Jodie Taylor : Who is England Women's World Cup heroine?
Wednesday 1 July 2015 17:47, UK
From Birkenhead, to Boston, to Melbourne - we profile Jodie Taylor, England's heroine against Norway and Canada in the Women's World Cup...
Taylor rifled home an 11th-minute opener in the 2-1 win over 2015 hosts Canada to help the Lionesses reach the reach the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup for the first time in their history.
Taylor might have made it onto the radar of a fresh host of football fans but what's her story?
Full name: Jodie Lee Taylor
Age: 29
Club: Portand Thorns
Position: Striker
Early career
Born and raised in Birkenhead on Merseyside, Taylor proved she was a natural finisher as a youngster by scoring 15 consecutive hat-tricks for Oldershaw School in Wallasey. She went on to score more than 100 goals that season, leading to her making her first-team debut for for Tranmere Rovers at the age of 15.
After returning 29 goals in 38 games two seasons later, Taylor left Tranmere following the the club's relegation to embark upon a new adventure in America. Despite applying for a place at Loughborough University, she took up a four-year scholarship at Oregon State University to study while playing for the Oregon State Beavers.
Taylor won numerous individual accolades during her time at Oregon State and holds the record for the highest number of career strikes for the side with 47 goals.
Football foundations
After stints with Boston Renegades and Ottawa Fury Taylor took up an assistant coach position with Fresno State University. But she longed to continue her football career and returned to play for Los Angeles-based Pali Blues before moving to Australia to join Melbourne Victory.
Return to Europe
Taylor returned to England to play for Birmingham City Ladies before briefly moving on loan to Lincoln Ladies. At Birmingham, Taylor finished as a runner-up in the FA Women's Super League and also collected a FA Women's Cup winners medal with the Blues. The striker then turned out for Gothenburg where she scored 10 goals in 10 matches, helping the Swedish side win the Super Cup.
America via Australia
Taylor then returned to Australia to join Sydney FC where she scored 12 goals in 12 games to become the top scorer in the W-League. The attacker's next destination was the US capital where she turned out for Washington Spirit during the 2014 National Women's Soccer League.
Despite interest in her services from several FA WSL clubs ahead of the current season, Taylor opted to stay in America and moved back to Oregon to join Portland Thorns.
International career
Despite her goalscoring prowess, Taylor was overlooked for selection by previous England manager Hope Powell but was included in Mark Sampson's very first squad which travelled to La Manga for a training camp at the beginning of last year.
She went on to play in the 4-0 win against Sweden in August and also partnered Fran Kirby in attack against USA earlier this year. Taylor scored her first international hat-trick in a 4-0 Cyprus Cup win over Australia in March and has staked her claim for a starting berth against Japan following her wonder-strike against Canada.
What she says
"I am about to cry. It is amazing. Making history with England has been my goal for four or five years.
"I just wanted to dig deep and make my nation proud. We all believe in each other, the atmosphere around the squad is amazing."
Follow England v Japan for a place in the Women's World Cup final with our live blog from 2230 BST on Wednesday.
