England have two jobs to do tonight. The first, avoiding an almighty upset and progressing past Greece on aggregate in their WomenâÂÂs World Cup playoff to reach a final tie, should be a formality for one of the worldâÂÂs best-resourced teams. The second, honing their style to play like contenders for next summerâÂÂs World Cup in Brazil, is a far trickier but crucial challenge.
FridayâÂÂs relatively uninspiring 3-1 first-leg victory in Crete left room for improvement and England had plenty to work on as they trained at St GeorgeâÂÂs Park on Monday under gloomy-looking clouds. More broadly, over the next eight months, there are six questions facing the European champions.
1. Can England defend well enough to win a world title?
England had 58 touches in GreeceâÂÂs box and turned that into three goals, whereas Greece had two touches in EnglandâÂÂs box but managed to score and hit the crossbar. Sarina Wiegman said she was not happy her team had conceded. Their defending in JuneâÂÂs 4-0 defeat by Spain also left much to be desired, and it feels as if England are not yet certain about who should partner the captain, Leah Williamson, at centre-back. Wiegman mentioned on Monday that stopping counterattacks was something they must fix â they also struggled defending quick breaks in April 2025 when losing in Belgium. That year, they found a way to win the Euros but they must tighten up defensively if they want to win a first world title in the Maracanã in July.
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Japan have constantly pushed the boundaries in womenâÂÂs football, whether it be with regular success in Asia or their ability to beat the biggest nations in the world.
Nadeshiko won the WomenâÂÂs World Cup in 2011 and reached another final in 2015, while more established countries fell by the wayside. Japan have not replicated that success but did win the WomenâÂÂs Asian Cup this year under the guidance of Nils Nielsen, who has since been succeeded by Michihisa Kano, and most of the biggest stars play outside the country, with 24 contracted to WomenâÂÂs Super League clubs alone.
Japan are discreet about the secrets behind their success, particularly the easy-on-the-eye style that has become a trademark of the menâÂÂs and womenâÂÂs teams, but one of those secrets lies in the Japanese Football Association (JFA) creating the JFA Academy.
There are three that take girls across the country of 123 million people: Fukushima, Sakai and Imabari. A fourth, Kumamoto Uki, is a boysâ academy only. Fukushima was the first to open, in 2006, with Sakai following in 2012 and Imabari in 2015.
Shota Mishio, an analyst for the national team when they conquered the world in 2011, recently coached in the Fukushima academy, which since the nuclear disaster that preceded their World Cup success by months has moved to Susono City. He offers an insight into how they are able not only to develop world-class individuals but to mould them into a successful unit for the national team.
Sarina Wiegman makes two changes from the first leg in Crete. Jess Carter and Lexi Potter replace Esme Morgan and Laura Blindkilde Brown.
Greece also make a couple of changes. Eleni Saich replaces Eleftheria Drakogiannaki and Stylian Katergiannaki is preferred in goal to Fafailia Petaloti.
England (4-3-3) Hampton; Le Tissier, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood; Stanway, Walsh, Potter; Hemp, Russo, James.
Subs: Keating, Charles, Moorhouse, Blindkilde Brown, Morgan, Fisk, Clinton, Mead, Parkinson, Godfrey, Toone.
Greece (4-3-3) Katergiannaki; Giannaka, Gkouni, Markou, Paterna; Brame, Sarri, Moraitou; Saich, Papatheodorou, Brouksair.
Subs: Giannakouli, Petaloti, Fakinou, Ntarzanou, Kapnisi, Chalatsogianni, Drakogiannaki, Tzourtzevits, Argyriou, Palama, Rapani, Kongouli.
Referee Rasa Grigone (Lithuania).
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of England v Greece at the King Power Stadium in Leicester. It should be a comfortable night for England, who lead 3-1 from FridayâÂÂs first leg in Crete, but the venue for tonightâÂÂs game is a reminder that the strangest things can happen in football. Greece are extremely long odds to shock England and win this World Cup playoff, but theyâÂÂre not 5,000-1. Stranger things have most definitely happened.
The winners of this tie will meet Ukraine â who beat Slovakia 1-0 this afternoon to complete a 4-1 aggregate victory â in a decisive playoff. What England really want, aside from the bleedinâ obvious, is to improve on a mixed performance in the first leg. Sarina Wiegman was constructively critical after the game, saying that England werenâÂÂt tight enough and didnâÂÂt move the ball as quickly as she would have liked.
England know they need to play a lot better if they are to win the World Cup in Brazil next summer. First, they have to get there.
Kick-off 7.30pm BST.