Alessia Russo vs Rachel Daly: The England striker dilemma that could decide the Lionesses' World Cup fate

Twelve months ago, Russo was England’s super-sub, scoring four goals in six appearances from the bench as the Lionesses went on to beat Germany at Wembley to win Euro 2022. With White retiring in the aftermath, the young forward soon assumed her role at the focal point of the attack, marking her first two appearances after the tournament with goals.

Her clinical finishing, ability to drop deep to contribute to the build-up play and the relationships she quickly formed with those around her all led to Russo making that immediate impact in a more prominent role.

But having only found the back of the net once in her seven appearances for England since, while posting a WSL goal return this past season that was lower than both Daly and England, questions have emerged around her position as the Lionesses’ No.9, especially given how effective she has proven to be as a substitute.

Last summer, Daly did indeed start every single game as England won the Euros – but she did so as a left-back. Wiegman has a real dearth of options in the role, and the versatile 31-year-old proved to be dependable there, though not perfect. After all, she’s always been a forward at club level, but had struggled to break through in those areas for her country, occasionally playing as a winger, but never really as a No.9.

However, Daly’s form for new club Villa proved to be too good to ignore, earning her a chance to start up front in November against Norway – a game she marked with a goal. In February, she got the nod up top again in the Lionesses’ second match of the Arnold Clark Cup. On this occasion, she scored twice more against Italy and was named Player of the Match.

Ending the season with nine goals in her final five league outings for Villa, one fewer than Russo managed all season for Manchester United, Daly smashed a ton of records, won the Golden Boot and helped her club to a record fifth-placed finish.

“I did have a pretty decent year,” she said in modest fashion ahead of the World Cup. “But my answer certainly remains that I'm very happy to play wherever.”

Based on the numbers, many might think this is not much of a selection headache. However, there’s a lot more to it than first appears.

Firstly, the work Russo does to create room for others can often go unnoticed, even if it certainly shouldn’t do. She’s a clever footballer with great ability in possession and has formed strong relationships with the wingers at the side of her, as well as with former United team-mate Ella Toone in the attacking midfield role.

During the Euros last summer, White didn’t prove to be the most prolific No.9 for England, but Wiegman stuck with her for each match, using her to tire out defenders before bringing Russo on. Perhaps she envisions the latter now taking up that role, with Daly or England to come off the bench to profit from her efforts.

That said, as mentioned, Daly is taking her chances to shine when she gets them, and it seems Wiegman is a little unsure at who to pick just yet. Both got 45 minutes each to impress in England’s send-off friendly against Portugal, for example.

“Competition has been so high,” Russo said in late June. “Rachel and Beth, we’re all competing. They are top, top players so to be able to play with them and train with them every day has been great. The wingers too. There is so much competition all over the pitch, but as a player that’s exactly what you want in the squad.”

Whatever choice Wiegman makes this summer, the starting No.9 is certainly going to be kept on their toes throughout the Lionesses’ time in Australia.

Evident in that Portugal game was how much both Russo and Daly have played in the No.9 role in this England team. Daly started and made a lot of really good runs in the game but, after a couple of early chances, she was rarely found by her team-mates. The passes were often just not what she wanted or needed, with those relationships still being formed and fine-tuned between her and the creative forces of the team.

“It's about building those connections,” winger Lauren Hemp said about Daly recently. “We've been working hard in training over the last couple of weeks to be able to find those connections and what she likes best, where she's going to run in the box, when I need her and things like that.”

As for Russo, she came off the bench at the break and was immediately picked out numerous times as England looked to break the deadlock. Fantastic defending from former Chelsea defender Ana Borges was the only thing that stopped her doing that within minutes, but she will have been disappointed with two chances she failed to hit the target with after that.

Either way, she certainly demonstrated how strong those relationships are with the players around her – and, interestingly, how good she can be as an impact sub.

Also thrown into the mix of this selection headache is England, who ended the season in fine form for Spurs. After joining the club from Chelsea in January, she scored 12 goals in as many games to help them stay up, earning her a place in Wiegman’s World Cup squad. It was her first call-up since September.

“I think there were ultimately lots of reasons why I left [Chelsea], the World Cup being one of them,” the striker explained. “At first, it was an entirely different culture shock. I have never been in a relegation battle before. It was kind of like I had to take on a new role where I became more of a leader. I led from the front. I was having to try and make things happen a lot more and obviously not having the ball as much as I am used to.

“The biggest [difference] I would say leading into the World Cup is that Sarina has been in a position where she has been able to see me more, playing regularly, scoring goals - whereas going into the Euros, she had only seen snippets of it. So I am hoping, as a collective, everyone can see what qualities I can bring. They know I can bring that to this team and hopefully I am put in a position where I can help showcase that.”

It does feel like the battle for the No.9 shirt is more between Russo and Daly, particularly with England not being called up for eight months. But as Wiegman searches for the right candidate to lead the line for the Lionesses, the Spurs star will certainly still be in her thinking, and could be a very dangerous substitute, especially given how high her confidence is right now.

Throughout the Euros last summer, Wiegman did not change her starting XI once. White was the starting No.9, Russo was her replacement from the bench and England didn’t see a minute of action, with tweaks few and far between. It feels like things will be different this time around, though.

Given the distance England will have to travel, that there is an extra game at the World Cup compared to the continental championship and the competition for places, the coach might tweak things a little more.

At the Olympics, her last tournament as Netherlands boss, she did rest star striker Miedema for a group-stage game, and she changed her forward line ahead of the semi-finals at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, too, so it’s not out of the question for there to be more alterations.

It could mean we see a little more of this trio of strikers, then, whether from the start or the bench, particularly given the sensational form that Daly and England, the two names chasing down Russo’s shirt, are in.

“I think [it’s] really been emphasised to be honest, that there's no set places in the squad,” defender Esme Morgan said recently. “There's so much competition in every single position across the pitch and really, in training, you can see that.

“The standard is so, so high and it's really, really exciting and a challenge to be a part of, to play against some of the players that you do. But it's definitely been emphasised that it's going to be performance-dependent. It's going to be based on what's required for each game. So, it's not necessarily set in stone.”

So, who will Wiegman pick? It’s extremely difficult to know. England’s send-off friendly was more than two weeks ago now, but the Lionesses have played another game since then, a behind-closed-doors friendly on July 14 against Canada that ended goalless.

No one outside of the camp – aside from their opponents, of course – knows how Wiegman’s various options performed and who might’ve staked a big claim to start. That makes things a little bit more unpredictable from the outside.

There are other factors that could be considered by the coach, too. Haiti are the lowest-ranked team that England will face in the group stages, so perhaps there could be an element of trying out something different. There is also Morgan’s statement that the teams will be based on what is needed for the game, so perhaps Wiegman will pick the striker that has the traits most likely to cause the Caribbean nation problems.

Whatever the choice, England will have a top quality striker leading the line – and two more on the bench ready to come on if needed.