Arsenal striker Alessia Russo leads England to edge past Ireland and secure their fourth win of the 2027 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers. The game was played on Saturday, April 18. Russo picks out from the corner with her low midway shot in the first half. Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton three crucial saves also helped a great deal for The Lionesses in winning the game.
With the win, two-time European champion England are now placed above Spain in Group A3 standings after securing their win over World Cup winners at Wembley. The top team will qualify automatically for the main tournament scheduled in Brazil in 2027.
Following the win, England women’s national team manager Saina Wiegman in an interview with ITV shared her happiness on the team’s performance that places them on top of the points table.
She said, “The most important thing is that we have played four and have 12 points. No game is easy, we don’t take anything for granted and we’re in a really good position. We know how good Spain are, and Ukraine too. I am happy with six points (from this week’s two fixtures). The players go back to very important games with their clubs and then we go again in June.”
France is playing catch-up to the Netherlands in Group A2 after a 1-1 draw in Auxerre. France took the lead late in the first half through Marie-Antoinette Katoto, but the Dutch levelled when Wieke Kaptein scored with 14 minutes to play.
The Netherlands sit in the top with eight points. The team secured their recent win against France after defeating them by 2-1 at their home ground. Les Blues are one point behind, followed by Republic of Ireland with two wins.
Germany added their first point in Group A4 after ending up in a draw at 0-0 against Austria. Meanwhile, Norway is a point behind, followed by Signe Gaupset who secured a 3-2 victory in Slovenia.
Denmark also ended up in a draw against Italy at home in Group A1. This got Sweden to add a point after securing a 1-0 win over Serbia.
