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Georgia Stanway rose between two Greek defenders at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night, met Lauren Hemp’s cross with her forehead, and sent England 3-0 up inside half an hour. It was her fourth goal in four days, her 11th in 11 international appearances, and the clearest evidence yet that the Lionesses’ midfield enforcer has become their most dependable source of goals.
England’s 5-0 win over Greece in Leicester — 8-1 on aggregate — carried them into the final round of European qualifying for the 2027 World Cup. Alessia Russo scored inside three minutes and again on 75; Lauren James struck twice before the interval, including a drive into the top corner on 16 minutes. But it was Stanway, operating from the right flank rather than her usual central berth, whom former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis called “unplayable at times” on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Eleven in eleven, and the numbers behind it
The raw tally is remarkable for a midfielder. Stanway finished as England’s top scorer for 2025-26 with nine goals in nine appearances, collecting the award at St George’s Park last week as the squad prepared for Greece. She scored in the first leg in Crete too, opening the scoring on 39 minutes at the Pankritio Stadium before Maya Le Tissier and Russo saw off a Greek side who got a late consolation through Kallisti Brouskair.
Her wider output is now historic. Stanway has 33 goals under Sarina Wiegman — more than any other player in the Dutchwoman’s five years in charge — and has passed 50 goal involvements for England in that period, a mark reached only by Beth Mead before her. Since Euro 2025 she ranks in the top three for international goals scored by any European player. She has converted all 14 of her England penalties.
Tuesday’s performance was not merely a finish. Playing wide, she completed 90% of her passes, took four shots, won every tackle she attempted and had a second goal disallowed for offside after controlling a long ball and driving it towards the bottom corner. England’s expected-goals figure of 4.75 against Greece’s 0.07 tells you how one-sided the night was; Stanway’s involvement in almost every meaningful attack tells you who set the tempo.
Wiegman’s warrior — and the problem she solves
Wiegman has spent much of this cycle rebuilding a midfield around Keira Walsh, and Stanway’s willingness to play anywhere has made that easier. In Leicester she was pushed right to accommodate 20-year-old Chelsea midfielder Lexi Potter, who was handed a debut and who thought she had marked it with a goal on the stroke of half-time, only for the strike to be ruled out for a Stanway foul in the build-up.
The manager’s assessment of her was unusually expansive. “She is goal-orientated, has a great shot,” Wiegman said. “When you really need a fight, or a duel, or a counter-attack breaking up, she is there. She is a warrior who you can play a possession game with too.”
That last clause matters. England’s issue in the heavier defeats of this qualifying campaign was not aggression but control — the ability to press, win the ball and then keep it. Stanway, at 27, offers both in one body, which is why Wiegman can shuffle the shape around her rather than build the shape to protect her.
From Euro 2022 thunderbolt to England’s banker
Stanway has been scoring important goals for England for years — the extra-time thunderbolt against Spain that rescued the Euro 2022 quarter-final remains the signature moment of a double European champion’s career. What has changed is the frequency. For most of her 186 appearances and 67 goals at Manchester City, and through four seasons at Bayern Munich, she was a midfielder who scored. Since returning to the Women’s Super League on a free transfer to Arsenal this summer, she has become a midfielder England rely on to score.
Her hat-trick in the 8-0 win over China at Wembley last November — only the third by a Lioness at the national stadium, after Mead and Aggie Beever-Jones — was the moment the shift became undeniable. She has called it her favourite in an England shirt.
Ukraine next, with Brazil 2027 at stake
England are in the play-offs because a 4-0 defeat by Spain allowed the world champions to take their group on goal difference and the automatic place in Brazil. The route now runs through Ukraine, first leg on 26 November, second on 5 December. Win, and the European champions are at a World Cup they should never have had to scrap for.
There is encouragement in the record: England have won their last seven home matches in all competitions without conceding, 24-0 on aggregate, the first time in their history they have managed that. There is also a dependency. Ukraine will sit deeper and defend better than Greece, and England’s most likely answer is the player who scored from open play in Crete, from a header in Leicester, and from the penalty spot 14 times without missing.
Wiegman’s team have more talent elsewhere. They do not have anyone else producing at this rate.
Analysis by Ahmad Ali, Sports Editor, SportsPortal.net
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Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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