Ellen White: England striker says she is 'proud and lucky' to break Lionesses goal record

Ellen White celebrates scoring against Latvia

Ellen White says she is "very proud and lucky" to become England Women's all-time top scorer after getting a hat-trick in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

White, 32, moved on to 48 goals, two ahead of England legend Kelly Smith as the leading Lionesses scorer.

The Manchester City striker has netted nine goals in six games during the qualifying campaign so far.

"It was very emotional on the pitch," said White after the record 20-0 win.

She added: "I feel very proud to represent my country. We have some incredibly talented players coming through so I feel very lucky to be surrounded by them. I am very proud.

"[My team-mates] know how much it means to me, they know how much I love playing for England."

White's goals have come in 101 appearances, 16 fewer than Smith needed to reach the same total.

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Her first international strike came on her England debut 11 years ago, netting in a 3-0 win over Austria in March 2010, and she has gone on to score at a rate of almost one goal every two games, with exactly half of her 48 goals coming since 2018.

Of that landmark tally, 19 have come on home soil for White with 13 in major tournaments for England.

Her treble against Latvia also means she is England's joint-third highest scorer of all time across both the men's and the women's teams.

After the game White shared the moment with her family in the stands at the Keepmoat Stadium.

"I struggled to find them to start with, but the support I have from my family is amazing really, so I owe a lot to them," she said.

"The goals are all for them really because I just want to make them proud."

'We all aspire to be like White'

Lauren Hemp, who scored her first four goals for England as they thrashed Latvia, described White as "unbelievable" and said all her team-mates "aspire to be like her one day".

"I'm so lucky I get to train with her week-in, week-out," said Hemp, who also plays with White for Manchester City. "She's so professional. I'm just so pleased for her.

"I'm lucky to play alongside her. I just pass her the ball and she manages to score from anywhere on the pitch. She's an unbelievable person."

White's City and England team-mate Steph Houghton, who is out injured, called her "amazing" in a video message on the club's Twitter account: "You thoroughly deserve it because of all the hard work you've put in, on and off the training pitch.

"You're an amazing team-mate and also an unbelievable best friend."

Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who also has 48 goals for England, praised White in a video message on social media.

"I just wanted to send you congratulations on reaching the highest goalscorer for England Women - amazing achievement, fully deserved and I'm sure there's a few more to come as well."

White is also the second-highest scorer in Women's Super League history, with 58 in 126 games for Arsenal, Notts County, Birmingham and Manchester City.

The striker would likely have broken the record earlier had she not suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury that ruled her out for the 2014 WSL season - and contributed to her not scoring on the international stage for almost three years.

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