England Women Reach 500th Match Milestone As Lionesses Set To Face Iceland In World Cup Qualifier

England approach a landmark 500th game with momentum and expectation, as the Lionesses target another World Cup qualifying win against Iceland on Saturday, days after a 1-0 victory over Spain lifted England to the top of Group C at the halfway stage.

The Lionesses won 2-0 against Iceland in February at the City Ground, where Lucy Bronze scored once and created another goal, and Bronze now prepares for a milestone appearance, having already earned 146 caps for England across more than a decade of international football.

This fixture becomes England's 500th international, coming 53 years and 151 days after England beat Scotland in November 1972, with previous milestone matches bringing mixed results, including defeats in the 100th and 400th games but victories in the 200th and 300th.

"It's insane, Bronze said. It's crazy to think, in two ways, that it's the 500th game. It's only been 500, but at the same time, oh my God, it's 500 games. It's amazing to be a part of it."

The Lionesses are also reflecting on their wider journey. "The entire history of the Lionesses...it's something that we've actually spoken a lot about at camp this week. [We] had some of the older Lionesses come in and speak to us, just sharing the history of what it meant from the very first game. We heard the whole story of the first final [we] were a part of. It's just nice to share these stories, so that when you're putting on an England jersey, you know how much it means to so many people and for us to be part of the 500th game is really special."

England carry strong historical form into this 500th game, remaining unbeaten in three away fixtures against Iceland in all contests, with two wins and one draw, and this visit being the first since a 2-2 World Cup qualifying play-off draw in September 2002.

Across World Cup qualifying away fixtures, England have not lost since a 1-0 defeat against France in November 2002, building a sequence of 24 matches without defeat, including 22 wins and two draws, scoring 117 goals and conceding only nine during that extended run.

That defensive strength showed again against Spain, when England claimed a 1-0 success to maintain a perfect qualifying start of three wins from three, and the Lionesses now seek to use that performance level as a standard for the challenge in Iceland.

Head coach Sarina Wiegman underlined the importance of maintaining those standards. "That's what we want. It will be a different challenge, but we need to make the win [against Spain] on Tuesday even more valuable by having a good result tomorrow. That's absolutely what we want to go for, in different circumstances and with a different opponent. But we're ready."

The 500th match offers England a chance to honour past players, extend an unbeaten away record in World Cup qualifying and stay clear in Group C, with Bronze, Wiegman and the current squad aware of the history behind the Lionesses shirt as they face Iceland at Laugardalsvollur.