Williamson returns from injury as Russo scores for England

Williamson returns from injury as Russo scores for England

Alessia Russo was on the scoresheet again for England, but for Arsenal there was another important note in Reykjavik as Leah Williamson made her return from injury.

Photo by Hulda Margret/Getty Images

Alessia Russo scored again for England as the Lionesses beat Iceland 1-0 in Reykjavik in a World Cup qualifier, but from an Arsenal point of view the evening brought another significant positive with Leah Williamson returning to the starting line-up after injury.

Russo’s goal settled a qualifier that also marked England’s 500th international match.

It arrived after 21 minutes and was the sort of centre-forward finish that makes difficult things look easy. England broke quickly, Lauren Hemp drove through the middle and released Russo, who finished low into the bottom corner.

For Arsenal, though, the most important detail come elsewhere. Williamson started after the hamstring injury that had kept her out since last month, with her previous appearance for Arsenal having come against London City Lionesses.