England beat Greece 3-1 in Women’s World Cup playoff opener
What's next: The second leg is Tuesday in Leicester, with the winner advancing to face Ukraine or Slovakia for a Brazil berth.
England took a 3-1 lead over Greece in the first leg of their Women’s World Cup qualifying playoff on Friday in Crete, but the tie remains alive before Tuesday’s return match in Leicester. Georgia Stanway opened the scoring, Maya Le Tissier added her first England goal and Alessia Russo made it 3-0 before Kallisti Brouksair pulled one back for Greece. England, the two-time defending European champion, controlled much of the game against a Greece side ranked 59th and chasing its first major tournament, but also survived an earlier scare when Ioanna Papatheodorou hit the crossbar. The winner of the tie will meet Ukraine or Slovakia in the next round for a place in Brazil.