by the captain.[98]
^Houghton was named a vice-captain but did not wear the armband under Williamson.
^FromEuro 2025 onwards a new qualifying format was introduced, linked to theWomen's Nations League where teams are divided into leagues with promotion/relegation between the leagues at the end of each cycle.