Only two players in WSL history have achieved the remarkable feat of scoring 22 goals in the 22-game season.
Yet for the majority of her international career, Daly wasn’t used as a forward as she has been at Villa. Instead her country, England , often fielded her in defence. But who is Daly and how did she become one of the finest goalscorers the WSL has ever seen?
Rachel Daly: Her career so far
Ella Toone embraces Rachel Daly
Born in Harrogate, Daly came through the youth programme at Leeds United – the club she supported along with her family.
After a move to Lincoln Ladies, Daly decided that she wanted to continue her further education whilst also still playing at a high level.
Rachel Daly is a Lionesses legend
That took her to America for spells with the W-League franchises Los Angeles Strikers and Los Angeles Blues.
Following her graduation in 2016, Daly was in the NWSL college draft and selected sixth by Houston Dash.
Over her decade spent Stateside, Daly would develop not only into a centre-forward, but one that could find the net on a consistent basis. She became the Dash’s record leading goalscorer and helped them to the Challenge Cup in 2020.
Daly then announced she was leaving the NWSL club in 2022 to join Aston Villa. The England star has been playing for the WSL club ever since.
Despite becoming someone a player who could operate as the central striker in America, Daly was often used on the left wing or later, at left-back by England.
After missing out on the Euro 2017 squad entirely, she started to feature as a more regular squad number during Phill Neville’s time in charge.
Then when Sarina Wiegman took over as manager, Daly was able to cement herself as first-choice left-back, no mean feat considering she was selected ahead of the likes of Alex Greenwood and Demi Stokes.
Daly started every game in England’s successful Euro 2022 campaign but only featured as a left-back, with Ellen White and Alessia Russo Wiegman’s preferred options up-front.
Following the tournament, the possibility of Daly playing as a striker gathered significant traction. Firstly, White retired with immediate effect after the Euros.
Secondly, Daly returned to English club football on a permanent basis by moving to Villa. She then embarked on her outstanding season of scoring 22 goals in as many league games, helping Villa to a fifth-placed finish in the WSL.
Despite Wiegman occasionally using Daly as a forward in the run-up to the 2023 World Cup – most notably against Italy in the Arnold Clark Cup when she scored two goals – Alessia Russo was preferred in attack during the finals, with Tottenham’s Beth England often deployed from the bench.
Rachel Daly celebrates after England’s 2023 World Cup semi-final win (Image credit: Naomi Baker – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
But Daly was still heavily involved in the Lionesses run to the final, featuring predominantly as a left wing-back in a 3-4-1-2 formation, briefly thrown up front in the closing stages of the final, where England were beaten 1-0 by Spain.
In April’s Euro 2025 qualifiers, Daly was an unused substitute in a 1-1 draw with Sweden, before coming on for the final four minutes of a win against the Republic of Ireland.
The following day she announced her retirement from international football, after winning 84 caps.
Despite that, the 33-year-old remains a star at Villa – having scored 55 goals in just 70 appearances across all competitions.
