James and Russo fire England into Ukraine play-off after 5-0 win over Greece
Lauren James and Alessia Russo each scored twice as England beat Greece 5-0 at the King Power Stadium in Leicester on 13 October 2026 in the Women’s World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final second leg, advancing 8-1 on aggregate to set up a final against Ukraine.
Georgia Stanway also scored as the Lionesses produced four first-half goals to answer Sarina Wiegman’s call for improvement in the final third. England opened the scoring inside three minutes, and the home side maintained control to complete a comprehensive victory in Leicester.
The match began with Russo’s early strike in the third minute after Lauren James drove forward and picked her out; Russo shrugged clear of Eleni Markou’s challenge before firing a low shot in. Stanway headed in Lauren Hemp’s chipped cross for a goal in the 30th minute, and James added strikes in the 16th and 34th minutes to complete the first-half onslaught.
The early goal was Russo’s fourth in four games for club and country after she had gone five Women’s Super League games without a goal prior to this run. James cushioned Maya Le Tissier’s pass before sending a rising left-footed drive for one of her goals, and her other came from turning in Hemp’s delivery from close range.
Wiegman praised James’s display and spoke about her role in the team: “I think so,” said the manager. “She was really enjoying herself, scored some great goals, but also picked up some great positions. I thought she looked really fresh and played well.” On James’s use more centrally, Wiegman added: “As a winger or inverted winger she does similar things. She can play any position up front, right or left, because she’s right- and left-footed. When she plays on the outside she also gets the opportunity to come inside, and I think she can do both things then, and that’s when she comes to life.” James was withdrawn at half-time in favour of Beth Mead.
England’s control continued after the interval and Wiegman used the position to make further changes at the hour mark, bringing on Niamh Charles, Jess Park and Freya Godfrey. Russo completed her contribution late on, collecting an angled pass from Keira Walsh before racing clear, stepping around Styliani Katergiannaki and rolling the ball into an empty net; England’s more than 50-place superiority in the Fifa world rankings was noted as evident in Leicester.
Elsewhere in the play-offs, Scotland beat Czechia 3-2 to reach round two and set up a tie with Sweden. Scotland had lost Caroline Weir to an injury in the warm-up but recovered from an early Denisa Vesela goal to level through Lauren Davidson and then fall behind to Klara Cahynova’s 32nd-minute header before Kathleen McGovern equalised early in the second half and Christy Grimshaw’s 72nd-minute finish secured the win; Andreatta said: “What it showed is what Scotland’s all about. “We stuck to our principles, ground out a result and that puts us in a good place for what’s ahead. I think these two games being so tough and testing us in all different ways, gives us the confidence to go again against Sweden.” The Sweden tie will be played between 26 November and 5 December with Scotland at home first.
Wales moved closer to qualifying for the World Cup with a 3-0 win over Albania at Parc y Scarlets, adding to a 1-0 away win in Shkoder for a 4-0 aggregate result; Mayzee Davies headed in the 34th minute and Elise Hughes and Hannah Cain scored after half-time as Wales extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches and earned a play-off final against Norway in December. Northern Ireland lost 3-1 to Portugal, completing a 7-1 aggregate defeat despite Kess Elmore scoring on her first start. The Republic of Ireland progressed with a 12-0 aggregate victory over Kazakhstan after an 8-0 first leg in Astana; Jessie Stapleton scored in the Kazakh capital, the Leicester defender opened the scoring just before half-time, Katie McCabe struck after the interval and substitute Lucy Quinn and Denise O’Sullivan also found the net, setting up a two-legged play-off final against Poland in December.
England will now face Ukraine in the two-legged play-off final in November and December; the sides previously met in qualifying earlier in the year when England won by a 9-1 margin across the two matches.