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 at 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 praised the performance of goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, whose critical stops in the second half kept England ahead when Iceland were pushing for an equaliser after Alessia Russo’s slick first-half opener.

“It is always a team effort and a team performance but it’s really nice to have a goalkeeper that stops the ball going in – especially when it’s really hard for the team and they are struggling. That’s called team work. But she showed again that she is a world-class goalkeeper,” said the England manager.

Speaking to ITV, Hampton said: “It’s my job isn’t it really? We are in it as a team. I can’t be the one scoring goals but I can stop them. We win as a team and that is what we pride ourselves on. We are a pack. [Russo] got a great finish at one end so I had to do my job at the other.”

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 and tricky challenge in another.

It had been tough 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.

Alessia Russo has scored three goals and set up one during England’s perfect (so far) World Cup qualifying campaign. Photograph: Hulda Margret/Getty Images

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.

The visiting team were dominant, the temperature 6C but the sun bright. They accrued more than 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. Iceland were dispossessed in a rare foray forward which allowed Lauren Hemp to race through the middle on the break, the Manchester City forward found Russo to her right, and the Arsenal striker collected, swivelled and placed a low effort past the goalkeeper, Cecilia Rúnarsdóttir, into the far corner.

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

Just like against Spain at Wembley, Hannah Hampton had to be at her best in Reykjavík to preserve a 1-0 win for England. Photograph: Brynjar Gunnarsson/AP

Thorsteinn Halldórsson’s side began the second half on the front foot. They frustrated England, forced them into a scrappier game and threatened to spoil the European champions’ perfect record in this qualifying campaign, and the 500th game for the Lionesses.

Hampton was critical in maintaining England’s slender lead as the clock ticked down, sparing their blushes after the impressive win over Spain.

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 they had taken three points.

“I always say to the players we always stay neutral,” said Wiegman. “Whether you win 5-0, you lose 1-0, or you win 1-0, you always have things that have gone really well and things that you really want to improve and have to improve to make the chance of winning the next game higher. That’s focusing on the process, but winning is very important.

“Today, if you only consider the second half, it wasn’t so beautiful from our side, but it was very important.”