England's lack of ruthlessness in front of goal has been a recurring theme since 2023, when they finished runners-up to Spain at the World Cup. In that tournament, they came through the group stage unconvincingly, beating Haiti and Denmark, both 1-0. They got past Nigeria on penalties and had to come from behind to beat Colombia 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
In this year's World Cup qualifying, England have performed well but have not won with ease, edging past Iceland and Spain and underperforming against Greece. They are creating chances, however, recording 58 touches in the opposition box against Greece and 210 passes in the final third. Midfielder Keira Walsh described the hesitancy in front of goal as frustrating, and said the team knows there is work to do in the second leg.
One player who has stepped up is Arsenal midfielder Georgia Stanway, England's top scorer since Euro 2025 with 10 goals. Head coach Sarina Wiegman wants others to follow suit and has identified the final pass, the right run at the right time and the choice of cross as areas to improve.
England's problem may be less about talent than about deployment. Chelsea's Lauren James has moved between winger, number 10 and centre-forward, while injuries to strikers have left little competition for Alessia Russo. Former striker Ellen White stressed the importance of building connections and setting tempo. Despite spreading goals across 11 different scorers since Euro 2025, England have not won any game in which they trailed since that tournament, and they have struggled against low blocks.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing