Former USWNT boss Ellis would be ‘strong’ England hire, says former Lioness midfielder Carney

Jill Ellis ruled the world with the U.S. women’s national team, and Karen Carney says the English-born coach could be perfect for the Lionesses.

The Football Association is looking for a new head coach to lead England after it was announced Phil Neville will leave his position next year.

Carney, a 144-cap former midfield star with England, says Ellis, who won the Women’s World Cup with the USWNT in 2015 and 2019, has strong credentials for the job.

Ellis, 53, was born in Hampshire and moved to the United States with her family as a teenager. She spent five years in charge of the USWNT before stepping down after the second World Cup win.

England will be hosts of the next European Championship, which has been delayed by 12 months until 2022, and Carney thinks Ellis would be capable of handling the high-pressure challenge of leading the team into such a tournament.

Carney told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I would probably go after Jill Ellis because she is the former U.S. manager, she’s proven. To be the American manager you’re getting things fired at you, left, right and centre, so you’ve got to have a strong personality so I think she could do it.

“To have a home Euros, you’re going to have a lot of things thrown at you. You’ve got to stand big and strong.”

England have reached the semi-finals of the last two Women’s World Cups, losing at that stage to the US last year in France, and also got to the last four at Euro 2017.

Carney urged the team to “find a way of getting a gold somehow” and said it was important to make the switch to the next Lionesses coach “a comfortable transition for the players”.

Carney also appeared to question whether it might make sense to end the Neville era sooner given a decision has already been reached to move on.

“For England, if I was a player I’d probably want a bit of continuity now,” she said.

“[The European Championship] is on home soil, it’s an opportunity to really showcase the women’s game.

“It’s not a make-or-break situation, but it’s on home soil and all eyes will be on us.

“So we have to give the players the best opportunity and is that to get a manager in sooner rather than later? I don’t know.

“I’m sure there’s contract issues in that and also the climate we’re currently in.”