Ellen White (footballer)


Ellen Toni White is an English international footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester City and the England national team. With England, she has played at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, reaching the semi-finals in the latter two tournaments. She was also part of the Great Britain team for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Having progressed through Arsenal Ladies' academy, White returned to the Gunners in 2010 after spells with Chelsea and Leeds United, later joining Notts County.

Club career

Early career

White's father, Jon White, ran a soccer academy called 'Mini Dux' in Aylesbury, where White played football as a child. She then played football for Aylesbury Town before being spotted by Arsenal Ladies scouts at the age of eight.

Chelsea

Ellen White left Arsenal aged 16 to join London rivals Chelsea Ladies in 2005. White was top scorer for Chelsea Ladies for three seasons.

Leeds United

White left Chelsea to join Leeds Carnegie in June 2008. Within months of signing for Leeds, she suffered a cruciate ligament injury that kept her out of the game for a lengthy spell. In February 2010, she scored twice as Leeds beat Everton Ladies in the final of the FA Women's Premier League Cup.

Arsenal

In July 2010, White was delighted to return to Arsenal after five years away, following the break up of the Leeds squad due to a funding crisis. During her time at Arsenal, she won three league titles and two FA Cups.

Notts County

White left Arsenal at the end of the 2013 season, joining Notts County on a three-year deal in time for the 2014 season.
In April, White suffered an ACL injury and was out for the entire WSL season. In January 2015, the club confirmed that she was back in training ahead of the 2015 season. White scored a goal and assist in her first two games since returning from injury.

Birmingham City

White left Notts County in 2017 and signed for Birmingham City Ladies after her contract had expired. Despite being offered a new contract by Notts County, White made the move to the West Midlands, which seemed even more prudent after the latter were disbanded. White scored the winning penalty against Chelsea to take Birmingham to the 2017 FA Women's Cup Final.

Manchester City

In May 2019, White announced she was joining Manchester City, signing on 1 July on a two year deal. At the start of the 2019–20 season, White suffered a knee injury requiring surgery causing her to miss the 2019 Women's International Champions Cup and the first three months of the season. White's first appearance for Manchester City was in their Champions League defeat to Atlético Madrid. White's first goal for the club was against her former club Birmingham City in the League Cup.

International career

England

White played for England at under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-23 levels. She made her senior England debut in March 2010 at home to Austria, scoring in the final minute as England won 3–0.
After being selected in England's 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup squad, White scored a "wonder goal" in a 2–0 group stage win over Japan, who ultimately won the trophy. White was personally recognised for her form over 2011, being voted the England Women's Player of the Year.
White was selected for England's UEFA Women's Euro 2013 Squad. However, after scoring England's only goal in the friendly defeat to Sweden leading into the tournament, White was left frustrated by lack of service throughout the tournament as England crashed out at the group stage.
Just months after returning from an ACL injury, White was called up for pre World Cup friendlies in April 2015. White also made the final squad for England's 2015 Women's World Cup team, after scoring three in qualification, netting two in an 8–0 win over Turkey and another in a 6–0 win over Belarus. White failed to score in the finals however, which saw England finish thirdtheir best world cup performance.
White scored in England's opening match of the 2017 Women's Euros in a 6–0 win over Scotland. This followed two goals in qualifying, in two different 7–0 victories over Serbia. England finished top of group D, but were knocked out in the semi-finals by the eventual tournament champions Netherlands.
White scored twice in the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, both coming in England's match against Germany. White was joint top scorer in the competition which saw England finish second. In the 2019 edition England won the tournament for the first time, with White scoring once against Brasil.
At the 2019 Women's World Cup, White scored in England's opening game against Scotland, before scoring twice in England's final group stage game against Japan. She scored her fourth of the tournament in the round of 16 match against Cameroon, and later scored her fifth in a 3–0 quarter final win over Norway. In the semi-final match against the USA, White scored the equaliser before having a second goal disallowed by VAR. She also won a penalty for England; however, the penalty was not converted and England was beaten by the holders – losing 2–1. Her performance during the tournament has been compared with that of Harry Kane's World Cup performance due to their similar goal scoring record. England finished in fourth place, losing to Sweden 2–1 in the third place play-off; although, White had a goal ruled out for handball by VAR. White ended the tournament as joint top goalscorer with six goals, with that, she became England women's all-time top World Cup goalscorer and was awarded the Bronze Bootas she recorded fewer assists than Silver and Golden Boot winners Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe respectively.
On her return to the national team following a three month long injury, White scored in a 2–1 defeat to Germany at Wembley Stadium. The game attracted a record crowd for a Lioness's game of 77,768.

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoredResultCompetition
125 March 2010Loftus Road, London, England3–03–02011 FIFA World Cup Qual.
220 May 2010Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta5–06–02011 FIFA World Cup Qual.
329 July 2010Bescot Stadium, Walsall, England2–03–02011 FIFA World Cup Qual.
421 August 2010Sepp-Doll-Stadion, Krems, Austria4–04–02011 FIFA World Cup Qual.
52 March 2011Neo GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus1–02–02011 Cyprus Cup
65 July 2011Impuls Arena, Augsburg, Germany1–02–02011 FIFA World Cup
722 September 2011County Ground, Swindon, England2–04–0UEFA Euro 2013 Qual.
823 November 2011Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster, England2–02–0UEFA Euro 2013 Qual.
931 March 2012Sajmište, Vrbovec, Croatia4–06–0UEFA Euro 2013 Qual.
106 March 2013GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus4–24–22013 Cyprus Cup
118 March 2013GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus1–14–42013 Cyprus Cup
1211 March 2013GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus1–13–12013 Cyprus Cup
137 April 2013New York Stadium, Rotherham, England1–01–0Friendly
144 July 2013Skarsjövallen, Uddevalla, Sweden1–01–4Friendly
1521 September 2013Dean Court, Bournemouth, England2–06–02015 FIFA World Cup Qual.
1626 September 2013Fratton Park, Portsmouth, England3–08–02015 FIFA World Cup Qual.
1726 September 2013Fratton Park, Portsmouth, England6–08–02015 FIFA World Cup Qual.
184 June 2016Adams Park, Wycombe, England4–07–0UEFA Euro 2017 Qual.
197 June 2016Sports Center of FA of Serbia, Stara Pazova, Serbia2–07–0UEFA Euro 2017 Qual.
204 March 2017Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey, United States1–01–02017 SheBelieves Cup
2110 April 2017Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, England1–03–0Friendly
221 July 2017Gladsaxe Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark1–02–1Friendly
231 July 2017Gladsaxe Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark2–12–1Friendly
2419 July 2017Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht, Netherlands3–06–0UEFA Euro 2017
254 March 2018Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey, United States1–12–22018 SheBelieves Cup
264 March 2018Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey, United States2–22–22018 SheBelieves Cup
2727 February 2019Talen Energy Stadium, Philadelphia, Unites States1–12–12019 SheBelieves Cup
289 April 2019County Ground, Swindon, England2–02–1Friendly
299 June 2019Allianz Riviera, Nice, France2–02–12019 FIFA World Cup
3019 June 2019Allianz Riviera, Nice, France1–02–02019 FIFA World Cup
3119 June 2019Allianz Riviera, Nice, France2–02–02019 FIFA World Cup
3223 June 2019Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes, France2–03–02019 FIFA World Cup
3327 June 2019Stade Océane, Le Havre, France2–03–02019 FIFA World Cup
342 July 2019Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu, France1–11–22019 FIFA World Cup
359 November 2019Wembley Stadium, London, England1–11–2Friendly
368 March 2020Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey, United States1–01–02020 SheBelieves Cup

Great Britain Olympic

In June 2012, White was named in the 18-woman Great Britain squad for the 2012 London Olympics, where Team GB finished the tournament as quarter finalists after finishing top of their group.

Personal life

White is married to Callum Convery, a Sports Development Officer for the FA.
White comes from a family of West Ham United supporters who, alongside her husband, regularly attend international fixtures.

Honours

Leeds United
Arsenal
England U19
England
Individual