Football General Manager
Following England‘s 4-0 demolition of the Netherlands on Wednesday, many might have expected Lauren James to pick up the Player of the Match accolade. After all, the Chelsea star shone on the right wing, scoring twice to fire the Lionesses to victory in a must-win encounter. Perhaps most terrifying of all for defenders at this European Championship was the fact that when Sarina Wiegman was asked on BBC Radio 5 Live if this was the best of James, she replied: “You saw good. I think she can do even better.”
But although James was excellent, UEFA opted to recognise another top performer in Zurich, in Alessia Russo. While England’s No.9 wasn’t on the scoresheet, and she really could’ve been given the headed chances she had in particular, she still managed to rack up no fewer than three assists, with her involvement in the only goal she didn’t directly set-up also particularly important. “What a shift she has put in,” former Lionesses goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis remarked on the BBC‘s coverage of the game. “The yardage she must have covered.”
It’s been an incredible year for Russo. She’s made serious improvements to enjoy her best season to date in front of goal, with that playing a key role in Arsenal‘s triumphant Champions League campaign and helping her earn a share of the Women’s Super League Golden Boot. But Wednesday was a reminder that her all-round qualities play a big part in making her such an excellent centre-forward for club and country.
The UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 starts on July 2 and runs until the grand final on July 27. The Women’s Euro 2025 will take place across Switzerland, featuring stadiums in Basel, Geneva, and Bern.
If you’re looking for your chance to secure Women’s Euro 2025 tickets fret not. We’ve got all of the intel for you to get a seat at this international tournament in Switzerland.
UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, which is the 14th edition of the Women’s European Championship, is being held from Wednesday, July 2 to Sunday, July 27. Switzerland is staging the tournament for the first time, and the host nation will be hoping that playing in front of their fervent home fans will prove to be a good omen. The Netherlands were the host nation when they won the Women’s Euro 2017, and England reigned supreme on home turf at Women’s Euro 2022. Women’s Euro 2025 matches will be staged in eight Swiss cities: Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St.Gallen, Lucerne, Thun u0026amp; Sion.
Other major timelines for the events you might want to note include:
Here’s a closer look at where you can watch the Women’s Euro 2025 from where you are:
Women’s Euro 2022 was won by the tournament hosts, England. Chloe Kelly was the goalscoring heroine as she netted the winning goal in extra time against Germany. It was the first time an England senior team had won major footballing honours since the men’s side had won the FIFA World Cup in 1966. The Lionesses were led by Sarina Wiegman, who had coached the Netherlands to glory five years earlier at Women’s Euro 2017.
The 16 teams playing at Women’s Euro 2025 are split into four groups of four teams. The top two sides in each group will progress to the quarter-finals. The groups were confirmed during December’s draw in Lausanne and are as follows:
Group A: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Finland
Group B: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy
Group C: Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden
Group D: France, England, Wales, Netherlands
Russo’s hold-up play, excellent work-rate and key role in the build-up to attacks has long been outstanding. It might have been odd to some when Arsenal approached Manchester United in January 2023 with a world-record bid for a player who was out of contract in just six months’ time and had only scored five goals for her club in the first half of the season – but the Gunners not only saw the potential she had to improve in front of goal, they also knew her all-round game would be an asset in their system.
As it transpired, they would get their target at the end of that campaign when she left the Red Devils on a free. Since that move, Russo has had her critics, especially because she hasn’t put up the eye-watering numbers that some of her fellow strikers have.
Crucially, though, she has always had a level head about that. If the team is winning and she is contributing to that, even if it’s not with the goals she might want to have, that’s the main thing.
Wednesday was the most extreme example of how Russo benefits her team without finding the back of the net. Hannah Hampton deserves all the credit in the world for England’s opener, which started with her phenomenal pass that simply sliced open the Dutch defence, but there should also be kudos given to Russo, who latched onto it, held the ball up and drew defenders towards her before teeing up James for her superb strike.
For the Lionesses’ second, it was Russo who kept James’ free-kick delivery alive and dangerous for the Netherlands, nipping in ahead of Jackie Groenen to gain some control of the second ball before Georgia Stanway took over and sweetly struck it towards Daphne van Domselaar’s goal.
No one was credited with the assist for the third goal, but it was another superb pass from Hampton and good movement from Russo that kickstarted the move, which culminated in Lauren Hemp’s cross eventually being converted by James for her second of the day. England’s star striker was then able to complete her hat-trick as a provider just a few minutes later, when Jess Carter this time aimed a ball in behind her way and she held it up long enough for Ella Toone to make a dart in the box, which was picked out by Russo’s cutback and converted into the Lionesses’ fourth of the day.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live former Lionesses goalkeeper Karen Bardsley described Russo’s performance as “exquisite”, noting how she had been “central to a lot of England’s success” on the day. “What a team player,” Ellen White, the Lionesses’ all-time top-scorer, noted while on punditry for the game on BBC television. “She worked her socks off today.”
‘Central’ is perhaps the best way to describe Russo’s role in the England attack as she does a lot of the work that can go unnoticed, but that plays an important role in allowing those around her thrive. The little lay-offs, the way her movement distracts defenders and opens up space and her overall involvement in build-up play is vital in this attack – it just doesn’t grab headlines like goals.
And Russo could’ve had a few goals, too. Let’s not shy away from that. There were at least three headed chances she could’ve done better with, serving as a reminder of an area of her game she had a good laugh about back at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. “When I was in America, my coach out there told me that I couldn’t head a ball for sh*t,” she explained light-heartedly, recalling her days at the University of North Carolina.
But Russo has also been unlucky. After all, she did find the back of the net on Wednesday with her head, only for it to be ruled out for an offside in the build-up that involved Leah Williamson, rather than herself. The striker had similar bad fortune in England’s opener, too, when her instinctive finish was disallowed as Beth Mead had strayed offside by the finest of margins.
That goal is coming, though, with Russo undoubtedly having taken serious steps forward in her scoring over this past year in particular. In 2024-25, the 26-year-old enjoyed her best campaign in terms of goals, but also several other areas. Per 90 minutes in the WSL, she had more touches in the opposition’s box and more shots on target than in any of her previous three seasons, while out-performing her xG by more than two goals.
Supporting those statistics is the eye test. When Russo was bearing down on goal in England’s recent narrow defeat to Spain, one-on-one with Cata Coll, she never looked like she was going to miss – and she didn’t. That cool-headedness, that assured manner of her play is the consequence of someone full of confidence right now.
Such clinical finishing has not been on show from Russo just yet at Euro 2025, but her efforts as a creator appear to have bought her more time in that sense. Had England failed to beat the Netherlands on Wednesday, their title defence would’ve been either over – via a defeat – or all-but-over – via a draw. There are several reasons why it went the other way, from James’ magic to Hampton’s remarkable distribution. Russo’s all-round excellence in the Lionesses’ forward line is one of them, too.
