Greece 1-3 England Women: World Cup play-off win

England women beat Greece 3-1 in Crete on Friday 9 October 2026 in the first leg of round one of the 2027 Women’s World Cup European qualifying play-offs. The win leaves them with a two-goal lead for the return in Leicester, but does not secure a place in Brazil. Georgia Stanway, Maya Le Tissier and Alessia Russo scored for the visitors.

Lauren James thought she had put England ahead with a long-range chip, only for her effort to be ruled out for offside. Greece also came close before the break, with Ioanna Papatheodorou hitting the crossbar. Those moments preceded the move that gave England their lead, rather than a first half in which everything went their way.

The breakthrough came in the 39th minute as Stanway combined with Laura Blindkilde Brown and Russo to score. Their link-up gave England a 1-0 half-time lead, with Russo involved in creating the opener before adding a goal of her own after the break.

Le Tissier scored England’s second in the 63rd minute, marking her first goal for the national side. Russo followed four minutes later, scoring from Beth Mead’s square pass. That short burst put England 3-0 up and gave them the cushion they would take into the closing stages.

Le Tissier and England’s remaining work

Greece pulled a goal back late on to narrow the gap, but there was still time for England to threaten again. Jess Park hit the underside of the bar in added time. England could not add a fourth, leaving the late Greek goal as the final change to the score.

Le Tissier’s contribution from right-back drew praise from Sarina Wiegman for more than the finish. She pushed high when England had the ball, while also covering space and doing her defensive work. The coach highlighted that balance between helping the attack and meeting the demands of her role at the back.

For Le Tissier, the goal was an important step as she seeks to feel more at home in the England side. She welcomed the win, though her pleasure at scoring was tempered by disappointment over the goal conceded. Her reaction reflected the wider mood: satisfaction with the result, but not with every part of the display.

Stanway felt the match was more transitional than England had wanted. Her concern was about the way the game unfolded, not simply the score. She wanted England to limit those transitions in the second leg and stop them earlier, rather than give Greece a route back into the contest.

Wiegman, too, praised spells of good play while setting out what needed to improve. She wanted the ball to move more quickly and the players to work in closer coordination, especially higher up the pitch. The successful moves for the goals did not remove those concerns about the rest of England’s attacking work.

Better use of chances was another part of the coach’s assessment. In her view, England could have made more of the openings they created. She was also unhappy about conceding. Those reactions put the win in perspective without reducing the performance to a set of numbers: there were positives, alongside clear points to address.

What comes next in World Cup qualifying

The second half also brought England debuts for Erica Meg Parkinson and Grace Fisk, both introduced as substitutes. Parkinson was 18, while Fisk’s first appearance came more than six years after her first senior call-up in 2020. Their debuts were separate milestones from Le Tissier’s first international goal.

England’s next match is against Greece at King Power Stadium in Leicester on Tuesday 13 October 2026, with kick-off at 19:30 BST. The return leg will decide who advances from this tie. England reached the play-offs after finishing second behind Spain in their qualifying group.

The winners will face the winners of Slovakia against Ukraine in round two. That is the next opponent on England’s route if they get through Greece; a place at Brazil 2027 remains to be secured.