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Monday, April 20, 2026

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Hampton shines as England win again

Iceland 0

England 1 (Russo 21)  

Alessia Russo turned out to be the match winner as England battled to a hard-fought 1-0 victory away to Iceland in their landmark 500th international match.

The Arsenal striker’s neat first half finish proved enough to secure all three points and keep the Lionesses at the top of Group A3, three points clear of Spain.

Despite dominating large spells of the game, Sarina Wiegman’s side were forced to dig deep in a tense second half, with goalkeeper Hannah Hampton producing several crucial saves to preserve the clean sheet. The result follows England’s impressive 1-0 win over reigning world champions Spain at Wembley earlier in the week and maintains their perfect record in qualifying.

Wiegman made two changes to her starting line-up and was able to welcome back captain Leah Williamson for her first appearance in two months. The defender helped England establish early control, with the visitors enjoying the majority of possession and pinning Iceland back inside their own half for much of the opening 20 minutes.

The breakthrough arrived in the 21st minute, when Lauren Hemp burst through the centre of the pitch and laid the ball off to Russo on the edge of the area. The striker turned sharply and drilled a low shot across goalkeeper Cecilia Runarsdottir into the bottom corner for her 30th international goal.

England continued to threaten, with Alex Greenwood firing a powerful effort straight at the Iceland keeper and Russo coming within inches of converting a dangerous Lauren James cross, only to be denied by a last ditch clearance from Glódís Viggósdóttir.

Williamson was withdrawn at half time as a precaution in her comeback match, with Lotte Wubben-Moy replacing her. Iceland grew into the contest after the interval and began to exert pressure, particularly through Sveindís Jónsdóttir’s long throws.

The hosts enjoyed their best spell in the opening twenty minutes of the second half, forcing England onto the back foot. Wiegman responded by introducing Jess Park and Beth Mead to help regain control.

England created a golden opportunity midway through the half when Russo raced down the right and cut the ball back to the penalty spot, but Georgia Stanway blazed her shot high over the bar from a promising position. Moments later, a beautifully clipped cross from Greenwood found Mead, whose powerful header was well saved by Runarsdottir.

As the game entered its final stages, Iceland piled forward in search of an equaliser. With ten minutes remaining, substitute Sandra María Jessen looked certain to score when she met Jónsdóttir’s cross, but her low shot struck the post. The rebound fell to Diljá Ýr Zomers, whose effort was brilliantly smothered by a diving Hampton.

Hampton produced another vital save shortly afterwards, racing off her line to deny Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir at the back post.In injury time, Jessen rounded Hampton after latching onto a long ball, but the angle was tight and Wubben-Moy deflected her shot behind for a corner.

England held on to record a valuable away win and celebrate their 500th international in style.  

Iceland: Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir, Diljá Ýr Zomers (sub Hlín Eiríksdóttir 86mins), Guðrún Arnardóttir, Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir, Ingibjörg Sigurðardóttir, Sædís Rún Heiðarsdóttir (sub Hafrún Rakel Halldórsdóttir 61mins), Ída Marín Hermannsdóttir (sub Hildur Antonsdóttir 61mins), Emilía Kiær Ásgeirsdóttir (sub Katla Tryggvadóttir 70mins), Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir, Linda Líf Boama (sub Sandra María Jessen 61mins), Sveindís Jónsdóttir. Subs not used: Arna Eiríksdóttir, Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir, Birta Georgsdóttir, Telma Ívarsdóttir, Fanney Inga Birkisdóttir, María Ólafsdóttir Grós, Thelma Karen Pálmadóttir.

England: Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood (sub Niamh Charles 78mins), Keira Walsh, Leah Williamson (sub Lotte Wubben-Moy 45mins), Esme Morgan (sub Jess Carter 89mins), Lauren James (sub Beth Mead 63mins), Georgia Stanway, Alessia Russo, Laura Blindkilde Brown (sub Jess Park 63mins), Lauren Hemp. Subs not used: Maya Le Tissier, Anna Moorhouse, Taylor Hinds, Chloe Kelly, Lucia Kendall, Ellie Roebuck, Erica Parkinson.