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Lionesses archive · Midfielder · 2001–2019

Fara Williams⁠

Fara Williams is the most-capped player in Lionesses history. Born in London on 25 January 1984, the midfielder made her England debut against Portugal on 24 November 2001 and went on to win 172 caps between 2001 and 2019. She scored 40 goals for her country, a tally that places her joint fifth on the Lionesses' all-time scoring list.

Williams was selected for seven major tournaments. At the European Championship, England went out in the group stage in 2005 and 2013, finished runners-up in 2009 and reached the semi-finals in 2017. At the World Cup, they reached the quarter-finals in 2007 and 2011 and finished third in 2015. Her final England appearance came on 3 September 2019.
Caps172
Goals40

England legacy

No.1 on England's all-time appearances list

Player file

At a glance

Major tournaments

2005 UEFA Women's Championship2007 FIFA Women's World Cup2009 UEFA Women's Championship2011 FIFA Women's World Cup2013 UEFA Women's Championship2015 FIFA Women's World Cup2017 UEFA Women's Championship

Every England goal

Fara Williams's goals

2002 – 2015

Goals44In our match records, 11 from the spot
Matches scored in36Of 172 caps
Hat-tricks2Three or more in a match
Opponents25Different nations scored against

Our match-by-match records credit Fara Williams with 44 England goals; the official tally is 40. Match reports and records lists don't always agree on who scored.

Season by season

Goals by year

Fara Williams's England goals by year
YearGoals
20022
20031
20042
20058
20061
20072
20085
20099
20104
20112
20123
20132
20140
20153

Favourite opponents

Most goals against

  1. Malta 5
  2. Scotland 4
  3. Switzerland 3
  4. Mexico 3
  5. Norway 3
  6. Belarus 3
  7. Slovenia 2
  8. Italy 2
First England goal
v Portugal, 24 February 2002 · FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier
Latest
v Germany, 4 July 2015 · FIFA Women's World Cup
Latest matches in which Fara Williams scored for England, newest first
No.DateMatchCompetitionGoals
44 4 Jul 2015 Germany 0–1 EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup FIFA Women's World Cup 108' pen
43 1 Jul 2015 Japan 2–1 EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup · Semi-final FIFA Women's World Cup · Semi-final 40' pen
42 17 Jun 2015 England 2–1 ColombiaFIFA Women's World Cup · Group stage FIFA Women's World Cup · Group stage 38' pen
41 31 Oct 2013 Turkey 0–4 EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier 17' pen
40 8 Mar 2013 Scotland 4–4 EnglandWomen's International friendly · 2013 Cyprus Cup group Women's International friendly · 2013 Cyprus Cup group 74'
39 21 Jun 2012 Slovenia 0–4 EnglandUEFA Women's Championship · Qualifier UEFA Women's Championship · Qualifier 85'
38 31 Mar 2012 Croatia 0–6 EnglandUEFA Women's Championship · Qualifier UEFA Women's Championship · Qualifier 4'
37 1 Mar 2012 Switzerland 0–1 EnglandWomen's International friendly · 2012 Cyprus Cup group Women's International friendly · 2012 Cyprus Cup group 77'
36 22 Sep 2011 England 4–0 SloveniaUEFA Women's Championship · Qualifier UEFA Women's Championship · Qualifier 88'
35 27 Jun 2011 Mexico 1–1 EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup · Group stage FIFA Women's World Cup · Group stage 21'
34 16 Sep 2010 Switzerland 2–3 EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier 50' pen
33 12 Sep 2010 England 2–0 SwitzerlandFIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier 44'
Show all 36 matches
Earlier matches in which Fara Williams scored for England
No.DateMatchCompetitionGoals
31–32 20 May 2010 Malta 0–6 EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier 29', 82'
28–30 25 Oct 2009 England 8–0 MaltaFIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier Hat-trick 21', 39', 66'
27 3 Sep 2009 Finland 2–3 EnglandUEFA Women's Championship · Quarter-final UEFA Women's Championship · Quarter-final 49'
26 25 Aug 2009 Italy 2–1 EnglandUEFA Women's Championship · Group stage UEFA Women's Championship · Group stage 38' pen
24–25 23 Apr 2009 England 3–0 NorwayWomen's International friendly Women's International friendly ×2
23 12 Mar 2009 England 3–1 CanadaWomen's International friendly · 2009 Cyprus Cup Final Women's International friendly · 2009 Cyprus Cup Final 45'
22 5 Mar 2009 South Africa 0–6 EnglandWomen's International friendly · 2009 Cyprus Cup group Women's International friendly · 2009 Cyprus Cup group 18'
19–21 8 May 2008 Belarus 1–6 EnglandUEFA Women's Championship · Qualifier UEFA Women's Championship · Qualifier Hat-trick 7', 25', 87'
18 6 Mar 2008 Northern Ireland 0–2 EnglandUEFA Women's Championship · Qualifier UEFA Women's Championship · Qualifier 18'
17 14 Feb 2008 Norway 1–2 EnglandWomen's International friendly Women's International friendly ×1
16 17 Sep 2007 Argentina 1–6 EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup · Group stage FIFA Women's World Cup · Group stage 50' pen
15 11 Mar 2007 England 1–0 ScotlandWomen's International friendly Women's International friendly 30'
14 20 Apr 2006 England 4–0 AustriaFIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier 85'
13 17 Nov 2005 Netherlands 0–1 EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier 55' pen
11–12 27 Oct 2005 Hungary 0–13 EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier 61', 88' pen
10 1 Sep 2005 Austria 1–4 EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier 23' pen
9 8 Jun 2005 England 1–2 DenmarkUEFA Women's Championship · Group stage UEFA Women's Championship · Group stage 52' pen
7–8 13 Mar 2005 England 5–0 MexicoWomen's International friendly · 2005 Algarve Cup group Women's International friendly · 2005 Algarve Cup group 2', 68'
6 17 Feb 2005 England 4–1 ItalyWomen's International friendly Women's International friendly 9'
5 19 Aug 2004 England 1–2 RussiaWomen's International friendly Women's International friendly 67'
4 14 May 2004 England 1–0 IcelandWomen's International friendly Women's International friendly 40'
3 14 Nov 2003 England 5–0 ScotlandWomen's International friendly Women's International friendly ×1
2 7 Mar 2002 England 4–1 ScotlandWomen's International friendly · 2002 Algarve Cup 9th Women's International friendly · 2002 Algarve Cup 9th ×1
1 24 Feb 2002 England 3–0 PortugalFIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier FIFA Women's World Cup · Qualifier 20'

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