Imagine equalling your league’s goalscoring record as part of a wonderful season for your club side, only to then realise that you might be asked to play at left-back for England at that summer’s World Cup.
That’s the possibility facing Rachel Daly right now despite her having struck 22 goals for Aston Villa in 2022-23 to stand alongside Vivianne Miedema as the Women’s Super League’s finest finisher over a single campaign.
Because while her form in front of goal for a rejuvenated Villa under Carla Ward has been mesmeric, extending as far as her adding a further eight goals in cup fixtures for a return of 30 in 30 games overall, she has yet to be given a real run up front by England boss Sarina Wiegman, who will name her World Cup squad on Wednesday afternoon.
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But this could finally be Daly’s time to lobby for a regular starting spot in the forward line having previously been used at left-back more often than not due to her superb versatility combined with Wiegman’s preference for the now-retired Ellen White and Manchester United’s Alessia Russo.
The 31-year-old did, after all, completely outperform Russo in terms of statistics in the WSL this term. The Manchester United forward is also very talented but Daly scored 12 more than Russo in the league. What is most intriguing about Daly’s record-equalling tally is that her xG was 12.71, further highlighting how much of a lethal finisher she has been and that is exactly what the Lionesses need if they are serious about winning the World Cup.
To have done what she has done at Villa in a team which wasn’t in the title race makes it that much more impressive. After nearly a decade playing in the US, Villa lured Daly back home in the summer having only managed to score 13 goals in the whole of 2021-22. With Daly’s brilliance, aided by the likes of Jordan Nobbs and Kirsty Hanson, Villa netted 47 goals this term, a 262% increase.
Wiegman has trialled Daly as a forward for the national team in the Arnold Clark Cup, Daly leading the line for England as they defeated Italy 2-1 and scoring both goals with headers in either half. It was certainly a good audition for the number-nine role for the Lionesses, and her outstanding campaign in the WSL has only strengthened her credentials to play as England’s striker at the World Cup.
But there is no inevitability that Daly will get a slot in the forward line, especially given the fact that nobody has really nailed down the left-back position since the former Houston Dash star’s conversion. Alex Greenwood has played the majority of her recent football as a centre-back, while Chelsea’s Jess Carter has filled in well but has still to convince some onlookers.
Playing Daly on that side of the defence might solve a problem for Wiegman but it would also rob her of the WSL’s star striker in her best position, and for all of Russo’s merits her best performances in a national shirt have come off the bench, particularly when replacing White regularly at Euro 2022.
Having been dealt the blow of losing captain Leah Williamson, attacker Fran Kirby and probably Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner Beth Mead due to injury, Wiegman would do well to make the very most of those players who are fit and in form heading to Australasia ahead of their opening game against Haiti in Brisbane on July 22.
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