England continued to light up the Women’s European Championships on Friday night, en route to another emphatic three-point haul.
The Lionesses were back in action a short time ago, welcoming Northern Ireland to St. Mary’s Stadium for their final outing in Group A.
Sarina Wiegman’s troops headed into proceedings with spirits high in the camp, fresh off a record-breaking 8-0 drubbing of Norway in their prior outing, en route to booking their spot in the competition’s knockout rounds with a game to spare.
And yet, England showed no mercy on Friday, reiterating their status as legitimate contenders to go all the way this summer.
Fran Kirby provided the breakthrough in the clash, finally breaking the resistance of a stubborn Northern Ireland backline courtesy of a pinpoint right-footed finish on 40 minutes.
And the floodgates, in turn, swiftly opened, as Beth Mead’s deflected strike on the verge of half-time was followed by an Alessia Russo brace early in the 2nd-half, before Kelsie Burrows’ own goal rounded out an altogether one-sided 5-0 result.
Job done.
On to the #WEURO2022 quarter finals! pic.twitter.com/1alz4AUAXv
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 15, 2022
England’s latest triumph, meanwhile, has since given rise to a fresh round of head-turning statistics.
After the Lionesses etched their names into the history books of the Women’s European Championships just days ago, they did likewise this evening, courtesy of the goalscoring exploits of both substitute Russo, and Wiegman’s side as a collective:
12 – Alessia Russo scored England’s third goal just 132 seconds after coming onto the pitch, while the Lionesses have now scored 12 goals at the 2022 Women’s Euros, the most on record in the group stages at a single edition (previously 11 for Germany in 2001). Records. pic.twitter.com/xA1Xl9efLt
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 15, 2022
3 – Alessia Russo is just the third player to score 2+ goals in a UEFA Women’s Euros game as a substitute after Lena Videkull in March 1995 (Sweden vs Norway) and Fatmire Bajramaj in August 2009 (Germany vs Norway). Impact. https://t.co/v5ei8PPxaj
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 15, 2022
Iceland vs France betting tips: UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 preview, predictions & odds
Italy vs Belgium betting tips: UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 preview, predictions & odds
