The 7 most capped Lionesses to play for Birmingham City - as Ellen White retires from football

England women’s record goalscorer Ellen White retired from football on Monday (22 August) in what came as a shock to many, fresh off the back of England’s triumph at Euro 2022.

The ex-Birmingham striker made 113 goals and scored 52 goals for England, but is she the most capped English player to play for Birmingham?

Let’s take a look at the seven most capped English players to play for Birmingham City Women.

7. Laura Bassett - 63 caps

Laura Bassett played for Birmingham City across two spells from 2000 to 2008 and again between 2010 and 2013. Securing an impressive 63 caps for her country, the defender also played for Arsenal, Chelsea and Notts County before retiring in 2018. Bassett played at the 2009, 2013 and 2017 European Championships as well as the 2011 and 2015 World Cup, the latter in which England finished the tournament third.

6. Rachel Unitt - 102 caps

A big step up in caps here, Rachel Unitt was born in Walsall in 1982. Making a handful of appearances for Birmingham in the 2012-13 season, Unitt has also played for Wolves and Solihull Moors. The left-back made her international debut in 2000, and went on to make 102 appearances for her nation, scoring 8 goals, and playing in the 2011 World Cup. Unitt was also voted International Player of the Year in both 2004 and 2006.

5. Eniola Aluko - 102 caps

Tied in caps with Unitt, Aluko made 102 appearances for England between 2004 and 2016, scoring 33 goals. Starting her professional career with Birmingham City in 2001 after spending her youth career with Solihull-based Leafield Athletic, Aluko left the club in 2004 before returning for a brief stint with the club in 2012. She also played in the 2005, 2009 and 2013 European Championships, as well as the 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cup. Since retiring from football, Aluko has worked as director of women’s football at Aston Villa, sporting director of Angel City FC in the US, and is now the director of recruitment at the club.

4. Ellen White - 113 caps

The all-time leading goalscorer for the Lionesses, Ellen White has achieved 113 caps, scoring an impressive 52 goals. White played for Birmingham between 2017 and 2019, scoring a brilliant 23 goals in just 26 games for the club, before joining Manchester City. White hung up her boots aged 33 this summer, after winning Euro 2022 with the Lionesses. She said via Twitter that it was “time to say goodbye to football” in her retirement announcement. White is also a three-time International Player of the Year winner, and will go down as a legend of the English women’s game.

3. Rachel Yankey

Securing 129 caps for her country between 1997 and 2013, Rachel Yankey had a short stint at Birmingham in 2004-2005, where she scored 7 goals in 13 games. Better known for her stints at Arsenal, Yankey was the second female English player to rack up 100 caps for her country, and was briefly the all-time leading English appearance maker, when she overtook Peter Shilton’s record of 125 caps. Since retiring in 2016, Yankey worked briefly as manager of London Bees in 2019.

2. Alex Scott

Racking up 140 caps for the Lionesses, Alex Scott played for Birmingham City between 2004 and 2005, making 15 appearances and scoring twice. Scott is better known for her three stints with Arsenal, where she spent the majority of her club career. During her 13-year international career, the right-back played at seven major tournaments for England, the highlights being a runner-up at the 2009 Euros and third at the 2015 World Cup, before retiring from international football following the 2017 European Championship. Since retiring from professional football in 2018, Scott has begun a successful media career, appearing as a pundit on platforms such as BBC and Sky, and has covered the World Cup and the Premier League, as well as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and now hosts BBC show Football Focus.

1. Karen Carney

The most capped English ex-Birmingham player is Karen Carney, who made 144 appearances for the Lionesses, scoring 32 goals. Carney spent two stints at Birmingham, beginning her career with the club in 2001 before leaving for Arsenal in 2006, and returning in 2011, before leaving, this time for Chelsea in 2015.

The Solihull-born winger won the FA Young Player of the Year award twice with Birmingham, in both 2005 and 2006, and has represented England at eight international tournaments, being four World Cups and four European Championships. Since retiring after the 2019 World Cup, Carney has appeared as a pundit on Sky and BT Sport.

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