Jess Carter well and truly burst onto the women’s football scene when she was just 16-years-old. In March 2014, Carter made her Birmingham City debut against Arsenal in the first-leg of the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final.
In one of the highest profile stages she could’ve been introduced to, she was subsequently named player of the match after a stellar performance. Since then, her career has gone from strength to strength both on a domestic and international level.
Although having only featured as an unused substitute in England Women’s opening two matches at Euro 2022, Carter may see Friday’s game against Northern Ireland as an opportunity to make her mark in the Lionesses’ final group game. Throughout her career, she has played across the backline and in midfield before finally nailing down the centre-back berth at Chelsea last season.
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Jess Carter’s club career
Since being introduced as a teenager for Birmingham City, having Joined their academy in 2013, Jess Carter has become an FA Women’s Super League regular. Her time in the Midlands saw her help the club reach two domestic cup finals, while earning the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2017.
She eventually made the move to Chelsea in 2018. However, her maiden season saw her restricted to just 16 starts after the Blues defence was already well established in the previous double-winning campaign.
Many of her early appearances came in the Continental League Cup as the Blues reached the semi-final in her first season and the final in her second. Carter’s first goal for the club came in January 2020, in her only WSL start of the 19/20 campaign, with a scrambled effort against Bristol City in a 6-1 win at Kingsmeadow.
A knee injury to Maren Mjelde was the opportunity Carter needed in the 20/21 season as she stepped up at full-back to help Emma Hayes’ side make history. One of her highlights came in their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, as her pin-point delivery was headed in by Pernille Harder to help Chelsea grab a place in their first ever European final.
Despite largely featuring at right-back in her first three seasons in west London, the last campaign saw her deployed as a centre-half in a back-three, becoming a regular in the side. She put in a superb display in the FA Cup final triumph against Arsenal last December, coinciding with the reward of a regular spot in England squads, just in time for the Women’s European Championships.
Jess Carter’s international career
Having been capped by England at U19, U20 and U23 level, Carter received her first senior call-up during the qualifying stages for the 2019 FIFA World Cup in November 2017. She made her senior debut in a 5-0 win against Kazakhstan after coming on as a late substitute.
However, her period of struggling to nail down a place in the Chelsea side led to her having to wait almost four years for a second call-up. This came during new head coach Sarina Wiegman’s first squad naming in September 2021.
In her third cap, later in 2021, she played the second-half of a game against Latvia and scored her one and only England goal in a 20-0 demolition. Carter has now made 10 international appearances and was rewarded with a call-up to the Euros squad.
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