England do just enough as Russo seals Women’s World Cup qualifying win over Iceland

Snow-capped mountains provided an idyllic backdrop to a less impressive performance, but England’s 1-0 win over Iceland ensured they maintained a three-point gap over Spain in their bid to earn an automatic place in the 2027 World Cup.

Only the four League A teams who top their groups will avoid the playoffs and qualify automatically and with the European and world champions drawn in the same group, one will be left frustrated and with more games required to book their trip to Brazil.

Sarina Wiegman did not make substantial changes to the starting XI that earned an important 1-0 win over Spain at Wembley on Tuesday evening. Iceland may be ranked 16 places below Spain, the world No 1, and pose less of a threat in one sense but they presented a different challenge in another.

It had been tricky for England in the reverse fixture in Nottingham, Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway scoring either side of the break as the Lionesses were forced to be patient against a team that sat deep.

Wiegman had said England needed a win in Reykjavík to make the defeat of Spain an “even more valuable” one. Anything less, and the three-point advantage in Group A3 earned via the win against the world champions would be lost.

Lotte Wubben-Moy and Lucia Kendall were the two players to make way, with the captain, Leah Williamson, making her return to action following a thigh injury suffered in mid-March, and Manchester City midfielder Laura Blindkilde Brown also starting.

The manager said the midfield swap was because Kendall plays a “little deeper” and that was needed against Spain. “Today in the really tight spaces we need more numbers higher up the pitch in the centre and that fits Laura better,” she told ITV prior to kick-off.

Alessia Russo steers home the only goal of the game. Photograph: Hulda Margret/Getty Images

The visiting team were dominant in Reykjavik, the temperature 6C but the sun bright. They accrued over 70% possession in the first half and had 34 touches in the opposition box to Iceland’s two.

That dominance only yielded the one goal though, Wiegman’s charges forced to probe and probe at the defensively resolute hosts.

The goal came as a result of a rare breach of that discipline. The home team was dispossessed in a rare foray forward which allowed Lauren Hemp to race through the middle on the break, the Manchester City forward found Alessia Russo to her right and the Arsenal goalscorer collected, swivelled and placed a low effort past goalkeeper Cecilia Runarsdottir into the far corner.

It was a beautiful move and testament to the electric form Russo is in at the moment, the 27-year-old having delivered the assist for Hemp’s goal against Spain in style, keeping hold of the ball as she was bundled onto her back before flicking it to Hemp as she lay. She also scored twice against Ukraine in the previous camp.

Williamson, likely with minutes being managed, was swapped at half-time for Wubben-Moy.

The home team began the second half on the front foot, a throw-in and a free-kick testing England in the first five minutes as Thorsteinn Halldórsson’s side came out hunting an equaliser.

England's goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, who was in fine form, catches the ball above Iceland's Sveindis Jonsdottir. Photograph: Brynjar Gunnarsson/AP

It was scrappy from England in the second half, and the arrival of Beth Mead and Jess Park after the hour mark was a refresh they needed.

Mead went closest to doubling the visiting side’s lead, her close-range header from a Hemp cross was excellently turned away by Runarsdottir, but Iceland continued to have opportunity after opportunity.

Hannah Hampton was critical in maintaining England’s slender lead. A smart stop to keep out Sandra Jessen’s effort at the near post was followed by an incredible save to keep out the rebound from Dilja Zomers after the ball came back off a post. Another big save from Alexandra Johannsdottir and a stretched parrying of Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir’s header from a corner tested the goalkeeper.

At half-time there was perhaps frustration that England hadn’t extended their goal difference advantage over Spain before the two meet in Mallorca in June, but by the final whistle there was just relief that the European champions had taken three points.