Alessia Russo believes that England are “constantly building” ahead of 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.
England finished 2025 and their homecoming series with a 2-0 victory over Ghana in which Lucia Kendall opened the scoring, before Russo wrapped up the win with a 95th-minute penalty after a handball from Comfort Yeboah.
The 26 year-old forward now is looking ahead to England’s 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers against Ukraine, Iceland and Spain between March – June 2026, but is confident that this international window has been beneficial with young talent coming through.
“You can tell it’s a bit of a new England, we say it after every camp but there’s lots of youngsters making their debuts again tonight.”
Russo also credited Ghana for how they gave England a good battle throughout which she hopes will give the Lionesses more confidence if qualify for the World Cup, in terms of being prepared to deal with a variety of different playing styles at the main tournament.
“They posed a completely different threat, they were really good and they put on a really good show and made it really difficult for us.
“That’s what we want from these fixtures pre-World Cup. We want to test ourselves against different styles and we certainly got that tonight.”
Russo also acknowledged that the homecoming series has given the squad a chance to “be able to celebrate” their successful UEFA Women’s Euro title defence with fans, in which they have taken victories against Australia, China and Ghana after a tough opening defeat to Brazil.
“They travel a lot and are really important for us. Also, we’re just constantly building. When you have friendlies and camps where you have time, you can train a bit more but you can also try new things, try new relationships.
“We’ve seen that over the past few camps. It’s a really exciting time to be part of England.”
Kendall was amongst some inexperienced fringe and new players who got their chances to impress Wiegman across the homecoming series, with Russo left impressed at how the 21 year-old midfielder has adapted to the senior squad as a new player.
“She’s brilliant, she’s come straight into the team and it’s like she’s been here for years,” reflected Russo on Kendall’s progress and admitted that she deserved to score her first senior international goal at St Mary’s Stadium, where she had graduated through Southampton’s Academy.
“She’s got so much quality and wants to learn off the other girls as well in midfield.
“Sometimes in football there’s ‘meant to be’ moments and I think that was it for her tonight.”
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