Alessia Russo was on the scoresheet again for England, but for Arsenal there was another important note in Reykjavik as Leah Williamson made her return from injury.
Photo by Hulda Margret/Getty Images
Alessia Russo scored again for England as the Lionesses beat Iceland 1-0 in Reykjavik in a World Cup qualifier, but from an Arsenal point of view the evening brought another significant positive with Leah Williamson returning to the starting line-up after injury.
Russo’s goal settled a qualifier that also marked England’s 500th international match.
It arrived after 21 minutes and was the sort of centre-forward finish that makes difficult things look easy. England broke quickly, Lauren Hemp drove through the middle and released Russo, who finished low into the bottom corner.
For Arsenal, though, the most important detail come elsewhere. Williamson started after the hamstring injury that had kept her out since last month, with her previous appearance for Arsenal having come against London City Lionesses.
She was replaced at half-time by Lotte Wubben-Moy, offering another Arsenal presence in the back line, while Beth Mead came on for Lauren James after 64 minutes.
After the match, Sarina Wiegman explained why Williamson had been taken off at half-time.
“As we’ve said throughout the campaign, we want to be careful with it,” Wiegman said.
“She was in very good shape. If it was absolutely necessary, she could play more.”
