150th International Appearance Beckons For England’s Jill Of All Trades

On 1 December, England’s Jill Scott is set to become only the second footballer from her country to win 150 international caps during a friendly match against Norway in Sheffield. With a record 21 tournament appearances, Scott is a veteran of four World Cups and three European Championships. Only Fara Williams, with 172 caps, has represented England on more occasions.

Scott has had to wait nine months to reach the milestone after the women’s international soccer calendar was set aside in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. A further delay was confirmed earlier today when The Football Association (FA) cancelled Tuesday’s match with Germany at short notice after a member of the Lionesses’ backroom staff tested positive for COVID-19.

In a statement, The FA explained why they were unwilling to travel in light of the circumstances. “The current COVID-19 protocol enforced by the German government requires that any individual who tests positive whilst in the country must self-isolate for 14 days. We cannot take the risk that this may happen to a player or member of England staff”.

It would have been fitting had Scott made her landmark appearance against a German team that have provided the opposition at many pivotal moments during the course of her stellar career. Aged 19, she made her first World Cup start against the then world and European champions during a scoreless draw in Shanghai. Two years later, her semi-final goal took the Lionesses into their first tournament final in 25 years, only to be defeated 6-2 by Germany in Helsinki. In 2014, Scott played her first match at Wembley Stadium, losing 3-0 to the Germans, but the following summer, she helped England earn a World Cup bronze medal by finally defeating Germany in Edmonton. A record crowd of 77,768 fans saw the Lionesses play only their second match at Wembley last November, once again they lost to Germany.

Goalkeeper Carly Telford has played alongside Scott since they were schoolgirls at Sunderland and both studied together at Loughborough University. “We’ve grown up together and sometimes we have to pinch ourselves. I remember we had an evening off and we got dropped off somewhere. It was on an England camp maybe last year and then they let us go home and I stayed at hers. Someone’s picking us up and we’re sat at a petrol station, the pair of us, full tracksuits and rucksacks on. We’re both like 31 and you start looking at each other and asking how are we 31 years old and still rocking about in tracksuits and rucksacks? We’ve been doing this since we were 12 years old together. I just think sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember the journey that we have both been on”.

Telford is the only other survivor from the 2007 Women’s World Cup in the current Lionesses squad. “Going to a first World Cup at 19 years old, not really expecting to play, being the kids of the group. I was third choice, she kind of just made the squad, and she was in for the second game (against Germany). From that moment she just made a name for herself”.

Scott scored her first international goal in the next match against Argentina and four years later, she scored two goals at the 2011 World Cup earning plaudits from the FIFA Technical Committee who described her as an “energetic, ball-winning midfielder who organizes the team well, works hard at both ends of the pitch and can change her team’s angle of attack”. Many believe that her suspension from the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 semi-final for two previous yellow cards contributed to the Lionesses’ eventual defeat to the Netherlands, but two years later, her 25th international goal in the quarter-final against Norway made Scott only the third English footballer in history after David Beckham and Fara Williams to score at three different World Cup final tournaments.

“She’ll always be the hard worker, the grafter”, says Telford “but she’ll always be my best friend and she’ll always be Jill Scott. I don’t know, she’ll never take the plaudits that she deserves. She’s so unselfish. She will do anything for the team. I’m just so proud that I’ve been able to share this journey with her, on the pitch and off the pitch, as a friend, as a footballer, as a teammate. I think that if you were to sit any person in this seat, and ask them to explain what it’s like to play alongside, and be in a team with Jill Scott, they’ll say that it’s an absolute pleasure”.

Forward Nikita Parris also has a lot to thank Scott for, making her first strides in senior football alongside her at Everton before joining Scott at Manchester City in 2016 where the pair won five major trophies together. “I think she is an unbelievable person to be honest. I’ve known Jill since Everton and so she’s really helped me throughout my career. I went from Everton to Manchester City and Jill was there. Every time I need the words of wisdom – whether I want them or not – Jill’s lyrics are always about, whether it’s short little one-liners or quotes on social media. That’s just Jill. You know, she’s such a great role model and someone that’s constantly inspiring, whether it is through her words or actions. It’s a magnificent, magnificent achievement and something that she truly deserves”.

For all her quality on the pitch, Scott is also renowned for her popularity off it. No-one knows this better than Telford, “you all know what she’s like off the pitch in terms of her personality, and how infectious she is but she also has that on the pitch. When she crosses that white line, she will give anything for any player on this team. It’s very hard to have that consistently for 15 years as a footballer, it’s just an absolute honour, and an absolute pleasure to play with her. I’m so lucky to have spent this amount of time on the field with her”.

Parris concurs, “you know, it really shows the player and person she is. She is invaluable to teams. Honestly, the character that she is, and the player on the pitch always gives it all you know. When games aren’t going right, she is always that person who is encouraging, always that person who’s ready to step up to put a big challenge in and really get the team going forward”.

The forward went on to explain how Scott’s selflessless in midfield liberates the strikers ahead of her. “Jill’s position is one of them positions that you know, it may not be the one that’s putting in that final cross or putting in enough final shots but her position in the World Cup and for Manchester City and England over the years has been imperative to how we’ve played and how much confidence she gives other players around her”.

“I remember at Everton she always said to me before every game ‘you know what Nikita, go out there, do a little dribble. Whether you lose the ball or you don’t, I’ll be always there to back it up, I’ll be always there to support you, to win it back’. When someone’s giving you that freedom, and you know that they’ve got your back, and willing to do anything for you, there’s no better teammate, there’s no better way of playing for a forward, the freedom to express yourself. Knowing that you know, your teammate may have to mop up the mistakes you might make. She’s willing to do it for you. She will run through a thousand brick walls for any player on this team. That’s just speaks volumes of Jill”.