Beth England: Unstoppable goalscorer and WSL history maker

Whether that is in the Women's Super League or for the Lionesses at international level, the striker is synonymous with her deadly ability in front of goal.

England has been a star in the WSL and recently achieved another huge milestone that just serves to further underline her great talent.

The Tottenham captain scored a brace against Crystal Palace in matchweek 12, a performance which not only helped her side to a 3-2 win but also handed her a unique WSL record.

That double saw England become the first player to score against every club to have played in the WSL.

Into the #BarclaysWSL history books! Bethany England has now scored against every club to have played in the league pic.twitter.com/aLvCs0BWlt

— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) January 26, 2025

Since the inaugural season in 2011, there have been a total of 19 teams that have featured in the competition.

Not even the greats like Vivianne Miedema, Khadija Shaw, Nikita Parris and Ellen White have come close to achieving the feat.

As well as highlighting her goalscoring prowess, it also shows the longevity and staying power of England's career. And the scary part for opposing defenders is that, at 30 years of age, she still has plenty of time to keep on racking up the records.

Ahead of the WSL's return on February 16, when Spurs face Arsenal in a huge derby clash as part of six matches on that Sunday, we have had a look at the data behind England's achievement.

In her time in the WSL, England has played for four sides, starting out with Doncaster Rovers Belles, and making her competition debut in that inaugural season.

However, she did not get her first league goal until 2012-13, which came in an entertaining 3-2 loss to Bristol City.

After making her mark with the Belles, she made a big move to Chelsea in 2016-2017.

She scored only three goals that season as a young and developing striker though, so the Blues loaned her out to Liverpool the following year.

And it was with the Reds that England announced herself as a force to be reckoned with, enjoying her breakout season in the league.

In a magnificent league campaign for Liverpool, she had 48 shots, 20 of which were on target, and converted 10. That gave her a shot conversion rate of 20.83% across the 16 games she appeared in.

Chelsea, understandably, wanted her back immediately.

England went on to have four brilliant consecutive seasons. Her two best campaigns saw her score 12 league goals in 2018-2019 and 14 in 2019-20, which was incidentally the most goals she has scored across 13 seasons in the league.

Perhaps more impressive though is the fact that England managed to score those 14 goals in 2019-20 in just 15 appearances, averaging 0.9 goals per game that term in the WSL.

Under Emma Hayes, she flourished in that campaign, netting 21 goals in all competitions and winning the WSL Player of the Season award, and the PFA Women's Player's Player of the Year.

She also scored the winning goal in the Women's League Cup final to round off an emphatic campaign.

England enjoyed a trophy-laden stint at Chelsea, winning the WSL four times, as well as the WSL Spring Series, while she also claimed two Women's FA Cup winners' medals and lifted the Women's League Cup twice.

As Chelsea's squad continued to balloon with big-money signings and star-studded talent, England moved to Spurs in 2023 in order to get more game time ahead of the Women's World Cup and ensure she would make the Lionesses squad for the tournament.

She has since scored 24 goals for Spurs in the top flight, despite missing much of last season due to a hip injury. In 2022-23, her first season at the club, she scored 12 goals in 12 matches.

England helped the team to their first FA Cup final last term as well, with her equaliser against Manchester City in the quarter-finals proving vital to force a penalty shootout. However, they went on to lose the showpiece to Manchester United.

England has tormented Bristol City more than any other WSL team, netting 12 times against them in only 13 games.

She has also particularly thrived against Yeovil Town, West Ham (scoring nine against both) and Brighton (eight).

England does not shy away from a big occasion, scoring in multiple big matches against top opponents, too.

She has netted three times against Arsenal, one of the leading WSL teams, with her most notable performance coming in a 2-1 win for Chelsea in October 2019. Despite falling behind to Danielle van de Donk's goal, England scored the equaliser, setting up Maria Thorisdottir to net the winner and end the Gunners' unbeaten streak.

She has also scored three times against Man City. Twice she has netted the winner against the Citizens, helping Liverpool to a 1-0 victory in May 2018, but she proved her worth at Chelsea in this fixture, scoring and assisting in a 2-1 win in December 2019.

Her only goal against former club Chelsea came in a 3-2 Spurs defeat in February 2023, shortly after her move away from the Blues.

England is a complete forward with all types of goals. She has netted seven times from outside the box in her WSL career, while she has scored with her weaker foot 16 times, and 40 from her right.

Some may be surprised that England sits as high as second in the all-time goalscorers list.

The Tottenham star has scored a tremendous 81 goals from 175 games, putting her behind none other than WSL legend Vivianne Miedema, who has netted 85 times in just 112 appearances.

Beth Mead sits in third spot with 67 goals from 168 games, with only three other players scoring over 60 goals: Parris (66), Fran Kirby (66) and White (61).

Man City star Shaw, of course, is rapidly rising up the standings. She has 59 goals already, with that total coming from just 67 games.

It sets up something intriguing to watch over the coming seasons, with the race well and truly on to see who can be the first to reach 100 goals.

What is perhaps most impressive about England's stellar statistics are that just three of her 81 goals have come from the penalty spot.

England also made her mark on another WSL scoring record, netting two headed goals against Palace, which draws her level with Shaw for the most headed goals in WSL history (24).

When looking at all-time goals and assists in the WSL, England this time sits in third (105), with Mead ahead of her (114) and Miedema, once again, in pole position, on 120.

England also ranks in the top three for all-time shots on target in the WSL (183), behind Paris (197) and Miedema (210).

She will certainly go down as one of the WSL's best and still has more years left in the tank.