England are in control of their World Cup play-off with Greece after winning the first leg 3-1 in Crete.

Goals from Georgia Stanway, Maya Le Tissier and Alessia Russo moved the Lionesses into a strong position for Tuesday’s second leg in Leicester – although Calliste Brookshire, who plays for Rangers in Scotland, pulled one back late on for a Greece side ranked 58th in the world. The winner will play Slovakia or Ukraine in round two on the road to Brazil 2027.

Lauren James saw a stunning chip from long range ruled out for offside in the first half but the Lionesses – forced into the play-offs after finishing behind Spain in qualifying – were not at their sharpest in that period and they were almost shocked when Ioanna Papatheodorou cracked a shot against the crossbar from 35 yards.

But England grabbed the advantage when Stanway finished a slick move that saw her combine with Laura Blindkilde Brown and Russo.

Le Tissier then thumped in from an angle after the break before Russo found the bottom corner from Beth Mead’s square pass just four minutes later as England swiftly took the game away from Greece.

Brookshire got on the scoresheet with some neat footwork in the box to give the underdogs some hope, but Jess Park blasted a shot against the underside of the crossbar in stoppage time, perhaps signalling that Sarina Wiegman’s side have more firepower in their arsenal for the return leg.

Key moments in Crete

12: ROOF OF THE NET! Keira Walsh’s attempted lob from 18 yards has too much on it and the ball lands on the roof of the net.

20: GOAL RULED OUT! James finds the net with an exquisite chip from 30 yards out… but an offside check rules out the goal.

34: GREECE HIT THE BAR! Papatheodorou twists and turns as she runs past Esme Morgan and then pings a shot against Hannah Hampton’s bar from 35 yards!

39: GOAL! Blindkilde Brown pops the ball into Russo, who lays it square for Stanway to give England the breakthrough.

63: GOAL! Le Tissier thumps in England’s second on the angle after earlier seeing two shots parried away.

67: GOAL! Russo fires a third into the bottom corner from Mead’s square pass in the box.

78: GOAL! Greece pull one back with Brookshire showing some neat footwork in the box before firing into the far bottom corner.

Wiegman: We still have things to work on

England boss Sarina Wiegman speaking to ITV:

“At moments we played really well. We started well; they started very aggressively too, but we stayed calm. That’s what I’m most pleased with. We have a couple of things to work on too.

“At moments in the game, we weren’t tight enough. The ball wasn’t moving quickly enough, especially when we got the ball a lot in the pockets and higher up the pitch. We need to be tighter and more aligned because, with the opportunities we created, we could have scored so many more goals.

“Sometimes we were offside, so I think those are things we have to work on. And, of course, I’m not happy with the goal we conceded.

“There were more positives, Maya’s goal was one of them. She’s really improving her game at club level and, with us, she’s more comfortable.”

Analysis: A win – but a frustrating night for England and Wiegman

Sky Sports News’ Anton Toloui in Crete:

“A win for England but a frustrating night for Wiegman and the England squad. They expected to win by more than two goals. Wiegman was even more frustrated by the fact they conceded here.

“They had 74 per cent possession, 26 shots, but England looked slow, predictable, like they played into the Greeks’ hands.

“The Greeks are delighted to walk away with this result, knowing the game is still up for grabs in Leicester.

“Wiegman will have some tough words for her team privately. Publicly she’s backing them on a professional job well done.”