Women's World Cup Play-offs: England's Georgia Stanway Proves a 'Warrior'
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'Unplayable' Stanway a free-scoring warrior for Lionesses
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: Georgia Stanway is England's top scorer this season
By Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at King Power Stadium
Published 11 minutes ago
Whatever the game, whatever the result, Georgia Stanway always seems to score for England.
Manager Sarina Wiegman called the midfielder a "warrior" after her performance against Greece helped seal an impressive 5-0 victory to complete an 8-1 aggregate triumph.
Stanway scored in both matches as the Lionesses progressed to round two of the Women's World Cup qualifying play-offs with ease.
She opened the scoring in Crete as they won 3-1 and when Wiegman called for more ruthlessness in Leicester, Stanway delivered again.
The 27-year-old is quickly becoming one of England's most important players. So what makes her so effective in front of goal?
Lionesses advance after comfortable win against Greece
'She has that tenacity in her'
Stanway's strikes in the last five days capped off a season in which she finished as England's top scorer and netted 11 times in her last 11 matches.
She also ranks inside the top three for most goals scored by European players in international football since Euro 2025.
While Wiegman was frustrated by her side's lack of ruthlessness in Greece, Stanway always looked dangerous and made sure she got on the scoresheet.
It felt inevitable she would join in the fun in Leicester when Alessia Russo and Lauren James grabbed a double each.
Stanway came close to matching them when the Arsenal midfielder coolly took control of a long ball inside the box with one deft touch and, with the second, fired it powerfully into the bottom corner.
It would have been the perfect strike to mark an impressive few days but it was ruled out for offside, much to Wiegman's dismay.
"She is always so eager to go towards goal. She has that tenacity in her," said the England boss when asked about Stanway's goalscoring form.
"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. Unfortunately that was disallowed but it was really good!"
Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis told BBC Radio 5 Live that Stanway was "unplayable at times" against Greece on Tuesday night.
She won all her tackles, had a 90% passing accuracy rate, took four shots, scored once and had another disallowed.
It was also a slightly different role for Stanway for most of the match as she played more as a right winger after changes in the midfield.
"She has something different to others," Wiegman told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"She is goal-orientated, has a great shot and the disallowed goal showed her great mobility and athleticism.
"When you really need a fight, or a duel, or a counter-attack breaking up, she is there. She is a warrior."