Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Emma Sanders
- Role, BBC Sport journalist at Carrow Road
Alessia Russo said England will want to show sharper finishing against Sweden in their deciding Euro 2025 qualifier after an indifferent night in front of goal against the Republic of Ireland.
Manager Sarina Wiegman said some of the play became “sloppy”.
England dominated for large periods but striker Russo knows there are improvements that need to be made by Tuesday if they are to beat Sweden, who are three points behind Wiegman’s team.
“We will always be critical of ourselves for [not scoring more goals],” Russo told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“We hold ourselves to high standards and we had some big chances that we would like to put away.
“But we will get recovered and rested and hopefully put that right on Tuesday.”
Former England defender Gilly Flaherty said it was a “disappointing” performance from the home side at Carrow Road, despite the victory.
“They had so many chances but couldn’t take enough of them,” Flaherty said.
“If you had not watched the game tonight and saw the final score you would think it was a really close game.
“But England dominated for the most part and had so many good chances. They need to learn to be clinical and ruthless in these situations.”
‘We need to be at the top level’
Russo scored England’s opening goal after five minutes, rounding goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan and slotting into an empty net after a smart first-time pass from Beth Mead.
Georgia Stanway made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the second half, before Julie Russell grabbed a goal late on for the Republic of Ireland.
Jess Carter, Lauren Hemp and Mead were all denied by Brosnan early on and several players opted not to shoot in strong positions.
“We have been training on that a lot,” said Wiegman, when asked why her players appeared hesitant to shoot, particularly in the first half.
“Sometimes when you work on things you might exaggerate the other way on the other options you have. We did say at half-time: ‘If you have the opportunity to shoot, please shoot!’
“The team are really working hard on it, but you still want to make the right decisions.”
Wiegman added: “We dominated the game. We became a little bit more sloppy [after the first goal].”
England sit second in their group after leaders France beat Sweden 2-1 in Friday’s other match, while the Republic of Ireland are bottom.
The top two teams in each League A group qualify automatically for Euro 2025. The other two sides drop into the play-offs.
Wiegman’s side will guarantee their spot at the finals in Switzerland if they avoid defeat by Sweden in Gothenburg.
“Of course playing against Sweden – whether it’s a friendly or not – is a big game. This is fighting for a spot in the Euros,” added Wiegman.
“If you don’t get a result, you’re in the play-offs, which they don’t want and we don’t want. We need to be at the top level and so do they.”