Euro 2022: Why Alessia Russo should start for England in quarter-finals

After an unconvincing 1-0 victory against Austria, England kicked into gear at Euro 2022 and racked up 8-0 and 5-0 wins against Norway and Northern Ireland respectively.

The Lionesses are now well and truly roaring, and face a quarter-final encounter against Spain on Wednesday.

Manager Sarina Wiegman may be recovering from COVID-19, but that will not have stopped her from pondering the starting line-up for her side’s first knockout match. With so many players performing well, the task is not an enviable one.

One of the biggest debates is centred around England’s attack – who should start up-front?

Ellen White has been a mainstay for the Lionesses for many years now – she is the team’s all-time leading goalscorer – but her place in the starting line-up is increasingly under threat from Alessia Russo.

GiveMeSport Women makes the argument that it should be Russo who starts against Spain, in place of White.

Don’t be mistaken, White has enjoyed a fantastic tournament so far. The 33-year-old was one of England’s standout players as they romped to victory against Norway, scoring two goals.

According to FotMob, she was the second-best player on the pitch with a rating of 9.0, behind only hat-trick hero Beth Mead.

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But White was less impressive against Northern Ireland, struggling to break through the opposition’s resolute defence. She had just one shot compared to the six she had against Norway, and was hauled off at half-time.

On came Russo, who made a real claim for a place in the starting line-up. The 23-year-old scored two goals, with her second evoking comparisons to Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp.

She finished the match with a FotMob rating of 8.8, with only Mead earning a higher