England's Alessia Russo and Lauren James took turns carving apart Greece's defense at King Power Stadium on Tuesday, combining for four goals in a 5-0 World Cup qualifiers play-off win. After taking the first leg 3-1 on the road in Crete, the Lionesses are now one step closer to punching their ticket to the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.
Russo, Stanway, and James Pile on for England
Russo needed just three minutes to open the scoring after James threaded her through on goal. Then, the Chelsea FC star took over, curling her own blistering effort into the upper netting in the 16th minute before snapping a volley from just yards out shortly after the half-hour mark.
Between those two finishes, Georgia Stanway rose to connect with a Lauren Hemp delivery to make it 4-0 before halftime.
After the break, England kept pressing. Stanway thought she had a second, but VAR ruled it out for offside. Russo eventually capped the rout in the 75th minute, squeezing her shot past the keeper.
"We were ruthless early on," Russo said afterward. "We were happy with the first game with getting the win but there were some things we wanted to work on which we saw tonight."
With an 8-1 combined scoreline across both World Cup qualifying legs, the Lionesses now face Ukraine in the second playoff round with the winner earning a spot at next summer's tournament in Brazil.
