Bethany England

Bethany England (born 3 June 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Crystal Palace.

She previously played for Doncaster Rovers Belles, Liverpool and Chelsea, and represented England on the U19 and U23 national teams. She has earned 26 appearances for the England national team.

In 2020, England was named the league's Player of the Year and PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year after leading Chelsea to win the 2019–20 FA WSL and 2019–20 FA League Cup. She was also named to the PFA Team of the Year.

Early life England was born and raised with her two sisters in Barnsley, a large market and college town in South Yorkshire, between Leeds and Sheffield. She began playing with a boys' team around age six and played with the team for 3–4 years. She was later scouted to join the Sheffield United girls' centre of excellence. After three years with the Sheffield United girls' team, England began playing for the Sheffield United academy at age 13 where she played for three years along with her twin sister, Laura. At Barnsley College, her former football coaches remember her scoring the best goal many of them had ever seen at the Whitsuntide Tournament in Spain. Mark Ryan, manager of the college's sport academy, noted, "The goalkeeper kicked the ball from the edge of the box. As the ball travelled towards the halfway line, Beth stood wide right. She watched the ball come over her left shoulder and she hit it, first time, from just inside the opposition half. Lobbed the goalkeeper. There were 28 boys on the sideline, and their reaction... It went from stunned silence to absolute uproar.” As a youth, she admired footballers Steven Gerrard and Rachel Yankey.

Club career Doncaster Rovers Belles 2011–2015

At the age of 17, England established herself in Doncaster Rovers Belles' first team during the second half of the 2011 FA WSL season. She made her debut for the first team on 23 July 2011 and made four appearances during the regular season. Doncaster finished in seventh place with a record. In October 2011, she went on a short-term loan to Sheffield Wednesday.

During the 2012 FA WSL season, England scored two goals in her eight appearances. She scored her first goal during a 3–2 loss to Bristol City. Her second goal came during a 2–0 win over Liverpool. Doncaster finished in seventh place with a record. She scored a brace against Oxford United. Over her five seasons with Doncaster, England became a regular starter and made close to 100 appearances for the club. Though offered a full-time deal by the Belles, England opted to join Chelsea the following season. She scored 5 times in her 19 appearances, including seven starts, playing as a wing-back. Chelsea finished second during the regular season with a record.

In April 2017, England signed a new two-year contract with Chelsea. A few months later she was loaned to Liverpool for the season where she strengthened her goal-scoring skills with 10 goals in 16 matches.

2017–18 season: Loan to Liverpool On 14 September 2017, England moved on loan to Liverpool for the 2017–18 FA WSL season. On 12 October 2017, she scored her first goal for the Reds in a 6–0 victory against Sheffield F.C. in the Continental Cup. In February 2018, she scored another goal in Liverpool's 3–1 win against Sunderland. England's 10 goals ranked third on the team for the season.

2018–2023: Return to Chelsea and breakthrough She returned to Chelsea for the 2018–19 FA WSL season. Her 12 goals in 18 matches ranked third in the league and first on Chelsea's squad. Chelsea finished third during the regular season with a record. Chelsea manager Emma Hayes called her the best English No 9 in the country. England scored 21 goals in all competitions for the Women's Super League and Continental Cup and was named the league's Player of the Season.

In July 2020, England signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea. Chelsea's general manager Paul Green noted, "We're delighted to have extended Beth's contract, as she has been outstanding in the last 18 months, playing a big part in the team's success. We feel that she is now coming in to her peak as a player and look forward to seeing how she continues to develop for both club and country in the upcoming years."

Tottenham Hotspur On 4 January 2023, it was announced that England had signed for Tottenham Hotspur until June 2026. Her transfer fee was reported to be £250,000, breaking the record for a domestic women's football transfer. On 15 September 2023, it was announced that England would become the team captain.

England had hip surgery in September 2023. It is unclear when she sustained the injury but the surgery recovery meant she missed the beginning of the 2023–24 Super League season.

On 14 January 2024, England scored twice within 11 minutes (her first goals since her injury) to help Tottenham fight back after going 2–0 down to Sheffield United in the FA Cup Fourth Round. Tottenham came away 3–2 victors in that game. Later that season, in the FA Cup Quarter-Final, England scored a 96th minute equaliser against Manchester City. A 1–1 draw saw the game go to penalties: England took the first penalty for her team, converting it, to help Tottenham to an eventual 1–1 (4–3) win. Her first goal of the 2023–24 league came in the second minute of the 1–0 away victory against Bristol City.

On 30 April 2026, it was announced that England would depart Tottenham upon the expiry of her contract in the summer of 2026.

Crystal Palace

On 15 July 2026, England was announced at Crystal Palace.

International career

Youth England has represented her country on the under-19, under-23, and senior national teams. In 2012, she competed with the under-19 national team at the UEFA Under-19 Championship in Turkey. She scored two goals in five appearances.

Senior In August 2019, England earned her first senior England call up for friendlies against Belgium and Norway. In October 2019, she scored her first goal as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Brazil. She scored the game-opening goal in a 3–2 win over Czech Republic an assist from Nikita Parris a month later. In February 2020, she was named to the England squad for the SheBelieves Cup in the United States. England manager Phil Neville said of the call-up, "She's playing in a team full of confidence and every time I see her play, she's added a little bit to the game. Without doubt she, along with Ellen White, are the best two centre-forwards in England on form and she deserves her place in the squad." England made two appearances during the tournament and the team finished third. She sustained an ankle injury during training that prevented her from playing in the team's final match. In June 2022 she was included in the England squad which won the UEFA Euro 2022.

On 31 May 2023, England was named to the squad for the 2023 FIFA World Cup in July 2023. She was brought on as a substitute in the Lionesses' 1–0 loss against Spain in the tournament's final.

Personal life On 7 June 2025, England married Welsh footballer Stephanie Williams.

Statistics

Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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2011

As of match played 6 September 2022. England team score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bethany England goal.

Honours

Chelsea FA Women's Super League: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21,

Tottenham Hotspur Women's FA Cup runner-up: 2023–24

England

FIFA Women's World Cup runner-up: 2023 UEFA Women's Championship: 2022

Individual FA WSL Player of the Year: 2020 PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year: 2019–20 PFA's WSL Team of the Year: 2020 FA WSL Player of the Month: January 2020, February 2020