As one of the worlds top international sides the majority of the England squad are recognised as having some of the best players in the world.
But there is still the occasional underrated Lioness. Step forward full-back Niamh Charles.
The Chelsea defender often goes under the radar, but she is one of the most reliable performers in the WSL. Heres everything you need to know.
Niamh Charles: Her career so far
Born in Merseyside, Charles joined Liverpool academy as a teenager, originally as a forward.
A senior debut followed in 2016, against Sunderland, with Charles just 16-years-old at the time.
In and out of the team during her first few seasons as a senior player, she managed to contribute three goals in 2017/18 helping the Reds to a sixth-place finish. In 2018. She was also voted as the Rising Star at the North-West Football Awards.
The clubs subsequent struggles saw them relegated at the end of the covid curtailed 2019/20 season, with Charles moving to WSL rivals Chelsea a team she had previously scored against on multiple occasions.
Charles arrived in west London as an attacking player, but working with Emma Hayes would see her develop into a full-back, capable of operating on either side.
At the end of her first season with the Blues, Charles was given the nod at left-back in the Champions League final, the youngest player on the field.
Although it would end in a disappointing 4-0 defeat, Charles had enjoyed a truly breakthrough season.
She had also received her first senior England call-up over the course of that season, with a debut following in April 2021 in a friendly against France.
Remaining in the national pool following Sarina Wiegmans arrival as manager, Charles narrowly missed out on a place in the victorious Euro 2022 squad, one of the three players cut.
But another impressive 2022/23 season at club level meant that just 12 months later she was part of the Lionesses squad at the World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand.
With England adopting a 3-4-1-2 system, Charles was deployed in a slightly more unfamiliar wing-back role as the Lionesses thrashed China 6-1 to advance to the knockout stages.
The Chelsea defender would also feature as a substitute in the semi-final win over Australia, but remained on the bench for the final defeat against Spain.
Her 2024/25 season was disrupted, after Charles dislocated her shoulder in pre-season.
However, she would return in the December, before going onto make her 150th appearance for the Blues and winning the domestic treble with Chelsea.
Her efforts with the Blues in the campaign earned her a spot in Wiegman's Euro 2025 squad, which will be her first ever senior European Championship.
TOPICS
