LEICESTER — England takes a two-goal lead into the second leg of its Women's World Cup qualifying playoff against Greece on Tuesday at Leicester (19:30 BST), but Sarina Wiegman's side left questions after a 3-1 victory in Crete on Friday that should have been more emphatic. The Lionesses dominated with 74% possession and 26 shots yet scored only three times, conceded in the second half and watched Greece hit the bar with a powerful strike.
Wiegman has demanded more ruthlessness in front of goal, pointing to execution in the final third. "We got in good positions but then it's staying onside, having the final pass, the right pass at the right moment, the run at the right time and deciding what cross, what cutback and whether to go for the far post," Wiegman said Monday. "That is also about the connections between the players in those situations and taking out the counter-attack [threat]." Midfielder Keira Walsh called the hesitancy "frustrating" and said, "It's the final pass, final cross and final shot. That was what was missing [on Friday]. I see the girls do that in training every day. They are fantastic at it. It's just putting that in the game tomorrow and hopefully we will." Walsh added, "We played differently back then [in 2023]. There's a lot more pressure when you're at the World Cup," and noted, "In these [qualifying] games, the worrying thing would be if we were not arriving in the final third. That would be a bigger problem." England had 58 touches in the opposition box and 210 passes in the final third in Crete.
The finishing issue has been a recurring theme since England finished runners-up to Spain at the 2023 World Cup, when it edged Haiti and Denmark both 1-0 in the group stage, advanced past Nigeria via a penalty shootout and came from behind to beat Colombia 2-1 in the quarterfinals. In qualifying this year England has edged past Iceland and Spain and under-fired against Greece. Arsenal midfielder Georgia Stanway has provided the most consistent end product and is England's top scorer since Euro 2025 with 10 goals, ranking inside the top three among European players in internationals with a minutes-per-goal ratio of 81. Alessia Russo, who started in Crete while Beth Mead came on as a substitute, is second-highest since Euro 2025 with six goals. England has had 11 different goalscorers since Euro 2025, including defenders Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter and Maya Le Tissier, but has not won any games in which it has trailed since Euro 2025, losing to Brazil and Spain on those occasions. Regular starter Lauren Hemp has scored just twice in 687 minutes, while Chelsea's Lauren James has not scored in her past 425 minutes.
England's talent is not in question, but deployment and connections remain unsettled. James has shifted from winger to No. 10 and even center-forward, Hemp has been in strong form without being a prolific scorer, and Mead has been used in midfield as well as attack. Injuries to strikers Aggie Beever-Jones and Michelle Agyemang have left little competition for Russo at No. 9. Former England striker Ellen White, who remains the Lionesses' all-time top scorer, said rhythm and partnerships are key. "You need to build your own rhythm. You can't just whizz the ball around quickly all the time so you need players in midfield who can dictate it," White told the Women's Football Weekly podcast. "You then have to have connections with players who are close to you, for example between a number 10 and a number nine. Fran Kirby was like a dream for me because she could always put the ball near me and I felt like we had a good connection. You have to build those."
Breaking down low blocks has been central to the struggle against weaker opposition that sits deep. Former England midfielder Fran Kirby said movement and patience are essential. "The movement you have around the box is so important. You need to be unselfish in your movement," Kirby told Women's Football Weekly. "You need runs in behind, even if they won't get the ball. You have to entice teams to come out. You need one person to make a mistake and leave space. You also need to pass to someone who has a higher percentage shot position than you. It seemed rushed [against Greece] instead of controlled. You have to be intricate in and around the box." England will look to turn control into conversion on Tuesday to secure its World Cup qualifying progress.