LEICESTER — Georgia Stanway continued her remarkable scoring run as England have completed an 8-1 aggregate triumph over Greece with a ruthless 5-0 victory in Leicester, having won 3-1 in Crete days earlier. The 27-year-old Arsenal midfielder scored in both legs to finish as England's top scorer this season, prompting manager Sarina Wiegman to hail her as a "warrior" who delivers whatever the fixture demands.
Stanway has now netted 11 times in her last 11 matches for the Lionesses and ranks inside the top three for goals scored by European players in international football since Euro 2025. In Leicester she was denied a second when a superb piece of control from Alex Greenwood's long ball and a powerful finish into the bottom corner was ruled out for offside, while Alessia Russo and Lauren James each struck twice. "She is always so eager to go towards goal. She has that tenacity in her," Wiegman said. "She is always aggressive out of possession but also in possession. She scored a great header and controlled that really good ball from Alex Greenwood. That was really good athleticism and composure."
Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis told BBC Radio 5 Live that Stanway was "unplayable at times" against Greece on Tuesday night, winning all her tackles, registering 90% passing accuracy, taking four shots and scoring once with another disallowed. Operating for long spells as a right winger in a reshaped midfield, Stanway thrived alongside Keira Walsh and 20-year-old debutant Lexi Potter, with the Chelsea midfielder providing cover to allow her to push higher while Lauren James operated as a number 10. "She has something different to others," Wiegman told BBC Radio 5 Live. "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."
The new balance drew praise from Brown-Finnis, who said Stanway had shown "how flexible she is, how exceptional she is both at the bottom end of the pitch, breaking up play, as well as at the top end" operating as a second striker, out on the right and dropping deep as a number 10. England now face a two-legged play-off tie against Ukraine at the end of the year to reach the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil, having already beaten the same opponents 9-1 on aggregate in the league phase. "I liked the balance of the midfield," Wiegman admitted. "I wanted to see Lexi Potter deeper on the pitch and what that might bring. There was also the option to put Georgia Stanway higher up the pitch. We wanted to score more goals and we know that she can do that."