Eniola Aluko

Position: Striker
Club: Saint Louis Athletica
D.O.B: 21/02/1987
P.O.B: Lagos, Nigeria
Caps: 44
Goals: 9
Debut: Holland v England 18/09/2004
Full Debut: Holland v England 18/09/2004
First Goal: England v Czech Republic 26/05/2005

Profile

Eniola was named Young Player of the Year at the Women’s FA Awards in 2003 and since then has grown into a young striker of huge promise.

Having come up through the ranks of the U19s and U21s, Eniola is now impressing at senior level. Her first appearance for the Senior team came at the age of 17 against Holland in 2004 with England winning 2-1.

Her pace has been utilised mainly from the bench in the last year and this attribute was at the fore when she sprinted onto a through ball from Emma Coss to score the winning goal in the 2005 FA Women’s Cup Final at Upton Park.

One of the most exciting young players in the women's game, Eniola has great pace and technical ability and has grown in stature, bringing an increased confidence and maturity to her game. She added to this her first England goal against the Czech Republic at Walsall in May 2005,and added two more in the 13-0 away win against Hungary in October.

Eniola added to her growing reputation by scoring twice in Charlton's 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the 2006 FA Nationwide Women's Premier League Cup Final.

While playing for England during Women's Euro 2005, Eni took for her A-levels and now aims to pursue her career ambition in the legal profession. Her younger brother Sone is also an England U17 international.

In September 2006 Eni was part of the side that travelled to Rennes to clinch a crucial point against France and secure qualification for the World Cup in 2007.

She was also a key member of the England squad that reached the Final of the 2009 European Championship in Finland, scoring three goals.