The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup is just 100 days away.
Host nation France will get proceedings under way when they take on South Korea in Paris on Friday 7 June.
England begin their Group D campaign against neighbours Scotland in Nice on Sunday 9 June. Then it’s Argentina on Friday 14 June and finally 2011 World Cup winners Japan on Wednesday 19 June.
TICKETS: WATCH ENGLAND WOMEN IN ACTION
Steph Houghton led the Lionesses to a best-ever third-place finish at the 2015 World Cup in Canada – and in November she became just the 11th player to earn 100 caps for the England Women’s team.
And on this landmark day, we take a closer look at England’s 10 other centurions:
Fara Williams
Caps: 170
Debut: v Portugal, November 2001
100th cap: v Switzerland, March 2012
The most-capped England player of all-time, Fara Williams has been a senior international for an incredible 18 years.
She has starred at seven major tournaments and scored the decisive penalty against Germany that won the bronze medal at Canada 2015.
Alex Scott
Caps: 140
Debut: v Netherlands, September 2004
100th cap: v Russia, July 2013
Now a familiar face on our TV screens, Alex Scott made her name as a marauding right-back for both Arsenal and England.
It speaks volumes of her consistency and dedication to her country, that only one player – Fara Williams – has collected more England caps than Scott’s tally of 140, earned during a stellar 13-year international career.
Karen Carney
Caps: 135
Debut: v Italy, February 2005
100th cap: v Germany, November 2014
Karen Carney has been bamboozling opposition defences for well over a decade.
Carney, nicknamed ‘The Wizard’, burst onto the international scene as a fresh-faced 17-year-old at Euro 2005, where she scored an added-time equaliser against Finland in the opening game.
Another veteran of seven major tournaments, Carney helped England to a runners-up spot at Euro 2009 and a third-place finish in Canada four years ago.
She made her 100th England appearance at Wembley Stadium, a stage befitting one of the finest players of her generation, in November 2014.
Jill Scott
Caps: 132
Debut: v Netherlands, August 2006
100th cap: v Australia, October 2015
Jill Scott is a player who rises to the big occasion. She scored key goals at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups as well as the goal that booked England’s place in the final of Euro 2009.
One of the first names on the teamsheet, Scott has been a crucial member of the Lionesses’ midfield for almost 13 years and, having just turned 32, there is no doubt the Sunderland native will be around for a good few years to come.
Casey Stoney
Caps: 130
Debut: v France, August 2000
100th cap: v France, March 2012
Captain for both club and country during her playing days, Casey Stoney has made the smooth transition from pitch to dugout with her role as Manchester United Women’s manager.
She made her England debut as an 18-year-old in 2000. However, Stoney didn’t play a minute at Euro 2005 and was forced to consider her international future; she bounced back with interest, becoming a mainstay in the England backline for the next decade.
Stoney succeeded Faye White as England captain in May 2012 and led her country at the Euros the following year.
Rachel Yankey
Caps: 129
Debut: v Scotland, August 1997
100th cap: v Turkey, July 2010
On 19 September 2012, Rachel Yankey became the first England Women’s player to reach 120 caps when helping Hope Powell’s side to a 3-0 win over Croatia which sealed their place at Euro 2013. The wing wizard then broke Peter Shilton's long-standing record of 125 caps when she turned out against Japan in the build-up to the finals.
Yankey was only the second female player to earn a century of England caps, after Gill Coultard, and was one of the trailblazers who put women’s football on the map.
Yankey featured at two World Cups and two European Championships as well as London 2012.
Gill Coultard
Caps: 125
Debut: v Republic of Ireland, May 1981
100th cap: v Germany, February 1997
A bona fide England legend, Gill Coultard was the first player to earn 100 caps for the Lionesses.
The all-action midfielder made her international bow as a teenager and was a part of the squad that finished runners-up to Sweden at the 1984 European Championship.
Coultard scored two goals at England’s first World Cup, in 1995, and donned the armband until 2000.
She won the FA Women’s Cup six times with Doncaster Rovers Belles.
Kelly Smith
Caps: 117
Debut: v Italy, November 1995
100th cap: v Italy, March 2011
Arguably the greatest England Women’s player of all-time, Kelly Smith is, according to her former national team boss Hope Powell, “one of those players who comes along only once or twice in a lifetime”.
Indeed, Carli Lloyd, a two-time World Player of the Year, ranked Smith the best player she has ever played with.
The Watford-born playmaker is her country’s record scorer with 46 goals, including four at the 2007 World Cup, a feat she ranks as her greatest achievement.
Smith was awarded an MBE in 2008 and was named the third best player in the world in 2009.
Rachel Unitt
Caps: 102
Debut: v France, August 2000
100th cap: v Croatia, March 2012
Like Kelly Smith and Rachel Yankey before her, left-back Rachel Unitt marked her 100th cap by donning the captain’s armband… and scoring.
Her landmark appearance came on a baking hot day in Vrbovec as the Lionesses cruised to a 6-0 Euro 2013 qualifying win over Croatia.
An FA Women’s Cup winner with Everton (2010) and Birmingham City (2012), Unitt recently came out of retirement to play for London Bees in the FA Women’s Championship.
Eniola Aluko
Caps: 105
Debut: v Netherlands, September 2004
100th cap: v Australia, September 2015
One of a raft of youngsters who made their senior debut in September 2004, Eniola Aluko became an England regular over the next decade, appearing at three World Cups and three European Championships.
A livewire forward, Aluko has hit a number of crucial goals in her career including a brace against Finland in the quarter finals of Euro 2009 and a fairytale winner for Charlton Athletic which helped the Addicks to FA Women’s Cup glory in 2005.
Steph Houghton
Caps: 100
Debut: v Russia, September 2007
100th cap: v Sweden, November 2018
Steph Houghton is the most recent member of England’s ‘100 club’, having made her landmark appearance in Rotherham late last year.
The 30-year-old has played for her country in midfield and across the backline but it is at centre back where she is most at home.
She succeeded Casey Stoney as England captain in April 2014 and led the Lionesses to a historic bronze medal at the 2015 World Cup and to the semi-finals of Euro 2017.
