Goals from Alessia Russo and Georgia Stanway saw England beat Ireland 2-1 to put automatic qualification for UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 into their own hands.
Russo fired England ahead from Beth Mead’s slip-through pass in the fifth minute as the Lionesses dominated the match amidst wasted chances.
Stanway doubled England’s lead with a 57th minute penalty after Lauren Hemp had been fouled by Niamh Fahey.
Ireland netted their first goal of the campaign in the fourth minute of injury-time through Julie-Ann Russell’s consolatory header.
Goals from Sakina Karchaoui and Marie-Antoinette Katoto either side of Josefine Rybrink’s equaliser saw France beat Sweden 2-1 in Dijon, which secured qualification for the Les Bleues and meant that the Swedes dropped to third behind England ahead of their final-day clash.
Speaking post-match to ITV, England Women manager, Sarina Wiegman praised her players for getting the win but was critical of their wasteful play.
“Happy with the result. I thought we started really well and scored an incredible goal. After that we created a lot of chances but should have played more in the pockets.
“We were sloppy in moments too. In the second half we could have put it to bed. I was very frustrated about their goal in the 90th minute.”
Knowing that victory was imperative if they wanted to put their automatic qualification hopes in their own hands ahead of their final group match away to Sweden, England started quickly on the front foot and pegged Ireland back into their own half.
That fast start quickly paid off just five minutes into the match as a nice free-flowing passage of play saw the ball fall for Mead, and the Whitby-born star slipped the ball through for Russo to fire in from a tight angle to ease the pressure.
Stanway almost extended their lead in the eighth minute but Courtney Brosnan saved her shot, from which Ireland broke forward but Amber Barrett’s shot flew straight into Hannah Hampton’s arms.
England though continued to dominate as Mead curled over in the 13th minute but barely a minute later, Brosnan blocked Russo’s shot out to Hemp who cut back to Jess Carter but Brosnan made another save.
Mead saw another shot denied by Brosnan whilst Russo nodded wide from Maya Le Tissier’s 19th minute cross.
Ireland soon afterwards settled but struggled to carve out opportunities whilst Norwich-born Hemp missed a chance to extend England’s lead but Brosnan blocked her shot, in the latest of several wasted chances for the Lionesses as they kept their slender lead into half-time.
France meanwhile led Sweden at half-time in their clash in Dijon, which meant that Wiegman’s Lionesses sat second in their group at the break.
Both teams made changes at half-time as Wiegman introduced Niamh Charles and Millie Bright into defence in place of Carter and Leah Williamson, whilst Ireland made two changes up front.
England however enjoyed another strong start like in the first half but got unlucky in the 52nd minute as Park’s low cross evaded Russo’s touch just yards from the bottom-left corner.
Hemp however dispossessed Fahey three minutes later only to be tugged to the ground as she broke into the box, which left referee – Catarina Campos with no other option to award a penalty.
Stanway stepped up in the 57th minute and calmly rifled the penalty into the right corner to double England’s lead.
Brosnan otherwise proved a tough nut to crack in the Irish goal as she saved a 70th minute curled shot from Park.
Tottenham forward Jessica Naz made her senior debut as a 71st minute substitute for Russo, whilst Aggie Beever Jones replaced Hemp in the 89th minute for her own maiden international senior cap.
Ireland hadn’t scored a single goal in this Qualifying campaign until the 94th minute when Russell nodded in from close-range after Megan Campbell’s long throw-in was headed forward by Caitlin Hayes.
Russell’s header ultimately marked her first goal in her first international appearance since March 2020.
England eventually saw out the win to put their automatic qualification hopes into their own hands as they play Sweden away in Gothenburg on 16 July at 7pm CEST (6pm UK Time).
Teams
England – Hannah Hampton, Jess Carter (Charles 46′), Alex Greenwood, Leah Williamson (Bright 46′), Maya Le Tissier, Jess Park, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway, Beth Mead (Kelly 61′), Alessia Russo (Naz 71′), Lauren Hemp (Beever-Jones 89′)
Substitutes: Aggie Beever Jones, Millie Bright, Niamh Charles, Grace Clinton, Mary Earps, Khiara Keating, Chloe Kelly, Esme Morgan, Jess Naz, Ella Toone, Lucy Bronze, Millie Turner
Ireland – Courtney Brosnan, Anna Patten, Niamh Fahey (Quinn 88′), Caitlin Hayes, Aoife Mannion, Emily Murphy (Kiernan 46′), Ruesha Littlejohn (Campbell 67′), Amber Barrett (Russell 46′), Lily Agg, Denise O’Sullivan, Jessica Ziu
Substitutes: Megan Campbell, Isibeal Atkinson, Megan Connolly, Leanne Kiernan, Abbie Larkin, Grace Moloney, Louise Quinn, Julie-Ann Russell, Marissa Sheva, Jessie Stapleton, Tyler Toland, Sophie Whitehouse,
Referee – Catarina Campos (Portugal)