Jill Roord

Jill Jamie Roord (born 22 April 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Vrouwen Eredivisie club FC Twente and the Netherlands national team. She previously played for Arsenal and Manchester City in the English Women's Super League, Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg in the German Frauen-Bundesliga and won multiple Dutch national titles with Twente in the top Dutch Vrouwen Eredivisie. During the 2015–16 Eredivisie season, she was the top scorer in the league.

In 2017, Roord represented the Netherlands in their victorious UEFA Women's Euro 2017 campaign and competed at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France two years later at the age of 22. She has gone on to earn over 100 senior international caps and is her country's seventh all-time top scorer.

Early life Born and raised in Oldenzaal, a city in the eastern province of Overijssel, Jill is the daughter of former Dutch footballer and current FC Twente women's technical manager René Roord. Her mother played basketball.

Roord fired Twente to the 2015-16 Eredivisie title, finishing as the league's top scorer with 20 goals and producing a career-best goal tally of 29 in all competitions. In addition to domestic trophies, she also made her UEFA Champions League debut with the club in 2013. On 1 April 2017, she played her 100th match for the club. On 2 September 2017, she made her debut for the club in a 3–0 win over SGS Essen. Her six goals tied with two other players as the third top goal scorers on the team.

During the 2018–19 season, Roord scored 7 goals in 19 appearances for Bayern Munich. Early in the season, head coach Thomas Wörle was quoted, "You can already say that Jill is one of the greatest talents in Europe. In the past six months, she has been extremely tough, scoring and preparing a lot of goals." Bayern Munich finished in second place with a record.

Arsenal

Roord signed with Arsenal on 14 May 2019. During a friendly match against Tottenham Hotspur, she scored a hat-trick lifting Arsenal to a 6–0 win. Roord scored two goals in the fourteen games in which she played during the 2019–20 FA WSL season. Arsenal finished in third place during the regular season with a record and were runners-up for the league cup after being defeated by Chelsea 2–1 during the final.

During the 2020–21 FA WSL season, Roord scored two consecutive hat-tricks in the team's season-opening matches again Reading and West Ham United. She was named Player of the Month for September by the league and the first women's footballer ever to be named in the DAZN European Team of the Week. On 12 September, Roord scored her first goal for VfL Wolfsburg in a league match against SC Sand a game they would win 4-0.

Manchester City On 6 July 2023, it was announced that Roord had signed for English WSL club Manchester City on a three-year deal. Her transfer fee was reported to be in excess of £300,000, making her the most expensive signing in the club's history. On 24 January 2024, Roord suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a 2–1 FA Women's League Cup win against Manchester United.

She returned from injury on September 29, 2024 for the 1–0 victory against Brighton, and scored her first goal since returning on October 20; a 70th minute winner in a 2–1 victory against Aston Villa. The attacking midfielder scored again in both of the following games, stating, "Physically, I feel stronger and fitter than I have ever been." Across her two seasons with Man City, Roord scored 14 goals and registered six assists in 47 appearances.

Return to FC Twente On 24 May 2025, Dutch champions FC Twente announced the signing of Roord from Manchester City on a three-year contract. The transfer saw Roord return to the club where she began her professional career and to her homeland of the Netherlands after eight years playing abroad. She cited "not being able to be with family and friends" as a reason for needing to "move back home" to Twente.

International career

To score the winning goal in my first World Cup game was amazing. It was the best moment [of my career] so far. After the game, I went to my family and my mum was crying. It was a really beautiful moment. — Jill Roord — FIFA In June 2017, she was in the 23-player squad that won the UEFA Euro 2017, a historical first for the Netherlands. After the tournament ended, Roord and her teammates were honoured by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Sport and made Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

2019–2024

In 2019, Roord was called to represent the Netherlands in the 2019 World Cup in France. She scored the Netherlands' game-winning goal during the team's first match of the tournament against New Zealand, marking the first Netherlands goal at the tournament. Her 92nd-minute goal after being subbed cemented the foundation for the Netherlands' group E lead. During the team's second group stage match against Cameroon, Roord was subbed in the 71st minute during the Netherlands' 3–1 win. After the Dutch defeated Canada 2–1 and finished at the top of Group E, they advanced to the knockout stage where they defeated 2011 champions, Japan 2–1, with Roord subbing in the 87th minute. Roord subbed in during the 87th minute of the team's quarterfinal win against Italy and advanced to the semifinals – a first in the Netherlands team's history. During the semi-final match against Sweden, Roord played in the defender position in front of 48,452 spectators in Lyon. The defense kept a clean sheet and the Netherlands won 1–0 advancing to the final against 2015 champions, the United States. Roord subbed in during the 66th minute of the Final after the United States took a 2–0 lead and eventual win.

Roord was named to the squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying matches (2021 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic). During a match against Estonia on 30 August 2019, she scored the Netherlands' second goal of the team's 7–0 win. Roord scored the Netherlands' game-winning goal in the 1–0 win against Russia on 18 September further cementing the team's place at the Euro 2022.

On 31 May 2023, she was named as part of the Netherlands provisional squad for the 2023 World Cup. Roord scored in the Netherlands' second match against the USA.

Roord scored twice in the Netherlands' blowout 15–0 win over Indonesia on 25 October 2024. In her next game, she recorded her 100th cap in a 2–1 friendly victory over Denmark on 29 October 2024.

Personal life Roord is currently in a romantic relationship with Dutch field hockey player Pien Sanders. She has previously dated FC Barcelona Femení player Jana Fernández.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Roord goal.

Honours FC Twente BeNe League: 2012–13, 2013–14 Eredivisie: 2012–13*, 2013–14*, 2014–15*, 2015–16 Eredivisie topscorer: 2015–16

Arsenal FA Women's League Cup runners-up: 2020

VfL Wolfsburg Frauen-Bundesliga: 2021-22

DFB-Pokal Frauen: 2021-22, 2022-23 UEFA Women's Champions League runners-up: 2022-23

Netherlands U19 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship: 2014

Netherlands UEFA Women's Euro: 2017 Algarve Cup: 2018 FIFA Women's World Cup: 2019 runners-up

Individual UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship team of the tournament: 2016 WSL Player of the Month: September 2020

Orders Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau: 2017