Alessia Russo has started to defy her critics at this World Cup
SYDNEY — A little over a year ago, amidst the euphoria as England withstood their bittiest, most gruelling tie of the European Championship yet against Spain, Ellen White was facing calls to be dropped.
So potent was Alessia Russo proving off the bench that growing numbers believed she should start the semi-final against Sweden. Instead, White kept her place and the “super sub” produced her defining moment in an England shirt, a Puskas-nominated backheel as the Lionesses cruised to Wembley.
The parallels will not be lost on Russo this time around after her winner against Colombia sent England to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Scrutiny is an occupational hazard of leading the line for any international side – never mind England – and she has had to justify her spot time and again.
It did not help that in the build-up to the tournament the two WSL forwards who had finished the season most convincingly were her two biggest rivals.
Rachel Daly won the Golden Boot with 22 goals for Aston Villa and Beth England kept Tottenham up almost single-handedly with a late surge of 12 goals in as many games.
Once Sarina Wiegman had decided Russo would be her first choice at the World Cup – Daly was initially on the bench against Haiti before moving to left-back and left-wing-back – there was never any serious danger of that changing.
The England head coach is loathe to overhaul her line-up in any way which might be construed as throwing one of her players to the wolves and unlike White, who was 33 by the time the Euros began and retired at the end of it, it is accepted Russo will be a fixture for years to come.
The debate has raged nonetheless and goals against China and Colombia will not settle it on its own.
Former Manchester United teammate said she was “over the moon” to see Russo get her “unbelievable goal” and tellingly, added that England “pride ourselves on keeping the ball”.
Perhaps Russo’s purpose is closer to White’s even as she adapts to playing in a front two with Lauren Hemp.
Last summer, White only scored two goals, both in the 8-0 win over Norway, but without her selflessness England would not have been developed into the attacking force that swept aside the rest of the continent.
The striker took 23 touches in the penalty area and 44 in the attacking third over the six matches she played. Russo is faring even better; in her five so far has 30 touches in the box and 90 in the attacking third.
“It’s always nice when you have players around the box,” she said of her partnership with Hemp. “That happens in this team regardless of the formation that we’re playing. I think my job as a No 9 is pretty similar whatever the formation but it’s always nice when there are more of us.”
Aside from coming up clutch when England most needed her, she has been used as a lightning rod drawing out five fouls, two more than White last summer.
She is winning fewer of her aerial duels – eight from 25, at a rate of 32 per cent compared to White’s 50 per cent at the Euros.
Undoubtedly England’s more physical opposition at this tournament will have contributed to that but where her job is to hold the ball up, she has received 37 progressive passes. White received 13 over the course of the Euros and once she had the ball, was averaging 40 per cent of shots on target. Russo’s current rate is 64.7 per cent.
“That first touch was in a duel then all of a sudden it fell just right in a good place in front of her feet,” said Wiegman. “I think it was a very clinical shot.”
The crux is that Russo will not stand or falls on goals alone. Daly offers more movement but what she offers across the final third, especially in the deeper pockets, explains why she starts. Had she drawn a total blank thus far, Wiegman may have been forced to consider other options; the fact she kept faith with the 24-year-old is more illuminative of the demands she has from her centre-forwards.
That is, to some extent, dependent on the goals coming from elsewhere when it does not come off, and that is the issue England have had throughout 2023. It feels a world away now but there were similar concerns pre-Euros, a warm-up against Belgium marred by poor finishing.
Their creative issues are far from over, with Lauren James suspended for the Australia semi-final too. They have not yet struck gold, even with their most convincing performance yet in the quarter-final. Yet so long as England keep winning, Wiegman’s system will be justified.
