Lionesses Beat Greece 3–1 in World Cup Play-Off as Le Tissier Scores First England Goal
The Lionesses beat Greece 3–1 in the first leg of their Women’s World Cup play-off at the Pankritio Stadium in Crete on Friday 9 October, with goals from Georgia Stanway, Maya Le Tissier and Alessia Russo. Kallisti Brouksair pulled one back for Greece late on, England Football confirmed. The Lionesses Greece second leg takes place at the King Power Stadium in Leicester on Tuesday 13 October, where a draw would be enough to send England through.
How the Lionesses Beat Greece
England dominated from the start but had to wait for their opener. Lauren James had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR midway through the first half.
Stanway finally broke through in the 39th minute. Laura Blindkilde Brown started the move, Russo laid the ball off, and Stanway curled into the far corner, Yahoo Sports reported.
After the break, right-back Le Tissier scored her first senior international goal from a tight angle in the 63rd minute. Four minutes later, Russo swapped passes with Beth Mead and fired low into the bottom corner to make it 3–0.
Greece Strike Back
Greece refused to give up. Ioanna Papatheodorou hit the crossbar, and then Brouksair beat the England defence with a low shot in the 77th minute.
England could have restored their three-goal cushion. However, James shot narrowly wide and Jess Park hit the crossbar in the closing stages.
Wiegman Wants More
Sarina Wiegman was pleased with the win but not with the late goal. She said England needed to be “tighter and more aligned”, as quoted by Yahoo Sports.
Stanway agreed that the job was not finished. “This is only halfway, half the job done,” she said.
Debuts for Parkinson and Fisk
Two players made their senior England debuts in Crete. Erica Meg Parkinson, 18, became England’s youngest debutant since Lianne Sanderson in 2006, and defender Grace Fisk also won her first cap.
Parkinson plays her club football for the North Carolina Courage in the NWSL. We named both players in our England vs Greece preview before the game.
Lionesses Greece Second Leg: What England Need
The return leg kicks off at 7:30pm BST (7:30pm WAT) on Tuesday 13 October. England go through with a win or a draw, and they would also progress with a defeat by one goal.
The winners will face Slovakia or Ukraine in Round 2 between 26 November and 5 December. Seven of the eight Round 2 winners qualify directly for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, England Football explained.
The Road to Brazil 2027
England need these play-offs because Spain finished above them in their qualifying group. The Lionesses reached the 2023 final, losing 1–0 to Spain in Sydney.
Find out which teams have already qualified in our Women’s World Cup 2027 guide. Will England finish the job in Leicester? Share your prediction in the comments.
