Rachel Daly started England’s emphatic Euro 2022 success as their first choice left back but little over a year later goes into their next international tournament as the Lionesses’ main solution to their goalscoring woes.
Daily strode to the coveted WSL Golden Boot with ease in her first season since moving back to England. It was not uncommon for the utility player to find the back of the net playing as a full back, but she is now set to fulfil the same role for her national team that she has so marvellously for Carla Ward’s Aston Villa.
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The 31-year-old matched Vivianne Miedema’s record for most goals in a WSL season and, with Ellen White retired and Beth Mead missing this summer’s tournament through injury, is now England’s main goal threat heading to Australia and New Zealand.
Before re-appearing and making a splash in the WSL, Daly had a pretty successful spell out in the NWSL.
Starting out in college soccer, Daly set school records for St John’s Red Storm for both goals (50) and points (111) after only three years, also setting the single-season record in goals (23) and points (50) in her second year. She became the program’s first ever player to be named an NSCAA All-American after earning Second Team honours.
In her final year, Daly finished as the leading scorer on the team with 19 goals and five assists for a total of 18 points. She became the first player in program history to be selected to the NSCAA All-America First Team and the first to be named a semi finalist for the Herman Trophy.
The forward was selected by NWSL club Houston Dash as the sixth overall pick of the 2016 NWSL college draft, where she made an immediate impact with a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win over Chicago Red Stars.
Remaining at the club from 2016 to 2022, Daly played 101 games in total, scoring 35 goals wherever she played, be it as a forward, left back or even in midfield.
In 2018, she started all 24 games for the Dash and was voted the team’s MVP for the season.
đź’Ż @RachelDaly3 marks her 100th NWSL appearance with a goal!@HoustonDash | #HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/6Awzed2gxh
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 30, 2022
Daly was named the Dash’s captain for the 2020 campaign ahead of the NWSL Challenge Cup, where the team won its first trophy thanks to a 2-0 victory on the final day. Daly also won the Golden Boot and was later named the MVP of the tournament.
In September 2020, Daly joined West Ham on loan until January 2021, where she made nine appearances and scored three goals. Before leaving the Dash, Daly started both games at the Women’s ICC and earned Best XI honours, while her 29th goal for the Dash broke the club’s scoring record across all competitions.
Off the back of her successful run in the NWSL, Villa boss Ward decided to bring Daly back to England off the back of Euro 2022 on a three-year deal.
The Villans had struggled to break away from the bottom of the league table, finishing in ninth and tenth in their first two seasons after being promoted to the WSL, but Daly’s competitive debut provoked excitement for good reason.
She scored twice on the opening weekend of the WSL season in a 4-3 win over Manchester City, providing a solid glimpse of the brilliant form that was to follow.
Daly’s introduction alongside several other premier talents that window meant Villa were soon rivalling the big teams as they sought to break into the top section of the league. Daly’s ability to turn a game around for Ward’s side, find the back of the net and play a useful defensive hand when needed soon proved pivotal for the Birmingham team.
Reading suffered from Daly’s clinical finishing in both games against Villa. The 68-time Lioness scored hat tricks home and away against the Royals en route to her final tally of 22 WSL strikes, with the last coming on the final day in a 2-0 triumph at Arsenal.
Cool, calm, collected!@RachelDaly3 🧊#BarclaysWSL @AVWFCOfficial pic.twitter.com/v3ajQgA0zx
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) May 7, 2023
Daly was a regular in England’s youth set-up, playing for the Under-15, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-23 sides. Mark Sampson named Daly in his first senior squad in 2013 after replacing Hope Powell as head coach but she didn’t debut for the Lionesses until June 2016 when she scored in a 7-0 Euro qualifier win against Serbia.
She didn’t make the cut for that 2017 tournament, but new head coach Phil Neville brought Daly in from the cold for the 2018 SheBelieves Cup and she was also a part of the squad that won that same competition a year later.
Under new boss Sarina Wiegman, Daly started every game of the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 success at left back despite being a natural forward. However, all-time leading women’s scorer White soon retired, leaving a hole in attack that desperately needed filling.
Wiegman was still hesitant to play Daly up front for the first few England games after White’s exit, but the Villa star was eventually trialled there in late 2022 in friendlies against Japan and Norway.
The playing position seemed to matter little to Daly, who quipped she would “play wherever Wiegman wants”.
Daly also featured as a forward in England’s Arnold Clark Cup campaign, where her brace against Italy helped win the trophy for the reigning European champions for a second time.
Questions were raised over whether Wiegman would revert to playing Daly as a defender as injuries continue to plague the England set-up, but Daly was named as a forward when the 23-player squad for the journey to Australia and New Zealand was confirmed.
Daly has stood out from the pack against her rivals for the starting position, significantly outscoring Bethany England (14) and Alessia Russo (10) in the WSL. The latter has been England’s main starting number nine since White’s retirement, but fans now see the in-form Daly as the most viable option.
With Daly’s prowess, vision and creativity, and excellent form all season and without White and Mead, she could be the answer to England’s goalscoring prayers when the Women’s World Cup kicks off in just over five weeks’ time.
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