The secret of purpose that revealed Alessia Russo to the world, the out-of-nowhere backheel who stunned Sweden in England’s run to the European Championship last summer, Russo wasn’t sure it would happen. That the ball went into the net was, in his words, “maybe luck, maybe instinct.”
Last week, the goal he scored to open his account in his first World Cup was something else: a silky first touch, an effortless shift of his weight, a confident finish in the lower left corner. That goal was the end of a striker, the first of Russo’s hopes, and England, more.
“I play my best football when I feel good and happy and confident,” the 24-year-old Russo said.
However, that pitch confidence hasn’t always been evident in Russo’s performances in between already goal and his latest.
Indeed, his goal in England’s 6-1 hammering of China ended a six-month international drought for Russo. In the interim, she found herself fighting for a place as the team’s starting striker alongside Rachel Daly. In an interview in England ahead of the World Cup, Russo admitted it has been a lesson in patience but also a learning experience in what it takes to keep a place in one of the best teams in the world.
“All I can do is focus on myself, my game, what I can do to get better and how ready I am going into the summer,” he said. “And that’s all I can control.”
If so, could the knockout stages be a liftoff for Russo? Despite injuries to several key players spoiling preparations for England and continuing in Australia, the European champions are building momentum ahead of their meeting with Nigeria on Monday in the round of 16. Lauren James has emerged as a star in midfield, and Russo is poised to take advantage.
“He really has a feel for scoring goals,” England coach Sarina Wiegman said. “He’s a good header. He took a good shot. He’s really just a No. 9.”
The statistics speak for themselves. Russo scored 12 goals in 25 England appearances, including an 11-minute hat trick — the fastest ever by an England women’s player.
Such is his status that, earlier this year, he was the subject of two world-record transfer bids. His club at the time, Manchester United, rejected both, but he has since joined Arsenal, the suitors who made both offers, on a free transfer after his United contract expired.
Her rise, on the back of her performances in England’s European Championship triumph last year, comes at a historic time for the women’s game. Record viewing numbers. Sold-out stadiums. And, as Russo knows all too well, competitive transfer windows.
“This is what we’ve wanted for the women’s game, for years and years,” she said. She wants the clamor to continue: “I wish I could still see it climbing this way today. The stages that are appropriate. The crowd that deserves it, that we’re all getting now.”
Russo is still one of the younger players on his squad. But he is different in that he is used to being fully professional, something that all his teammates have never experienced. England right back Lucy Bronze, for example, once worked at Domino’s Pizza while she was a pro and international.
“There are some really, really humbling stories you hear about older players who have to work crazy hours and then go to practice and then travel to games,” Russo said. “And it’s like, ‘How did that happen?’”
For Russo, soccer was always an easy choice. He grew up playing with his two older brothers in the yard and, sometimes, at home, “until Mom told us to kick the ball inside.”
He began his youth career at Charlton Athletic and later joined Chelsea before moving to the United States to play for the University of North Carolina. He only returned to England in 2020, after signing for Manchester United, the club he grew up supporting.
However, despite his path through professional teams and elite programs, Russo admits he is grappling with his newfound fame after the Euros. Before his team became European champions, he had a “pretty normal life,” he says. And now? “You’ve changed.”
“Your life,” he said, “completely changes after a tournament.” And popularity, he found – part of both the growth that raised the value of players and the profile of the game – proved difficult at times.
“The attention that comes with women’s football today is difficult to manage as a player,” she said.
So after a quiet start to the World Cup, Russo stepped in. Next up: a tough encounter in England’s round-of-16 match against Nigeria, which defeated the home team, Australia, and helped eliminate the Olympic champions, Canada, in the group stage.
This spring, Russo said he’s confident the goals, and the wins, will come. Now they were both here, and England was thinking bigger.
“You go into every tournament wanting and expecting to win,” he said. The European Championship, he said, lit “a fire to want to go and win more.” Making it to the World Cup will be the ultimate next step.
“I just want to win,” he said, “as long as I can.”
