The making of Rachel Daly - from US university to England's great World Cup hope
Amidst the jubilation on the final day of the Women’s Super League season, as Chelsea were crowned champions for a fourth consecutive year and Leicester City valiantly fought off relegation, a smaller - but no less noteworthy celebration - unfurled at Meadow Park.
Aston Villa had just beaten Europe-chasing Arsenal 2-0 away from home and Rachel Daly was on the scoresheet to not only claim the Golden Boot ahead of Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw, but match Vivianne Miedema ’s record for the most goals scored in a single WSL campaign (22).
The recognition bestowed upon Daly was a just reward, acknowledging the extraordinary campaign she had after returning from the United States to sign a three-year deal with Villa last summer. Yet, a closer examination of the England star’s career suggests her goalscoring prowess and record-breaking tendencies should come as no surprise.
Hailing from the picturesque town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, Daly’s love for football developed at an early age. She joined local side Killinghall Nomads at the tender age of 12 before she was later invited to Leeds United’s centre of excellence. Testament to her talent, she represented England at various youth levels and was playing for then-top-flight team Lincoln Ladies when an opportunity to move to the States beckoned.
Georgia Kearney-Perry, who Daly knew from her time with the Lionesses’ youth teams, was already plying her trade across the Atlantic at St John’s University in the vibrant city of New York. However, a season-ending injury two games into her freshman season left head coach Ian Stone in need of reinforcement.
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Kearney-Perry knew of a friend who was interested in potentially moving over to play and she took the recommendation to the long-serving Red Storm coach. That friend was Rachel Daly.
In an exclusive interview with Mirror Football, Stone reflected on the fortuitous introduction.
He said: “Georgia was a couple of years younger than Rachel but she came into the office one day and said there’s this player that’s reached out to me that’s interested in playing. Would you be interested?
“I was able to get a few video clips as she was playing for Lincoln Ladies at the time. It was a difficult process to get her eligible, but we had no clue she was eventually going to transform our programme.”
Rachel Daly celebrates after scoring against Arsenal to confirm her claim of the 2023 Golden Boot award. (Photo by Paul Harding - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)At just 20 years of age, Daly made the move across the pond - presumably unaware she would spend the next 10 years of her career in the States. NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) compliance regulations meant she had to sit out her freshman campaign and she was allowed to train with the team, but not travel with them to games or play.
“It was possibly the most frustrating time of Rachel’s career,” Stone continued. “But, in the long run, it was good because it allowed her to get stuck into the academic side of things.”
It became clear quite early on that Stone and his staff had a potential world-class talent on their hands and it was up to him to get the very best out of Daly. Despite initially being brought in as a defender, the youngster’s talent extended far beyond the confines of a left-back role.
“I had to figure out the best way of using her so she can have the most impact,” Stone added. “There was no chance of her playing at left back for us as she was probably our best player. As the year went on, she showed she was a natural goalscorer and could score in so many different ways - although it took a little bit of persuading - she would be a forward.”
Daly’s hesitation over moving further up the pitch stemmed from the fact she felt she had the best chance of playing for England’s senior side at left back. The plethora of attacking talent the youngster had to contend with was stark - Ellen White had burst onto the scene and was posting numbers difficult to compete with.
“At the time, Rachel didn’t feel like she was necessarily going to make the England team as a centre forward,” Stone said. “Ellen White was tearing it up, Jodie Taylor too, there was a lot of competition there. She thought her best bet might be staying as a left-back.”
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As it turned out, Daly would play the majority of her senior England career as a defender. She made her Lionesses debut in 2016 and featured in her first major tournament at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, she also started all six of England’s games at the Euros last summer - but as a left back.
Rachel Daly played for Lincoln City from 2011 - 2012 in England for departing for the USA (Photo by Jan Kruger - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)Yet, she had been breaking all kinds of goalscoring records in her early 20s as a forward. She surpassed every expectation at college in the US and etched herself into the St. John’s history books as the best player to ever play for the Red Storm, as well as their career record holder in goals (50) and points (111) despite playing just three years in red and white.
“The one thing we noticed here and having had the opportunity to work with her, her overall technical ability is easily the best I’ve ever seen live and in person,” the Red Storm coach continued, his voice brimming with pride. “Although she’s naturally very gifted, she works very hard.
“I remember when she’d play 90 minutes of a really physical game the day before and what we would tend to do is those players would then do a recovery session the next day. On numerous occasions, Rachel would do that later on but would want to be out with the players that hadn’t played, whether that be playing or extra finishing practice.
Rachel Daly was taken with the #6 overall pick by the Houston Dash in the the 2016 NWSL College Draft following her time at St. John's University (Photo by Andy Mead/YCJ/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)“She can score with her left, she can score with her right, she can score with her head, she can score volleys, she can score from a distance, she can score one v ones. I don’t throw the term natural goalscorer around too much, but if there ever was a natural goalscorer that I’ve seen in any of my teams, it’s her.”
Her success didn’t go unnoticed and instead of moving back to the UK following the conclusion of her college career, she was selected by Houston Dash as the sixth overall pick at the 2016 NWSL College Draft - becoming the first St John’s player to be selected in the NWSL draft.
Daly would go on to make 116 appearances in total for Houston over six-and-a-half years, scoring 42 goals and registering 12 assists. She left as their all-time leading goalscorer and was their captain for a number of years.
Her return to England last year to join Villa caught the attention of many, but it’s probably fair to say nobody, maybe quite naively, expected her to go on and achieve what she has in Claret and Blue. The goals flowed and questions were finally raised as to why one of the WSL’s leading goalscorers was still being used as a defender for her country.
Rachel Daly spent six years with the Houston Dash, scoring 37 goals across 101 appearances for the NWSL club (Photo by Amy Kontras/ISI Photos/Getty Images)Gradually, Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman started to play Daly further forward and she made the most of the opportunity, scoring twice against Italy at this year’s Arnold Clark Cup in February. When Wiegman named her World Cup squad at the end of May, there was a universal sigh of relief as the 31-year-old was listed as a forward alongside Manchester United’s Alessia Russo and Tottenham’s Bethany England.
Stone said: “When I look at Rachel playing as a left back or a centre forward, she’s much more effective as a centre forward. But, I remember watching some video when she was playing here, she was playing for an England youth team as a forward at that point as she’d been doing so well here.
“But she wasn’t as effective initially. That kind of held her back a little bit, there were some occasions, even back then, where she’d go into the England set-up and be somewhat intimidated by some of the big names. You look at her as a player and you question how that can be - I think certainly over the last few years, that’s changed a lot. Certainly in terms of her mentality and her confidence level in that environment.
“Maybe the timing of it is right. Maybe she wasn’t ready, I mean you can’t argue with Ellen White’s goalscoring record. Rachel could’ve played any position for our team and done really well, including playing in goal. She’s a coach's dream in terms of whatever you need, she’ll do that.”
Rachel Daly with the 2023 Golden Boot award (Photo by Paul Harding - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)In a sense, the timing for Daly does feel right. White hung up her boots last summer and marked the end of an illustrious career for both club and country. Since then, nobody has quite nailed down that starting position up front for England and Daly, along with Russo and Beth England, will be ready to make her mark at the World Cup.
After winning the Euros last summer, it has no doubt been a sensational year for Daly. The tournament set to kick off on July 21 will be another shot at silverware for the forward and, this time, her contributions will hopefully come in her more natural position - but there will be few cheering the Villa star on louder than her former coach.
“What I think is different about Rachel is that for what she’s achieved, she’s still someone that is very loyal,” Stone concluded. “There were occasions where she did really well here and bigger universities were trying to recruit her, but she stayed loyal to us. She’s still the same way (now) and once you get to know her family, you see where that comes from.
“She still will keep in touch every now and again and has some great friendships with players she worked with here as well, that’s the kind of person we’re talking about. Not just a great football player, but a great person as well.”
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