Lionesses 3-1 Greece: England Take Control of World Cup Play-Off Ahead of Leicester Return

England's Lionesses are 90 minutes from the second round of the Women's World Cup play-offs. Sarina Wiegman's side beat Greece 3-1 in Crete on Friday night to take a commanding first-leg lead in their 2027 World Cup qualifying tie — though a late Greek goal means Tuesday's return leg at Leicester's King Power Stadium is not yet a formality.

Georgia Stanway, Maya Le Tissier and Alessia Russo scored the goals that put England in control, before Kallisti Brouksair's late counter-attack strike gave the hosts a lifeline and left Wiegman "happy with the 3-1, but not happy with the one".

How the goals came

England dominated possession but were made to wait. Lauren James had a stunning 20th-minute lob ruled out for offside, and Greece nearly took a shock lead when Ionna Papatheodorou smashed a 30-yard effort against the crossbar. Five minutes later, England finally broke through: Laura Blindkilde Brown fed Alessia Russo, who teed up Stanway to sweep home the opener.

The second half belonged to England. Le Tissier — on her 15th international appearance — thumped in her first England goal in the 63rd minute, and Russo made it 3-0 four minutes later with a clinical finish from Beth Mead's square pass. Brouksair's neat footwork and finish in the 78th minute gave Greece something to cling to.

The road to Brazil 2027

England find themselves in the play-offs only because of one bad night: a 4-0 defeat by world champions Spain in June cost them automatic qualification, despite an impressive 1-0 win over Spain at Wembley in the same campaign. Only the group winner qualified automatically, and Spain took the single place.

The format is unforgiving. If England finish the job on Tuesday, they will face either Slovakia or Ukraine in a second knockout tie in late November and early December — Ukraine won their first leg 3-1 in Slovakia and are favourites to progress. Only the winners of those ties reach next summer's World Cup in Brazil.

Wiegman's selection headaches

The Greece tie has been as notable for who wasn't there as for who was. Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone — heroes of England's European triumphs — were dropped for form, though Toone was recalled late after Lucy Bronze withdrew with a minor injury. Captain Leah Williamson has returned, while 21-year-old Freya Godfrey and uncapped Lexi Potter represent the next generation pushing through.

The Times warned after the first leg that England looked "far from champions-elect": the same defensive frailties exposed by Spain — particularly in central defence — were visible again as Greece hit the woodwork at 0-0 and scored late. Against better sides than Greece, Wiegman knows, those lapses will be punished.

What happens on Tuesday

The return leg kicks off at 7:30pm on Tuesday, October 13, at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, live on ITV. England's two-goal cushion should be enough — Greece are ranked 59th in the world and have never qualified for a major tournament — but the away goal means a fast Greek start could make it nervy. Expect a near-full house, and expect Wiegman to demand the ruthlessness the first leg lacked.

Sources

• Sky Sports: Greece 1-3 England — Stanway, Le Tissier and Russo on target
• The Times: England a step closer to World Cup — but look far from champions-elect
• SuperSport: England gain edge over Greece in Women's World Cup play-offs
• England Football: Where to watch England Women in October

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) — joshjdss (England Women).