England qualify for 2023 Women's World Cup after Austria win | OneFootball

England qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup following a 2-0 win against Austria on Saturday.

Scorers: Russo 7′, Parris 69′

In their first match since being crowned 2022 Women’s Euros champions, England had more success on the line in their latest World Cup qualifier.

But much like the clash between these two sides during the summer tournament, Austria were no pushovers.

Their united performance limited majority of England’s attacking threats while Julia Hickelsberger and Barbara Dunst kept defenders on their toes.

With only seven shots between both sides in the first half (only two on target), it came down to one magical moment for the deadlock to break.

The quality of Alessia Russo seems to be continuing from this summer as her first-time volley found the back of the net early on.

Coming out after the break, both squad ramped up their efforts with the match still up for grabs.

Austria came close to pulling one back when Hickelsberger almost capitalised on a mistake from goalkeeper Mary Earps but the ball trickled wide.

Meanwhile, Beth Mead and Georgia Stanway were searching for a goal of their own at the other end but fell short.

Eventually, the plane ticket was all but booked when Nikita Parris came off the bench to double the lead for England with a strike into the top-right corner.

In the end, the 2-0 win means England have officially qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this upcoming summer.