England beat Greece 3-1 in Women’s World Cup play‑off first leg

Georgia Stanway, Maya Le Tissier and Alessia Russo scored as England moved ahead in the two‑leg tie.

By Felo News Desk · Published Fri, 09 Oct 2026 22:00:25 GMT

England’s women’s national team secured a 3-1 victory over Greece in the first leg of their 2027 World Cup qualifying play‑off at the Pankritio Stadium in Crete on 9 October, according to three independent reports.

What happened

The match opened with Georgia Stanway scoring to give England a half‑time lead. In the second half Maya Le Tissier doubled the advantage, followed by Alessia Russo’s third goal. Greece’s Kallisti Brouksair scored a late consolation, reducing the deficit to two goals.

What the reports add

Independent.co.uk’s live‑blog preview noted that Greece entered the tie as the world’s 59th‑ranked side, 55 places below England, and highlighted the home‑advantage factor for the Greeks. The same outlet’s post‑match report added that Lauren James had a disallowed goal for off‑side and that Ioanna Papatheodorou struck the cross‑bar before the first half‑time break.

The Standard quoted manager Sarina Wiegman after the game, saying England had “plenty to work on” despite the win and pointing to moments when the ball was not moving quickly enough. Wiegman’s comments were reported by ITV, as noted by the Standard.

What was said

Sarina Wiegman told ITV, “I think we started well, they started aggressive too but we stayed calm, that’s what I’m most pleased with but a couple of things to work on too. At moments in the game we were tight, ball wasn’t moving quick enough. Especially when we got the ball in the pockets, high up the pitch, we need to be tighter, more aligned.” (Standard)

How it came about

England entered the play‑off after finishing second in Group C, missing an automatic World Cup spot to Spain on goal difference. The squad for the first leg was announced on 29 September, omitting Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone (Felo News, id=6abba94088ce557cbd7a5de0). The match in Crete follows a series of qualifying successes, with England having won five of six group games.

The second leg is scheduled for 13 October at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, where the winner will face either Slovakia or Ukraine for a place at the 2027 tournament (Independent).

Key facts

England won the first leg 3-1 against Greece in Crete. (independent.co.uk)
Goals were scored by Georgia Stanway, Maya Le Tissier and Alessia Russo. (independent.co.uk)
Greece’s Kallisti Brouksair scored a consolation goal. (independent.co.uk)
Sarina Wiegman said England had work to do despite the win. (standard.co.uk)
The second leg will be played on 13 October at King Power Stadium, Leicester. (independent.co.uk)