Jodie Taylor


Jodie Lee Taylor is an English footballer who plays as a striker for OL Reign in the National Women's Soccer League. She began her club career with local team Tranmere Rovers and had brief spells in her home country with Birmingham City, Lincoln Ladies, and Arsenal. A well-traveled player, she has also played in Sweden and the United States.
Taylor represented England at youth level before making her senior international debut in 2014. She scored the opening goal in the 2–1 quarter-final win over hosts Canada at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. England went on to win the bronze medal at the tournament. Taylor won the Golden Shoe award as top goalscorer at Euro 2017, scoring five goals in four appearances.

Early life

Born in Birkenhead, United Kingdom, Taylor made her first team debut for Tranmere Rovers in February 2002, at the age of 15, during a prolific season in youth football. That term she scored 109 goals across 125 games for Oldershaw School, Merseyside Under–16s and Tranmere's reserve team. She then scored on her first team debut in Tranmere's 5–1 win over Wolves in the FA Women's Cup fifth round.
When Tranmere were relegated in 2004 Taylor accepted a four-year scholarship to Oregon State University. She had scored 29 goals in 38 first team appearances for Tranmere, despite missing six months of action with a broken leg.

Club career

Taylor played for various teams in the North American USL W-League and in Australia for Melbourne Victory. She returned to England in 2011, signing for Birmingham City, but moving to Lincoln Ladies on loan. After she scored two goals in six games, Lincoln wanted to keep Taylor for the 2012 FA WSL season. But she returned to her parent club Birmingham City following another off-season stint in Australia with Melbourne Victory.
At the 2012 FA Women's Cup Final, Taylor scored in Birmingham's penalty shootout win over Chelsea. In January 2013, Taylor left Birmingham City for a one–year loan to Damallsvenskan team Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC. She scored ten goals in ten games for Göteborg but left during the summer break, returning to England for personal reasons. In December 2013, she signed with the Washington Spirit for the 2014 National Women's Soccer League season.
On 16 January 2015 the Portland Thorns FC acquired Taylor in a trade with the Washington Spirit in exchange for a 2015 second-round pick and two-second-round picks in 2016. On 8 October 2015, defending W-League champions Canberra United announced that they had signed Taylor on loan, only for a recurrence of a knee injury to force her to pull out of the deal.

On 24 March 2016, Arsenal announced the signing of Taylor. Taylor did not make her debut in the FA WSL until the club's final home game of the 2016 season, scoring twice in a 2–0 win over relegated Doncaster Belles, having previously spent a large part of the campaign out injured.
Less than two years later, Taylor left Arsenal on 21 November 2017, having played seventeen matches for the club, scoring ten goals. She signed for Melbourne City FC in Australia on a short-term contract. On the same day, Reign FC announced that Taylor will join the club before the 2018 National Women's Soccer League season. By returning to the Pacific Northwest, she joins a select group of players who have played for both sides of the Cascadia rivalry with Seattle and the Portland Thorns FC: Michelle Betos, Amber Brooks, Danielle Foxhoven, Kaylyn Kyle, Allie Long and Jessica McDonald. She signed a new one-year contract, with an option for a further year, with Reign FC on 22 January 2020.

International career

Newly appointed England coach Mark Sampson included Taylor in a 30-player squad for the annual training camp in La Manga Club, which included a match against Norway on 17 January 2014. She withdrew from the squad due to club commitments and was replaced by Isobel Christiansen.
In August 2014 Taylor made her debut in England's 4–0 friendly win over Sweden at Victoria Park in Hartlepool. She scored what would have been her first international goal in a friendly against the United States on 14 February 2015, only for it to be wrongly ruled out for offside.
On 6 March 2015 at the 2015 Cyprus Cup, Taylor scored a hat trick for England in their 3–0 group win against Australia. The win gave them a place in the finals. On her 10th appearance for England, at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Taylor capitalised on a mistake by Lauren Sesselmann of host nation Canada to put England 1–0 up in their quarter-final game. England went on to win 2–1 to secure their first ever semi-final appearance.

Taylor was selected as part of England's squad for the 2017 Euros and was given the number 9 shirt for the tournament.
She then scored a hattrick, becoming the first Englishwoman to do so in a major footballing tournament, in a 6–0 defeat of Scotland.
Taylor scored again against Spain and France in the Quarterfinals. Her five goals gave her the Golden Boot, as England reached the semi-finals.
Before Taylor represented England, she was also eligible for the Republic of Ireland through her Irish grandparents.
Phil Neville selected Jodie Taylor for the England squad.

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.6 March 2015GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus1–03–02015 Cyprus Cup
2.6 March 2015GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus2–03–02015 Cyprus Cup
3.6 March 2015GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus3–03–02015 Cyprus Cup
4.9 April 2015Academy Stadium, Manchester, England1–02–1Friendly
5.27 June 2015BC Place, Vancouver, Canada1–02–12015 FIFA Women's World Cup
6.29 November 2016Koning Willem II Stadion, Tilburg, Netherlands1–01–0Friendly
7.7 April 2017Vale Park, Stoke-on-Trent, England1–01–1Friendly
8.10 June 2017Tissot Arena, Biel, Switzerland3–04–0Friendly
9.10 June 2017Tissot Arena, Biel, Switzerland4–04–0Friendly
10.19 July 2017Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht, Netherlands1–06–0UEFA Women's Euro 2017 – Group stage
11.19 July 2017Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht, Netherlands2–06–0UEFA Women's Euro 2017 – Group stage
12.19 July 2017Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht, Netherlands4–06–0UEFA Women's Euro 2017 – Group stage
13.23 July 2017Rat Verlegh Stadion, Breda, Netherlands2–02–0UEFA Women's Euro 2017 – Group stage
14.30 July 2017De Adelaarshorst, Deventer, Netherlands1–01–0UEFA Women's Euro 2017 – Knockout Round
15.19 September 2017Prenton Park, Birkenhead, England2–06–02019 Women's World Cup Qualifying
16.1 March 2018Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, United States3–04–02018 SheBelieves Cup
17.10 April 2018Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina2–02–02019 Women's World Cup Qualifying
18.14 June 2019Stade Océane, Le Havre, France1-01–02019 Women's World Cup
19.29 August 2019Den Dreef, Heverlee, Belgium1–03–3Friendly

Personal life

Taylor identifies as lesbian. She is married to fellow footballer and New Zealand national team player Emma Kete.

Honours

England
Individual