Jodie Taylor announces her retirement from football

Former England striker Jodie Taylor has announced her retirement from football.

The Birkenhead-born player represented the Lionesses 51 times and scored 19 goals, during an international career which saw her feature at FIFA Women’s World Cups in 2015 and 2019 as well as UEFA Women’s EURO 2017.

She became the 187th player to make her England debut in August 2014 in a 4-0 win over Sweden at Hartlepool United, and went on to enjoy some memorable moments in the early stages of her England career.

A hat-trick in a 3-0 win against Australia at a Cyprus Cup game in March 2015 cemented her place in the squad and later that year, she scored England’s opener in the World Cup quarter-final victory over host nation Canada. The Lionesses went on to take home a bronze medal that year.

Taylor was back on the big stage two years later as England went to the EUROs in the Netherlands, where she bagged another hat-trick in the opening match against Scotland becoming the first England women’s player to score three goals in a game at a major tournament.

She went on to score against Spain and then the winning goal to beat France in the quarter-finals and while England lost to Sarina Wiegman’s Dutch side in the semi-final, her five goals saw her clinch the Golden Boot.

Taylor added another tournament goal to her tally at the World Cup in 2019, when she scored the winning goal against Argentina in France.

Her final cap for England came in the match with Germany at Wembley Stadium in November 2019, when she came on as a substitute in a 2-1 defeat.

At club level, Taylor enjoyed a successful and globe-trotting career which began with her hometown club Tranmere Rovers in 2002 and also saw her represent clubs in the USA, Canada, Australia, Sweden and France, where she won the UEFA Champions League with Lyon in 2020.

In the Barclays WSL, she featured for Birmingham City between 2011 and 2013 when she won the Women’s FA Cup in 2012, and also had a spell with Arsenal in the 2016-17 campaign before she re-joined the Gunners at the end of last season on a short-term contract.

Also today, her former England team mate Abbie McManus announced her own retirement from football. A squad mate of Taylor's at the 2019 World Cup, McManus won 18 caps for the Lionesses during her international career.

From the England Football family, we wish Jodie and Abbie a happy retirement and look forward to welcoming them back to a game soon.