Our centre-forwards were among the goals on international duty this weekend.
Alessia Russo scored the only goal of the game, turning and finishing into the bottom left corner with aplomb as the Lionesses celebrated their 500th game by beating Iceland 1-0 away from home to make it four wins from four in Group C of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
Leah Williamson played the first half, Lotte Wubben-Moy came on at half-time, Beth Mead came on in the 64th minute, while Taylor Hinds and Chloe Kelly were both unused substitutes.
After the game, Alessia said: “500 times we have been inspired by every Lioness. Here’s to hundreds more celebrating the ones who made it possible for us. Great camp and big results. See you soon.”
Leah wrote: “Playing for every Lioness there has been and those that never got the chance. Proud to have been part of this 500th game.”
Stina Blackstenius was also among the goals with a similarly impressive touch and finish, scoring a 50th-minute winner as Sweden beat Serbia 1-0 at home. Both her and Smilla Holmberg played 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet as Sweden rose to second in Group A, one point behind Denmark and two ahead of Italy.
Turning attention back to Group C, Mariona Caldentey played the first half as Spain got back to winning ways with a 5-0 victory at home to Ukraine to remain second the World Cup qualifying group. Laia Codina came on in the 68th minute to see out the win.
Katie McCabe played 90 minutes of Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 win at home to Poland, the two wins in a row lifting Ireland up to six points in Group B, just one behind France and two shy of Netherlands.
“So proud of the team today,” Katie said. “Two tough performances, but we showed real character against a strong side. Massive thank you to the fans for the support – we felt it.”
As for Netherlands, they came from behind to draw 1-1 away to France on Saturday, with Daphne van Domselaar and Victoria Pelova both playing the full 90 minutes to remain top of the group.
Frida Maanum played 63 minutes of Norway’s 3-2 win away to Slovenia to remain second in Group D on nine points, one behind Germany.
Barbora Votikova was an unused substitute for Czechia’s 4-1 win away to Montenegro.
Caitlin Foord played 77 minutes of Wednesday’s 2-0 win away to Kenya, providing the assist for the second goal of the game, scored by Clare Wheeler. The victory meant Australia won their section of the inaugural FIFA Series 2026, having also beaten Malawi in Nairobi four days days prior.
Caitlin stopped to sign a fan’s Chloe Kelly shirt after the game!
Elsewhere in the Brazil iteration of the FIFA Series, Olivia Smith played 83 minutes of Canada’s 1-0 loss against Brazil, meaning host nation Brazil won that series with Canada finishing second in the table.
Emily Fox played 90 minutes of USA’s 3-0 friendly win at home to Japan. She said after the game: “Great way to finish off the camp, always a privilege.”
At international youth level with England under-23s, Laila Harbert came on in the 59th minute and Jessie Gale came on in the 71st minute, while Vivienne Lia was an unused substitute, as the young Lionesses beat Sweden 3-0 to win their 2026 U23 European Competition.
As for England under-19s, Cecily Wellesley-Smith played 90 minutes and Niamh Peacock was an unused substitute as the young Lionesses failed to qualify for the UEFA Women’s Under-19 European Championship Finals after a 2-0 defeat away to Switzerland.
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