England Stoney came through
England's under-age squads, making her debut for the senior team in August 2000 as a
substitute against
France. She was named in the provisional 30-player squad for
Euro 2001 but did not make the final list of 20 and remained on the standby list. She made her first start in March 2002 against
Norway, and, after spells in central defence went on to become England's first choice
left back. In February 2003 Stoney wore the captain's armband when regular skipper
Karen Walker was substituted in a 1–0 friendly defeat by
Italy. Stoney was named in the squad for
Euro 2005, hosted in England, but remained unused as the hosts made a group stage exit. Her disappointment was such that she considered retiring from international football. Stoney won the Nationwide International Player of the Year award for the 2007–08 season, ahead of
Anita Asante and
Alex Scott. In May 2009, Stoney was one of the first 17 female players to be given central contracts by
The Football Association (FA). At the
Euro 2009 final tournament in Finland, Stoney recovered from a red card in a 2–1 opening match defeat by
Italy to help England reach the final. Stoney explained that for many players this was not only the best moment of their careers, but possibly the happiest moment in their lives. Stoney started all four of England's games at the
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, and converted her kick in the quarter-final
penalty shoot-out defeat to
France. When pregnant
Faye White retired from international football in 2012, Hope Powell appointed Stoney as the new England captain. "It's an absolute honour, the biggest privilege I've ever been given," was Stoney's response. In 2013, Stoney became the first female member of the
Professional Footballers' Association's management committee. She led England into their
Euro 2013 campaign but the team performed poorly and finished in last place, to her "bitter disappointment". When England's longstanding manager
Hope Powell was sacked, Stoney was left out of new boss
Mark Sampson's first squad due to a foot injury. Sampson informed Stoney that her captaincy was under review, a decision she understood.
Steph Houghton was then named as her successor as captain. After being called for her third straight World Cup, Stoney said the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada would be her last. Mostly coming out of the bench, Stoney was part of the first English team to qualify for the semi-finals. She was part of the England squad which reached the semi-finals of
UEFA Women's Euro 2017. She played her last international match against Denmark on 1 July 2017. She was allotted 134 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England's inaugural international.
Great Britain In June 2012, Stoney was named in the 18-player
Great Britain squad formed for the
2012 Summer Olympics. The group was selected by England manager
Hope Powell and comprised 16 English players plus
Scots Kim Little and
Ifeoma Dieke. Stoney was confirmed in her role as captain. Stoney scored in the team's second
group stage match, a 3–0 win over
Cameroon. After winning all three matches and finishing at the top of the table for Group E, Great Britain advanced to the quarter finals where they faced
Canada in front of 28,828 spectators at
City of Coventry Stadium. Stoney was disappointed when Great Britain lost 2–0 and were knocked out. She argued for the continued participation of Great Britain at future Olympic football tournaments. England's third-place finish at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup secured Great Britain's qualification for the
2016 Summer Olympics, but the team were blocked from competing due to political infighting among the "
Home Nations". A
2016 UEFA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament was convened instead. ==Managerial career==