England legend Jill Scott hailed by Steph Houghton

Scott, who returned on loan to former club Everton last month, will reach the milestone today when the Lionesses play Northern Ireland in a lunchtime kick-off at St George’s Park.

The 34-year-old made her debut against Holland in 2006 and only Fara Williams, who won 172 caps, has played more times for England.

Houghton, like Scott, hails from the north-east of England and the pair have been friends since they were teenagers.

“The word legend is sometimes thrown around a bit but to be only the second person to get 150 caps is absolutely unbelievable – she is a legend in my eyes,” said Houghton.

“Everybody looks up to her and looks at what she does. To play that many times doesn’t come through luck, it comes through hard work and wanting to improve and learn and wanting to put in all that effort that nobody sees.

“She’s an unbelievable footballer. She’s one of the first names on the team sheet and one of the best midfielders in the world and she’s shown such a consistent level of performance for so long, it’s unbelievable.”

England have not played since March last year, after seeing matches against Germany and Norway cancelled due to coronavirus.

Tuesday will see former Norway midfielder Hege Riise, who won 188 caps for her country, take charge of her first game for the Lionesses as interim manager, with Netherlands boss Sarina Wiegman due to take over permanently in September following Phil Neville’s departure last month.