White can be England’s finest striker – but she needs to be more selfish

Neville says 30-year-old must start thinking of herself more, writes Luke Edwards in Dallas

Ellen White is not your usual centre-forward. She scores lots of goals yet has no interest in knowing how many. She is the superstar in England’s team who does not want personal accolades. She is England’s first-choice striker, set to start against Spain tomorrow night, who seems determined to help those who want to replace her. A lethal predator who is so nice, she needs to be ordered to be more selfish. The sort of humble heroine who could go on to break the Lionesses scoring record and then wonder why people are making such a fuss.

White’s life could have changed dramatically after last summer’s World Cup. She seems happier it did not. She is a special talent striving to be normal.

When asked after her winning goal against Japan if she knew how many she had scored for her country, White could not understand why it was important, and seemed surprised anyone would want to keep track of such things.

“I’m not in the least bit surprised because she is not bothered about herself,” said England head coach Phil Neville, who feels a win over Spain in their final game at the Shebelieves Cup would offer proof of the progress being made following their post-world Cup slump.

“With the things that are happening in these girls’ lives – Olympic selection, their place in the squad – it’s easy to probably think about yourself and ‘How can I survive in this team? How can I get Olympic selection?’

“Ellen White is just thinking about England winning. England winning first, Ellen White succeeding second. And that’s what sets her apart from everybody else really. She’s a star.

“That is unusual in strikers, certainly for an out-and-out No9. But what I would say is that over the last six months she went away from being a jack of all trades, just running around and doing it all for the team. We’ve worked really hard on her staying between the goalposts, being really selfish.

“I don’t like comparisons, but Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Ruud van Nistelrooy [she does not have their] type of ruthlessness. We spoke to her after the USA game. I thought in the USA game she went back to just running around everywhere, when actually we needed her between the posts, we needed her to be in between the two centre-backs and have that ruthless attitude.

“It was probably my fault, the USA game, because we’ve not mentioned that to her or forced that upon her.

“She is a natural goalscorer, but she has this tendency to do two people’s jobs. She just needs to do her own and save energy for when the ball comes in to her so she’s got the energy to score, she’s got the energy to play her game and she was fantastic when she came on against Japan.”

It was White’s poacher instinct that won the game, steering a lovely pass from Toni Duggan home after England had missed a series of chances before she came off the bench. Kelly Smith is England’s record goalscorer with 46. White’s goal on Sunday took her tally to 36 and she could play for at least another three years at international level. It would be a shock if she did not break Smith’s record.

White, though, has a new rival, with Beth England’s prolific form for Chelsea already pushing Jodie Taylor out of the squad. There are those who feel the younger player deserves to be given a run in the side, but White remains first choice. England missed chances against Japan on her first start and was bitterly disappointed she did not score, but White had one chance and took it after replacing her with 20 minutes to go.

White, when asked about the new generation of players coming through, said: “I’ll only speak for myself but I never take my place in this team for granted. I am always nervous for selection because you never know what is going to happen. We have some amazing,

‘Ellen is a natural goalscorer but has a tendency to do two people’s jobs. She needs to do her own’

talented players in the WSL and outside it as well.

“You can never take your place for granted and you have to work hard to keep improving, keep developing and showing that you’re on form. We have a really competitive squad and hopefully that will help us move forward for Team GB and [Euros in] 2021.” England have been a team in transition since the World Cup, but they badly needed the win over Japan. For White, though, the experience the young players are gaining is just as vital.

“I think that’s important for us; we know we’re not going to be here forever,” she said, happier talking about others than herself. “We want to support the younger players any way that we can, whether that’s from the sidelines, off the pitch, any way to help them and their development. And help them enjoy playing for England. “The depth of the youngsters and the experience, it’s good to have both in the squad. If we’re going to win major tournaments you need that squad depth. It is what the Americans have and we are getting that depth now.” Asked again about her international record, 36 goals in 91 games for England, White looked puzzled. “I’ve no idea how many goals I’ve scored, why would I know that? Is it important? I don’t really think about that sort of thing, sorry.”

And with that, she is off, but she has no need to apologise for anything. England are lucky to have her.