Alessia Russo warns England teammates ahead of crucial Colombia quarter-final
Forward Alessia Russo is ready for a Colombian cauldron when England face the Copa America Femenina runners-up in Sydney.
The Lionesses go into the World Cup quarter-final clash well aware of Colombia’s ability to cause an upset, having already defeated former holders Germany in the group stage. Las Cafeteras have also received noisy support from a large and passionate travelling set of fans. Inside the 83,000 Stadium Australia it could feel more like an away game for Sarina Wiegman’s side on Saturday.
Russo says England will expect another close encounter after edging a nail-biting penalty shootout win over Nigeria in the last round, following the 0-0 stalemate. The Lionesses are yet to concede from open play at the tournament, but outside the win over China they have only scored twice in their other three games.
"I think it’s great that you can’t take your foot off the gas for one second and, not that we could in the Euros either, but you can see it, every game is so, so tight," Russo said. “And that just shows the level of the game right now which is amazing. We’re expecting that on Saturday for sure.
"Colombia are a great team and they’ve got some great players, so it’s going to be, from minute one to the final whistle goes, it’s going to be tough. We’ve seen that the Colombia fans are great. That’s what makes the World Cup so special.
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"We actually enjoy seeing the different cultures and fans come together in the stadiums. But, yeah, they have a great following. So do we. But they’ll probably pack out the stadium. It can be tough at times but I like to think that we, as players, have played enough away games this season and we have enough to relish those moments.”
In the last two games, Russo has started upfront in partnership with Man City forward Lauren Hemp, rather than heading the line on her own. It seemed to bring the best out of her against China, where she scored a fine finish inside the opening minutes.
But Wiegman may be tempted to revert to a 4-2-3-1 for the quarter-final against Colombia, particularly with Lauren James now suspended after her red card in the Nigeria tie. But Russo doesn’t she her role drastically altering if the formation is tweaked.
“I love playing alongside all the attackers in this team. We have so many different strengths and it’s great. When I’m up and around the box you enjoy yourself. Hempo (Lauren Hemp) and I have lots of conversations and it’s good.
"But you can see the strength in depth in this squad. It’s always nice when you have players around the box. That happens in this team regardless of the formation that we’re playing."
"I think my job as a no. 9 is pretty similar whatever the formation. But it’s always nice when there are more of us.”
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