MY ACCOUNT
England’s Ellen White insists she is relishing the pressure of leading the line at the Women’s Euro 2022, but she knows she must improve her goalscoring form to keep her place in Sarina Wiegman’s team.
White is England’s all-time leading goalscorer, netting 50 times in 108 international appearances since her 2010 debut.
She finished as the joint-top goalscorer as England reached the 2019 Women’s World Cup final, matching United States duo Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan with six strikes and taking the Bronze Boot, but has struggled on the domestic front recently.
White only netted four goals in 22 WSL appearances for third-placed Manchester City in the 2021-22 season and spurned several decent openings in England’s 1-0 win over Austria on Wednesday.
She registered four shots totalling 0.49 expected goals in the Lionesses’ Old Trafford opener, both match-high figures, but failed to find the net.
Yet White was bullish when asked whether her lack of goals was affecting her, telling a media conference: “No, I’m excited to be part of this England team.
“We’ve got some great talent, competition, and I’m loving every minute of playing for this team.
“Ultimately, my job is to score goals, of course. We’ve got some great wingers in this team and midfielders, backline, everyone.
“I’ve got to be in the right place at the right time and hopefully, all the training I’ve done, [I] will help the team any way I can.
“I think there’s always pressure to keep that number nine role. We’ve got some phenomenal talent, and it’s super competitive, and I think that’s really healthy, throughout the whole squad really.
“I think that’s an amazing part of this team. We have 23 players that are so talented, and every single day in training it’s super competitive and pushing each other and wanting each other to do well. I think it’s a good headache for Sarina.
“She’s super supportive and really helped with movement in and around the box, and the vision – she’s been amazing on that front.”
England take on Norway at Brighton and Hove Albion’s AMEX Stadium on Monday and could clinch a spot in the knockout stages with a win, depending on the result of Northern Ireland’s clash with Austria.
Meanwhile, White also offered her take on the team’s request to Nike to change the colour of their white shorts due to concerns over players’ periods, highlighting the importance of such conversations taking place in public.
“I think it’s a really great conversation to have,” she said. “We play football, we are on our periods, and definitely there has been feedback with Nike about the kit.
“Our kit is lovely, but at times, when you are on your period, you do worry a little bit about that.
“It’s important we are talking about it and made aware of what we can do to help support women when they are on their periods. It’s a great conversation and one we need to continue to have really.”
