SOCCER
England beat Greece 3–1 in Women’s World Cup play-off opener
Goals from Georgia Stanway, Maya Le Tissier and Alessia Russo give England a two-goal advantage before Tuesday’s return leg in Leicester.
England beat Greece 3–1 in Crete on Friday in the first leg of their Women’s World Cup qualifying play-off, with Georgia Stanway opening the scoring before Maya Le Tissier and Alessia Russo added second-half goals.
Stanway broke the deadlock in the 39th minute after a move involving Laura Blindkilde Brown and Russo. Greece had threatened earlier when Ioanna Papatheodorou struck the crossbar with a long-range effort.
Le Tissier made it 2–0 in the 63rd minute. Russo extended the lead four minutes later, finishing after Beth Mead supplied the ball across the penalty area.
Calliste Brookshire pulled a goal back for Greece in the 78th minute, reducing England’s aggregate advantage to two. Jess Park then hit the underside of the crossbar in stoppage time as England sought a fourth goal.
The return match is Tuesday, October 13, in Leicester. The winners of the tie will meet Ukraine or Slovakia in the second play-off round, so Friday’s result did not secure England’s place at the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
Under UEFA’s qualifying system, the first-round play-offs are decided over two legs before a further round determines the remaining European qualification places. England will take their 3–1 lead into the home leg.
