England thump Greece to move closer to World Cup qualification

England thump Greece to move closer to World Cup qualification England have qualified for round two of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 qualification play-offs after defeating Greece 5-0 in the second leg of their round one play-off at The King Power Stadium in Leicester this evening. The Lionesses went into this evening’s tie with a 3-1 lead. Head coach Sarina Wiegman wanted her side to perform better in the second leg and they certainly did that, netting five goals without reply. England got off to the best possible start, scoring after just three minutes. Lauren James played in Alessia Russo who fired the ball beyond Greece keeper Styliani Katergiannaki. The visitors responded and Ioanna Papatheodorou tested Hannah Hampton before England netted a second goal through a clinical James strike. On the half-hour, Georgia Stanway added a third goal with a header from a Lauren Hemp cross before James made it four with a simple finish. Debutant Lexi Potter then had the ball in the back of the net, but the goal was ruled out for a foul by Stanway in the build-up. England had the ball in the net again early in the second half through Stanway, but the midfielder was ruled to have been in an offside position by VAR. Hemp, Alex Greenwood and Beth Mead then threatened the Greece goal, however, a fifth goal did not seem to be forthcoming. The Lionesses finally grabbed their fifth goal 15 minutes from time. Russo rounded Katergiannaki before shooting into an empty net. Freya Godfrey then almost marked her England debut with a goal, but she was cruelly denied by Katergiannaki who produced a good save. England’s 8-1 aggregate victory means that the Lionesses will now face Ukraine in round two of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 qualification play-offs in the next international window.