List of international goals scored by Kelly Smith

Smith with Arsenal in 2017: she played 117 games for England and four for Great Britain.

Kelly Smith is an English former professional footballer who played for both England and Great Britain between 1995 and 2014, and scored 46 international goals during that time.[1] Smith scored all 46 goals for England in 117 appearances,[2] making her the country's record goalscorer until Ellen White surpassed the record on 30 November 2021.[3] A prolific scorer, former teammate and England captain Steph Houghton declared Smith to be "England's best-ever player" in 2015.[2]

Smith made her international debut for England on 1 November 1995 in a 1−1 home draw with Italy, playing the entire UEFA Women's Euro 1997 qualifying match.[4] At The Valley in London 18 days later, Smith scored her first international goal in a 5−0 win over Croatia, contributing again to England's successful Euro 1997 qualifying campaign.[5] Smith scored her first international hat-trick against Hungary on 27 October 2005 in a 13−0 away win; it was the team's highest winning margin until England defeated Latvia 20−0 on 30 November 2021.[6][7] In the 2009 Women's Euro final, Smith scored in the 6−2 loss to Germany, a defeat which prolonged England's deprivation of their first major honour.[8] Smith managed 117 caps over a 20-year career with England; she was often considered one of the world's top female players with pundits, coaches and opponents frequently praising her.[9] On 8 March 2013, Smith scored her final goal for England in a 4−4 draw against Scotland in the 2013 Cyprus Cup.[1] She announced her international retirement on 3 February 2015, citing her desire to move into coaching.[2]

With London's successful bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, the United Kingdom entered a women's team into the football tournament as hosts, despite not traditionally entering.[10] Smith played only four matches for Great Britain. She made her debut in a pre-tournament friendly against Sweden, in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. During the competition, Smith featured in the group matches against Brazil, Cameroon and New Zealand.[1] Great Britain eventually left the tournament following a 2−0 defeat to Canada in the quarter-final, a match in which Smith did not feature.[11] She never scored a goal for Great Britain.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c "Record scorer Kelly Smith retires from England duty". The Football Association. 3 February 2015. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  3. ^ Sanders, Emma (30 November 2021). "England 20–0 Latvia". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  4. ^ "England 1−1 Italy". UEFA. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Sanders, Emma (30 November 2021). "England 20–0 Latvia". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Kessel, Anna (3 September 2007). "England's hot shot". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  10. ^ "GB football team to enter Games". BBC Sport. 30 September 2006. Archived from the original on 9 November 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  11. ^ Wilson, Paul (4 August 2012). "London 2012: Team GB women crash out of Olympics with defeat by Canada". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.