When an early chance went begging for Alessia Russo, you feared for the England striker.
Before this quarter-final against Colombia, she had been struggling for goals at this Women’s World Cup after finding the net just once in four games.
Within six minutes of this game Russo had the chance to double that tally, but she snatched at the chance and it was blocked.
It would have been an easy moment for the Arsenal striker’s head to drop, even if the flag did go up, for her to think it just wasn’t her night.
Instead, however, it galvanised Russo and she was the Lionesses’ hero as they booked a semi-final showdown against co-hosts Australia on Wednesday.
What a game that promises to be here in Sydney and what a finish Russo’s goal was to get England there.
If there was a hint of fortune about the turn that allowed her to skip past her defender, after Georgia Stanway’s pass had picked her out, there was no luck about the strike which fired past Catalina Perez.
Russo took time to pick her spot, not snatching at it like earlier on, and arrowed the ball into the bottom corner.
“Obviously buzzing to get the win and get the goal, but you’re in those moments a lot as a striker,” said Russo.
“It’s kind of what you train for. It was a split second to take a shot and I went across the goalkeeper. Fortunately it went in. We are buzzing to be in the semi-finals now.”
It was a huge goal for Russo, who has arguably been under more pressure or scrutiny than anyone else in this squad.
That is to be expected, it comes with the job of being England’s No9, but the way she delivered tonight could transform her confidence.
Through on goal. You know the rest!
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) August 12, 2023
💫 @alessiarusso7 pic.twitter.com/98M6mRowl5
As well as her goal, Russo was involved in the Lionesses’ equaliser. She refused to give up on a lost cause, rushing goalkeeper Perez into a mistake and poking the ball to Lauren Hemp.
It summed up Russo’s performance. She was dogged and determined, playing with fire in her belly.
“I tried to work as hard as I can on the pitch,” said Russo.
“One of the strongest things about this team is that we never give up and we have such a good team bond off the pitch – I think that’s important.”
