WHAT HAPPENED?
The Arsenal forward is readying herself for a repeat after helping to fire the Lionesses into the quarter-finals of another European Championship. Sarina Wiegman’s side are in the process of trying to defend their continental title.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Back in 2022, Russo helped England into the final with a 4-0 mauling of Sweden in the semis - with her remarkable piece of improvisation at Bramall Lane in Sheffield going on to be named goal of the tournament.
WHAT RUSSO SAID
The Lionesses are set to face Sweden again in the last eight of Euro 2025, with Russo telling reporters when asked if she has another moment of magic up her sleeve: “I’m not sure about [another] backheel. But as long as we win, that’s all that matters.
“Sweden are a top side. They’ve got lots of talented players and they play really well together. We’ll have to look into them over the next few days and get ready for a really tough game. It’s knockout football – it’s all down to one game, so we’ll do everything we can to be ready for it.
“We want to go out and keep this momentum going. We know that knockout football is all down to that game and that game in the moment. So, yeah, we’ll be ready and we’ll do everything we can to win the game.”
Next Match
DID YOU KNOW?
Russo was among the goals for England in their 6-1 demolition of Wales, with the 26-year-old relieved to be off the mark. She added: “It feels nice [to get my first goal]. I want to be scoring as much as I can. It took a bit longer than I would have liked but as much as I can contribute to the team in any possible way, I’ll always do.
“I’m really excited, It was a positive result. Again, a big performance was needed. We knew we still needed to win this game to get out of the group and keep progressing. I think our turnaround since the France game has been really exciting.
“Things don’t always go how you plan them to. But we knew that we still had a massive chance to get out of this group [after losing to France] and keep progressing in this tournament and that’s what we want.
“We want to be here right until the end so the reaction was really important and I think you could see that in the performances against Netherlands and Wales.”
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?
Prior to hitting Wales for six, England put four past the Netherlands. Wiegman’s side appear to be moving through the gears on the back of a disappointing opening defeat to France, with a knockout clash with Sweden set to take place in Zurich on Thursday.