Football Digest: Replacing Lauren James 'difficult' for England
England Women star Alessia Russo lifted the lid on Sarina Wiegman's post-match huddle chat and hailed the team's mentality after securing their spot in the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup. The Lionesses beat Colombia 2-1 in the quarter-final clash on Saturday to set up an enticing semi-final tie with hosts Australia, but Wiegman has demanded more improvements after a sloppy display from her side in Sydney.
Russo struck the all important winning goal in the second half, drilling underneath goalkeeper Catalina Perez to seal a gritty comeback victory from the Lionesses.
They had fallen behind for the first time in the tournament after an error from Mary Earps allowed Leicy Santos to beat her with a fortutitous cross-shot from 25 yards, which had echoes of the infamous goal conceded by David Seaman to Ronaldinho at the 2002 men's World Cup.
But this match didn't follow the same trajectory as Lauren Hemp capitalised on another error, this time from Colombia's shot-stopper Perez, to stab home and equalise on the stroke of half-time.
Alessia Russio: The Lionesses star scored in the 2-1 win over Colombia. (Image: ITV Sport)
It was far from a vintage performance and Wiegman was seen gathering the players for a huddle at the final whistle. And Russo, who scored her second goal at the tournament, opened up about what was discussed between them.
"She just said that she's proud, lots to work on," Russo said, speaking to ITV Sport after the game.
"I think what makes the team great is that we're always trying to find ways to improve even after we get through to the semis."
England lacked the same attacking spark without key player Lauren James, who was suspended following her red card against Nigeria for a stamp on Michelle Alozie, as Colombia threatened to equalise in the closing stages.
Invalid email
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
Speaking about their performance, Russo heaped praise on Las Cafeteras and admitted that maximum effort was required from England after going a goal down in the first half.
"We're just so happy to get three points and be in the semis," she added. "We have had to dig deep from the first game. Colombia have so many players who can cause you so much trouble but the backline was impressive for us."
England will face Australia in the last four for a place in the final on Wednesday, where they will be up against Spain or Sweden on August 20 at Stadium Australia in Sydney. And Manchester United forward Russo is relishing the clash.
"It's exciting [to face Australia], what more do you want in front of a home crowd?" she said. "We got a bit of that tonight against Colombia. You want to play against the best teams."
Wiegman echoed Russo's comments by gushing with pride about her players, but felt they could have avoided a nervy ending by taking their chances earlier in the game.
Sarina Wiegman: The England boss arranged a huddle at the end of the game. (Image: Getty)
"A very tough challenge but we didn't expect anything else," she said. "We showed resilience, in the first half we played very good. In moments we were sloppy on the ball and they were really dangerous on the counter.
"We conceded but we came back. I actually thought their keeper had the ball for our goal. Second half we pushed, we found a way to keep that score and win the final duals. I just hoped we would have finished the game off sooner because we could have.
"We know they are dangerous but again I am so proud of the team, we find a way to score to win the duels. If we had kept the ball a bit better, we could have won it a little earlier."