| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1961 or 1962 (age 63–64)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Norwich, England[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder /Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Lowestoft Ladies | |||
| Norwich | |||
| Town & County L.F.C. | |||
| Ipswich Town | |||
| International career‡ | |||
| 1977–1990 | England | 62 | (27) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:09, 20 February 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14:09, 25 October 2024 (UTC) | |||
Linda Curl is an English formerfootballer who played as amidfielder orforward for theEngland women's national football team winning 62 caps and scoring 27 goals. At club level she won theWFA Cup withLowestoft Ladies in 1982 and also withNorwich in 1986, scoring in both finals.
At Lowestoft Ladies Curl won her first WFA Cup with a 2-0 victory over Cleveland Spartans atLoftus Road. She scored the opening goal for the team known as The Waves.[3] Curl was signed by Norwich managerMaureen Martin (nee Reynolds), who was a former team-mate of Curl's in the1979 WFA Cup final which Lowestoft Ladies lost 1-0 toSouthampton WFC.[4] Whilst at Norwich, Curl scored 22 of the goals in a 40-0 win versus Milton Keynes Reserves in the Chiltern League Division Two in September 1983.[5][2] She also scored the opening goal atCarrow Road in the1986 WFA Cup final which saw Norwich beatDoncaster Rovers Belles 4-3 for her second win in the tournament.[6]
Curl made her England debut as a 15-year-old, in a 9–1friendly win overSwitzerland, staged atBoothferry Park,Hull, on 28 April 1977.[1] In the1984 European Competition for Women's Footballfinal, England lost the first awayleg 1–0 againstSweden, after a header fromPia Sundhage. They won the second home leg by the same margin, with a goal from Curl.[7] England lost the subsequent penalty shootout 4–3, as both Curl andLorraine Hanson had their spot kicks saved byElisabeth Leidinge.[8] At the 1988Mundialito Curl finished the tournament as overall top scorer with four goals. She continued playing for England until 1990 when she retired.[2]
In November 2022, Curl was recognized byThe Football Association as one of the England national team's legacy players, and as the 35th women's player to be capped by England.[9]
Outside of football she worked as a police officer.[2]
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