Alessia Russo on England’s ‘surreal’ Euro 2022 win and her ‘one time miracle goal’


But while the dust has settled from the Lionesses’ historic 2-1 win at Wembley on Sunday, Russo insists this is “just the beginning” for her team and hopes for a bright future for women’s football in England .

“The final was just an incredible day – the stadium, the event, having all these fans there was just surreal,” the Manchester United forward told CNN Sport.

The Euro 2022 final was played in front of 87,192 spectators – a record crowd for a EURO final, whether male or female, while 17.4 million across Britain watched the game on TV, according to the BBC.

“This is just the beginning for us, I think. We obviously want to fill stadiums every week, but we have to be realistic and we know it’s a process to get there,” adds Russo.

“We just want more people to fall in love with the sport and accept that women’s football is great. USA set the bar but teams are catching up now and it’s really exciting.”

While Russo and England can now get a glimpse of what’s in store for the team – qualifying for next year’s World Cup and meeting leaders USWNT – they can also consider a roller-coaster campaign in Europe.

Home advantage meant England were among the favorites to win Euro 2022 long before the kick-off, and expectations only rose after a smashing 8-0 win over Norway in the group stage.

“I think the media put pressure on us as soon as they found out it was a home tournament,” says Russo, “but internally there was never any pressure.

“We were really good at keeping the bubble very closed and very focused on the games… From day one we wanted to win the tournament but at the same time we realized we had to shut out the entire outside world.

“We didn’t even know how crazy it was going to get, and it turned out to be 10 times crazier than we all thought… We were just so focused on working out and enjoying each other’s company, switching off and then back on to go.”

England's players celebrate after beating Germany in Trafalgar Square, London.

What also helped, says Russo, was the influence of coach Sarina Wiegman, who has yet to lose a game against England, even at the Women’s EURO, which also guided the Netherlands to victory in 2017.

“I think we all love playing under her,” says Russo. “There’s a real calm about her. She’s very relaxed and off the pitch and even on the touchline. She’s not really getting too heated or too much at the moment – she’s very level-headed.”

Russo, 23, has been used mostly as a substitute throughout her England career, appearing as a substitute in all six games of the Lionesses’ Euro 2022.

Her fourth and final goal of the tournament was the most memorable – a grandiose, instinctive heel kick through the legs of Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl that gave England’s 4-0 semi-final victory the luster.

“I don’t think I’ll ever score a goal like that again,” said Russo. “I think it was just a one-time miracle, but I’ll take it.”

Russo puts her heel up against Sweden.
The goal quickly garnered praise from across women’s football and beyond, including the attention of US great Abby Wambach and Chelsea and Australia star Sam Kerr.

“I saw my old club that I grew up with – they all trained at training which was nice,” adds Russo.

“And if it’s a goal or whatever, it’s nice to see that women’s football has shaped the world and the boys and girls. If it’s inspired a person to go out and play football, I take it.”

Reflect on the goal – and the wild celebration that followed – and it’s hard not to be inspired by Russo and the Lionesses.

The future of women’s football in England looks bright, but before Russo can start thinking about what she could bring, she has more pressing priorities.

“There’s definitely a holiday coming up,” she says. “It’s been a great couple of months but I’m very exhausted and need a little break.”