The Match Breakdown
The Lionesses are walking away from the first leg of their Women’s World Cup playoff tie with a 3-1 win, but the vibes were a little off. England took control thanks to goals from Georgia Stanway, Maya Le Tissier, and Alessia Russo, but manager Sarina Wiegman wasn't shy about the reality: it was a bit sloppy.
Even though England dominated possession against Greece—who are ranked 59th in the world—they struggled to break down the deep defensive block. England looked like they were just going through the motions. Lauren James had a gorgeous 25-yard chip find the net, but it was ruled offside by VAR. Defensively, England had a massive scare when Greece's Ionna Papatheodorou hit the woodwork while the game was still scoreless.
The Goals
The breakthrough finally came when Laura Blindkilde Brown teed up Russo, who set up Stanway for a clean, low finish. After the break, the momentum shifted. Le Tissier powered in a finish off some genius play from Keira Walsh, and Russo tacked on a third four minutes later. But the clean sheet didn't stick; Greece’s Kallisti Brouksair caught England’s defense slipping to make it 3-1.
Around the Pitch
It was a busy night for the home nations. The Republic of Ireland absolutely ate, cruising to an 8-0 win over Kazakhstan. Scotland secured a solid 2-0 victory against Czechia, and Wales edged out Albania 1-0. Things looked rough for Northern Ireland, who fell 4-0 to Portugal.
Why it matters
England holds the advantage heading into the second leg in Leicester this Tuesday. If they close it out, they’ll face Slovakia or Ukraine for a spot in next summer’s tournament in Brazil. Real talk: if they want to be main characters on the world stage, Wiegman knows they have to level up their fluidity and decision-making before the next window.
