England take control in Heraklion
England beat Greece 3-1 in the first leg of their Women's World Cup qualifying playoff in Heraklion, Crete. Georgia Stanway scored in the 39th minute, Maya Le Tissier scored in the 63rd minute with her first England goal, and Alessia Russo struck in the 67th minute. England had finished as runners-up in their group and were drawn in a group with world champions Spain, so only the playoff remained to reach next summer's tournament. Greece, ranked 59th in the world and never previously qualified for a major tournament, pulled a goal back in the 77th minute, which keeps the tie open going into Tuesday's second leg.
Greek response and defensive concerns
The 77th-minute goal is credited to Calliste Brookshire by inews, while The Guardian names Ioanna Papatheodorou as the scorer. Papatheodorou also struck the woodwork at 0-0, after easing past Esme Morgan and Leah Williamson. Inews reported that she had rattled the crossbar after running at Williamson, who returned as skipper in place of Jess Carter at centre-back. Both reports agree that England's defensive frailties were exposed by the Greek attacks, even though the home side was never seriously threatened in the rest of the match.
Lineups and experiments
England played with a back three in possession, with Le Tissier pushed high up the pitch as a right wing-back, and with a back four out of possession. Lauren James struck a chip from 25 yards in the first half that was ruled out after a VAR check showed she had been offside. Ella Toones received an 11th-hour call-up after initially being dropped alongside Chloe Kelly but did not feature. Blindkilde Brown drifted out to the right, Erica Parkinson made a late cameo, and James alternated between the left and central roles. Grace Clinton, who replaced Lucia Kendall in the squad, along with Jess Park and the teenage Parkinson, remain options for the No 10 position.
Atmosphere in the stadium
The Hellenic Football Federation made tickets free for the fixture, but only a few thousand attended and the home support was largely silent. Around 500 travelling England fans generated most of the noise in the echoey ground. The Guardian reported that the first 45 minutes were largely forgettable and lacking in real quality, and that players could be heard issuing instructions to each other from high in the stands. England now travel to Leicester needing to finish the job on Tuesday.