England secured a 3-1 first-leg victory over Greece in Crete to take a strong lead into their Women's World Cup play-off semi-final, though manager Sarina Wiegman was far from satisfied with aspects of the performance.
Goals from Georgia Stanway, debutant scorer Maya Le Tissier and Alessia Russo put England firmly in command against a Greek side ranked 59th in the world and competing in their first-ever major qualifying play-off of this stature. However, a late strike from Kallisti Brouksair gave the hosts a lifeline and ensures Tuesday's second leg in Leicester will not be a mere formality.
Despite dominating possession throughout, England struggled to find their usual rhythm against a disciplined and well-organized Greek defensive setup. The opening period was scrappy by England's standards, highlighted by a let-off when striker Ioanna Papatheodorou slipped past two England defenders and struck the crossbar with a long-range effort that nearly caught goalkeeper Hannah Hampton out.
England eventually broke the deadlock when Laura Blindkilde Brown fed Russo, whose clever lay-off allowed Stanway to finish calmly into the net. After the interval, Le Tissier doubled the advantage with a powerful strike following good build-up play from Keira Walsh, before Russo added a third with a composed low finish to seemingly put the tie beyond doubt.
Greece, however, found a way back into contention when some uncertain defending allowed Brouksair to capitalize on a long ball that wasn't properly cleared, firing home to reduce the deficit and inject fresh life into the tie ahead of the return fixture.
Speaking after the match, Wiegman acknowledged her side's shortcomings despite the win. "I think we made it a bit harder for ourselves," she said, while praising Greece's organization. "Of course, I'm happy with the 3-1. I'm not happy with the 1. We were – in moments – really good on the ball, and we were, in moments, not so good on the ball and we could have made better decisions too."
The England boss elaborated further in post-match comments, noting that her side needed to be sharper in key areas. "At moments in the game we were tight, ball wasn't moving quick enough. Especially when we got the ball in the pockets, high up the pitch, we need to be tighter, more aligned," she explained, adding that several good chances went begging, partly due to offside calls.
Le Tissier, who notched her first senior international goal, received praise from her manager for her all-around display. "She needed to defend but at the same time played in attack really high up the pitch," Wiegman said of the Manchester United defender. "She got there at the far post and it was a great shot."
The scorer herself admitted she wasn't initially sure her effort had crossed the line. "I didn't really know it went in to be honest. I thought the keeper saved it but I just smacked it," Le Tissier said. "Really glad, feels good to get the first goal so happy... We wanted to come here and get the win, gutted to concede a goal but in a good position going into the Leicester game on Tuesday."
The match was played in a subdued atmosphere despite the Hellenic Football Federation offering free admission, with only a sparse crowd in attendance and the roughly 500 traveling England supporters providing most of the vocal support.
Should England complete the job in the second leg, they will advance to face either Slovakia or Ukraine in the next round of play-offs during the November-December international window, with a place at next summer's World Cup in Brazil on the line. Wiegman made clear that improvements are needed before then, stating there is an opportunity now to address the issues highlighted in Crete ahead of Tuesday's decisive encounter.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football and Standard Football.