France 1 England 2: Alessia Russo goal seals vital victory as Lionesses keep automatic Euro hopes alive

ALESSIA RUSSO reckons the battle to reach the Euros will be tougher than ever following England’s first victory over France on French soil in 51 years.

The striker scored the winning goal as the Lionesses won 2-1 in the Euro qualifiers on Tuesday night.

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Despite the opponent’s late reaction, the visitors resisted and achieved an official victory over the Les Bleues on their home turf for the first time in 1973.

Group stage play in Saint-Etienne resulted in France losing in the tournament qualifiers for the first time in 17 years.

It also saw Sarina Wiegman’s team increase their chances of automatically reaching next year’s Euros, with their third-placed side level on points with Sweden, who are in second place.

Only teams finishing top two in their group will be able to secure a place in next year’s competition in Switzerland without having to compete in the play-offs.

Following the win, Russo told ITV Sport: “I think we got our standards back to where we wanted them to be.

“There are still parts that we will definitely work on.

“We know the bar is higher than ever and even qualifying for the Euros will be harder than ever.”

Russo’s first-half goal, his 19^th in a game for England’s senior team, capped a stormy start for the reigning Euro champions as they defeated their hosts from the start.

Along with Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp, with Ella Toone and Georgia Stanway starting well in midfield, Russo helped the Lionesses dominate in the opening 45 minutes.

When asked if this was her best performance in England, the striker added: “I’ll take a look later.

“When you’re in the moment, you’re very focused on the game. I just tried to do what I could.

“France is a top team, with some of the best central defenders in the world.

“It was good to get on the scoresheet, but we created much better.”

England’s courageous performance saw Wiegman rewarded for her decision to keep the final team that lost 2-1 to France at St James’s Park last Friday.

After Sweden claimed a 1-0 away victory over the Republic of Ireland earlier this evening without the injured Mary Earps, they had everything to do.

But after an initial effort by Toone in his 50s,^th The England appearance was easily won by French goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin, and the visitors took control of the first half.

Stanway took the lead with a shot from the edge of the box in the 21st^st minute after a cool exchange involving Russo and Lauren Hemp.

And Russo turned up the pressure, leaving the hosts stunned as she stormed home for a 2-0 34^th-minute advantage.

France coach Herve Renard made some changes in the second half, with Delphine Cascarino and Sandie Toletti replacing Amandine Henry and Sakina Karchoui.

Late pressure saw them earn a penalty after Leah Williamson clipped Grace Geyoro’s ankle from the penalty spot.

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Toone and Lucy Bronze were booked seconds later for dissent, before Kadidiatou Diani scored in the 72nd.^{It is} minute in your 100^th Appearance of France.

But England held on for victory and maintained the same number of points as second-placed Sweden.

Wiegman’s team will face the Swedes and the Republic of Ireland in the last two Euro qualifiers in July.