Lionesses hold nerve as Hampton produces late heroics once again

England made sure not to waste the hard-earned advantage they claimed over Spain in their World Cup qualifying group earlier this week by backing it up with a crucial victory in a historic fixture for the Lionesses.

The game, which ensured Sarina Wiegman’s side retained top spot and on course to automatically qualify for next year’s World Cup, was also notable for being England’s 500th international fixture.

The journey to that first milestone stretches back over five decades. While an unofficial England team drew a crowd of 90,000 at Mexico’s Azteca Stadium during a global women’s football tournament in 1971, their first officially recognised international match came a year later – a 3-2 win over Scotland in November 1972.

Just months after the lifting of the FA's 50-year ban on women playing on affiliated grounds, England’s fledgling side stepped out at Ravenscraig Stadium near Glasgow on a freezing afternoon in front of a crowd of just 400 and set about creating a legacy.

Wiegman’s side may now have more modern shirts on their backs, boots on their feet and energy gels in their locker room, but the fundamentals remain unchanged. Against Iceland in Reykjavik, the Lionesses played with the same intensity and joy – particularly after Alessia Russo gave them an early lead – while the near-freezing temperatures and sub-par pitch echoed the snowy conditions of that first match in 1972.

To put Lucy Bronze 's monumental output in this modern-day iteration of the Lionesses into context, the 34-year-old has played just under a third of their all-time matches with her 147 caps (29.4 per cent).

Against Iceland, the Lionesses answered Wiegman’s call to make Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Spain at Wembley 'even more valuable' by backing it up with another win, although they didn’t make it easy.

This was all the more necessary after Spain had ruthlessly put five past Ukraine earlier in the day to level the goal difference – which could easily become the decider as to who is sent into the play-offs if Alexia Putellas and Co manage to get their revenge in the reverse fixture in Mallorca in June.

Iceland are not to be taken for granted, however, and after Russo’s brilliant goal – assisted by Lauren Hemp – in the 21st minute, the clock ticked nervously on without any further reward. This was despite England having 10 shots at goal and four on target compared to Iceland’s two and none after an hour before a late flurry from the hosts swung the momentum in their favour.

MATCH FACTS 

England (4-2-3-1): Hampton 8; Bronze 7, Williamson 7 (Wubben-Moy 46, 7.5), Morgan 7 (Carter 89), Greenwood 7 (Charles 78); Walsh 6.5, Stanway 6.5; Hemp 7.5, Blindkilde Brown 6.5 (Park 63, 5), James 7 (Mead 63, 5); Russo 7.5.

Scorer: Russo 21.

Manager: Sarina Wiegman 6.5.

Referee: Michalina Diakow 6.

At the back, Leah Williamson returned after missing the Spain match due to injury. The England captain’s minutes are being managed and she played just 45 minutes before Lotte Wubben-Moy – who had been harshly dropped in her place – came on at half-time.

Hannah Hampton, meanwhile, fresh from another stellar performance earlier in the week, was decisive once again as Iceland threatened a late equaliser. The 25-year-old Chelsea goalkeeper produced a crucial save with her feet at the death after a first-half where she would have been forgiven for losing her focus.

‘My heart is intact,’ Hampton said at the final whistle. ‘We know it was a tough second half, they put more bodies forward and more balls into dangerous areas. It was nervy at the end but we got the win.

‘We would have liked to control the game a lot better than we did but know that they have a lot of threat and they got the momentum in their favour. They sent a lot of balls into our box and they are dangerous at set-pieces. We needed to make sure we were really solid in our defensive areas, and that we were.’

Substitutes Jess Park and Beth Mead also struggled to make an impact after coming on around the hour mark, with Wiegman seeking greater control amid a situation that looked as if it was going to unravel before her eyes.

But England held on, as they so often do, and ensured there would be no slip in Reykjavik.