England Women forward Alessia Russo hopes their Euro 2022 triumph is a catalyst for more trophies as well as more crowds watching the games. Russo was one of the stars of the tournament scoring four goals including a backheel against Sweden in the semi-finals. The triumph which was watched by 87,192 fans was the first major tournament that the Lionesses have won.
“It’s been amazing, my first major tournament. A lot of the girls were saying, ‘It’s not always like this! The group we’ve had on this camp has been unbelievable. The talent has always been there in England, even the ones that don’t play anymore that have retired, they’re supporting us always and have paved the way for us to win those trophies,” England Women forward Alessia Russo said. “Everything about this team is special; the players, the staff, the support we were given really set us up for success. My first major trophy makes me so hungry for more. I hope we see more fans in the stadiums at WSL games, that’s what we want, we want to fill out stadiums week-in, week-out.”
“Having 90,000 people at the final was amazing and it’s crazy to play in front of that many people but, at the same time, we want to see them week-in, week-out in the WSL,” she added. “Hopefully this tournament has sparked new fans coming into the game. We’ve got a packed season with all the top teams and a lot of the England squad is playing in the WSL so there are lots of opportunities to see us much more regularly.”
“Her record speaks for itself. To go through two major tournaments back-to-back without losing a game in Euros is unbelievable,” Russo said about Sarina Wiegman. “She’s a winner, she knows how to win. She wants to win every day and she makes training so competitive which helps us when it comes to the game day. Off the pitch, she is so chilled. She’s relaxed, she makes everyone around camp feel welcome and relaxed.”
