Leah Williamson has praised Arsenal teammate Alessia Russo ahead of England’s double header against Belgium in the UEFA Women’s Nations League.
Russo has been in a hot run of form for Arsenal as of late, recently scoring the winning brace to secure a Champions League victory over Real Madrid at Emirates Stadium. The striker is now one goal away from Bunny Shaw’s Women’s Super League (WSL) tally, and is currently second in the European golden boot race in the Champions League.
“Everyone would always say how nice of a person Alessia is and how good a person she is, and everybody wants her to succeed for that reason,” Williamson praised.
“But to be a number nine in any team you have to have that sort of not arrogance, but confidence about you and we all want to see her playing like she is so she carries that because she deserves it as a human, she works hard for it.
“We know what a talent she is and when she’s scoring goals I know how good that is for her.”
News broke on Thursday morning that the United Kingdom are set to host the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup, having been the only nation to place a valid bid for the tournament.
Having lifted the Women’s Euros in 2022 on home soil, the England captain spoke on how big of a moment that hosting a World Cup will be for women’s football in the UK.
“It’s an even bigger stage. It’s the biggest female event we have in the world,” Williamson emphasised. “I’m proud to have been a part of such a good show for women’s football at the Euros. The commitment from the FA, the conversations that we’re in all the time about how we push the game on – I think 2022 was a great demonstration of that intent.
“To follow up with a World Cup bid says a lot about how much we care about women’s football here on home soil but then also globally as well.”
