Lionesses' 499 games and counting...

England women will reach the significant milestone of 500 games when they take on Iceland in Reykjavik on Saturday 18 April 2026.

The Lionesses head there on the back of a fine win in game 499 at Wembley on Tuesday evening, when Lauren Hemp's early goal sealed a 1-0 victory over Spain.

And ahead of the 500th game, we've compiled some facts and stats from the Lionesses' history so far, stretching back to their first game in November 1972 which was a 3-2 win over Scotland in Greenock.

Facts and Stats

- England have beaten all 56 opponents they’ve ever faced (counting both USA and Italy B teams, and Russia and Soviet Union separately)

- England have a 100 per cent win rate against 27 of the 56 opponents they’ve faced, the best of these being 13/13 against Northern Ireland

- England have faced Italy more than any other opponent (33)

- England have won more games (25) and scored more goals (95) against Scotland than any other opponent

- England have lost more games against Germany than any other opponent (22)

- 82 per cent of England’s games have been against fellow European opposition (409/498)

- England’s best calendar year was in 2022, picking up their most wins (16) and remaining unbeaten in all 20 games (D4)

- The Lionesses have won a game in every single calendar year they’ve played since their first match in 1972

- England have played more matches at Wembley than any other home venue (17)

- Their second most played home venue is Walsall’s Bescot Stadium, where they have won all seven of their games

Some key milestones

Game 1: Scotland 2-3 England 
18 November 1972  
Raivenscraig Park, Greenock

The Lionesses’ first official international match. Sylvia Gore nets their first-ever goal. Match-winner Jeannie Allott, at 16 years and one day, is still the youngest player to score for England women. 

Game 3: England 8-0 Scotland 
23 June 1973 
Nuneaton Borough FC

England’s first game on home soil. Pat Firth, aged 16 and making her debut, scores the Lionesses’ first-ever hat-trick.

Game 41: England 7-1 Northern Ireland 
19 September 1982  
UEFA EURO qualifier, Crewe

Kerry Davis becomes the first player of African Caribbean heritage to play for the Lionesses’ senior team, and scores twice. 

Games: 50 & 51: Sweden 1-0 England and England 1-0 Sweden (Sweden win 4-3 on pens) 
12 & 27 May 1984 
UEFA EURO Final

England women play in their first-ever major final – the inaugural UEFA Women’s European Championship. Each team wins their home leg 1-0, with Linda Curl scoring for England in the second leg at Luton Town, before Sweden take the title on penalties.

Game 131: England 3-2 Canada 
6 June 1995 
FIFA World Cup Finals, Helsingborg, Sweden

The Lionesses’ first appearance at a FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals – and it’s a winning start as Gill Coultard scores the historic first goal from the penalty spot. 

Game 157: England 0-1 Sweden 
26 July 1998 
International Match, Dagenham

Hope Powell – who was the second player of African Caribbean heritage to play for England Women – becomes the first Black manager of any England team when she’s appointed Lionesses head coach, aged 31.  

Game 349: Germany 0-1 England (AET) 
4 July 2015 
FIFA Women’s World Cup third place play-off, Edmonton, Canada

A breakthrough moment as England Women win their first-ever World Cup medal, thanks to Fara Williams' extra-time penalty following a memorable campaign in Canada under head coach Mark Sampson.

Game 442: England 2-1 Germany (AET) 
31 July 2022 
UEFA EURO Final, Wembley

The Lionesses win their first major trophy, with goals from Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly, in front of 87,192 people – the highest attendance for a EURO final, men or women. 

Game 461: Spain 1-0 England 
20 August 2023 
FIFA World Cup Final, Sydney, Australia

England reach the Women’s World Cup Final for the first time but narrowly lose to Spain in Australia.

Game 492: England 1-1 Spain (AET, England win 3-1 on penalties)
27 July 2025 
UEFA EURO Final, Basel, Switzerland

The Lionesses retain their EURO title on penalties after Alessia Russo’s leveller in normal time and Hannah Hampton's shootout heroics.

Through the decades

1970s - P31 W20 D3 L8 F83 A32
Win percentage: 64.5%

1980s - P56 W32 D11 L13 F133 A49
Win percentage: 57.1%

1990s - P77 W32 D12 L33 F137 A113
Win percentage: 41.6%

2000s - P107 W54 D20 L33 F205 A142
Win percentage: 50.5%

2010s - P145 W89 D25 L31 F310 A114
Win percentage: 61.4%

2020s - P83 W56 D13 L14 F262 A61
Win percentage: 67.5%

In which competitions?

Internationals - P175 W86 D28 L61 F330 A222
Euro Qualifiers - P86 W57 D16 L13 F231 A62
World Cup Qualifiers - P67 W51 D7 L9 F255 A31
EURO Finals - P44 W22 D6 L16 F84 A64
World Cup Finals - P33 W20 D5 L8 F56 A34
Cyprus Cup - P28 W18 D4 L6 F56 A30
SheBelieves Cup - P15 W5 D3 L7 F17 A16
Mundialito - P12 W6 D4 L2 F19 A12
Nations League - P12 W7 D1 L4 F31 A14
Algarve Cup - P8 W4 D1 L3 F21 A12
Arnold Clark Cup – P6 W4 D2 L0 F16 A4
Albena Cup - P3 W0 D2 L1 F1 A3
Four Nations Tournament - P3 W0 D2 L1 F1 A3
Dewellbon Cup - P2 W1 D0 L1 F2 A2
Peace Cup - P2 W0 D2 L0 F0 A0
Three Nations - P2 W2 D0 L0 F9 A1
Finalissima - P1 W0 D1 L0 F1 A1

England’s record against their opponents in 499 games to date

Italy - P33 W12 D6 L15 F50 A55
Sweden - P31 W4 D11 L16 F28 A53
Germany - P29 W3 D4 L22 F25 A71
Scotland - P28 W25 D1 L2 F95 A16
France - P28 W5 D9 L14 F25 A35
Netherlands - P24 W15 D4 L5 F39 A19
Norway - P22 W6 D3 L13 F25 A41
Spain - P21 W9 D7 L5 F26 A20
USA - P20 W5 D3 L12 F15 A41
Belgium - P18 W12 D3 L3 F47 A15
Denmark - P18 W9 D3 L6 F21 A20
Canada - P15 W7 D1 L7 F14 A20
Northern Ireland - P13 W13 D0 L0 F70 A3
Finland - P13 W9 D4 L0 F29 A13
Switzerland - P12 W11 D1 L0 F35 A6
Portugal - P12 W8 D4 L0 F30 A5
Wales - P11 W10 D1 L0 F43 A3
Iceland - P11 W9 D1 L1 F21 A7
Austria - P10 W10 D0 L0 F32 A3
Republic of Ireland - P9 W9 D0 L0 F33 A2
Japan - P9 W6 D2 L1 F20 A5
Russia - P8 W4 D3 L1 F23 A9
China PR - P7 W3 D2 L2 F17 A6
Australia - P7 W5 D1 L1 F12 A4
Soviet Union - P6 W3 D2 L1 F9 A6
Ukraine - P5 W5 D0 L0 F16 A3
Czechia - P5 W3 D2 L0 F12 A4
Brazil - P5 W2 D1 L2 F6 A6
Slovenia - P4 W4 D0 L0 F28 A0
Belarus – P4 W4 D0 L0 F19 A1
Turkiye - P4 W4 D0 L0 F18 A0
Serbia - P4 W3 D1 L0 F18 A2
Croatia - P4 W4 D0 L0 F16 A0
Bosnia & Herzegovina - P4 W4 D0 L0 F8 A0
New Zealand - P4 W2 D1 L1 F5 A3
Nigeria - P4 W1 D1 L2 F3 A6
South Africa - P3 W3 D0 L0 F9 A1
Mexico - P3 W2 D1 L0 F8 A2
Korea Republic - P3 W2 D1 L0 F6 A0
Latvia - P2 W2 D0 L0 F30 A0
Luxembourg - P2 W2 D0 L0 F20 A0
Montenegro - P2 W2 D0 L0 F19 A0
North Macedonia - P2 W2 D0 L0 F18 A0
Hungary - P2 W2 D0 L0 F15 A0
Malta - P2 W2 D0 L0 F14 A0
Estonia - P2 W2 D0 L0 F13 A0
Kazakhstan - P2 W2 D0 L0 F11 A0
Argentina - P2 W2 D0 L0 F7 A1
Romania - P2 W2 D0 L0 F6 A2
Colombia - P2 W2 D0 L0 F4 A2
Jamaica - P1 W1 D0 L0 F7 A0
Cameroon - P1 W1 D0 L0 F3 A0
Italy B - P1 W1 D0 L0 F3 A0
Ghana - P1 W1 D0 L0 F2 A0
Haiti - P1 W1 D0 L0 F1 A0
USA B - P1 W1 D0 L0 F1 A0

Total: P499 W283 D84 L132 F1129 A511