\n<\/p>\n
“We knew we were dominating the ball, we wanted to be ruthless in the final third,” Russo told BBC 5 Live, speaking about the first half against Ukraine. “They also defended well, then the spaces opened up.<\/p>\n
“Scoring early in the second half was important. It allowed us to play with more freedom so we want to use that ruthless edge going forward.<\/p>\n
“As long as we are doing our job with our counter-pressure and creating the chances, that breeds confidence. If the goal comes in the first 10 minutes or last 10, that doesn’t matter. We know we can change games in a matter of moments.”<\/p>\n
“They are a very strong team,” Wiegman said of Iceland. “They are very disciplined, very physical and very direct, with a lot of pace.<\/p>\n
“We have seen some of their earlier performances, specifically against Spain. We think we will have the ball a lot but it will also be very hard to breakdown their defence.”<\/p>\n
Only the winner of Group A3 will qualify directly for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and it has been widely billed as a battle between European champions England and world champions Spain for that place.<\/p>\n
But Wiegman flatly refused to underestimate Iceland, who have qualified for the last five European Championships but have never made a Women’s World Cup finals.<\/p>\n
“We aren’t talking about Spain at all at the moment – we are only talking about Iceland,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We know it is going to be a very tough game tomorrow. They are tough to beat and we will have to be at our top level.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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