Alessia Russo wants England to play without fear despite pressure against Netherlands
By Laura Howard, Sportsbeat
Alessia Russo says England want to be as free as possible when they play the Netherlands on Wednesday despite the pressure to get a result.
The Lionesses lost their opening Group D match 2-1 to France, meaning a result against Oranje Leeuwinnen is a must if they want to keep hopes of progressing to the knockout stages alive.
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It heaps the pressure on England but Russo insists they must play without fear if they are to be successful in the face of a technically astute Dutch side.
'It's massively [important]. We have so many great players and we want everyone to be as free as possible out on that pitch on Wednesday night and going forward,' she said.
'It's a big part of what we are as a team. We have players that can create something out of nothing.
'Making sure that everyone is in a good headspace going into that game is important and that's what we've been doing as a team.
'Ultimately, you have to have a game plan, but we've got individuals who can create a bit of magic as well.'
Russo herself is one such player, a fact the opposition will know all too well with several familiar faces on the team.
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Club teammates Victoria Pelova and Daphne van Domselaar will likely feature on Wednesday, while there is plenty of Women's Super League representation in the Dutch squad.
It means Russo will come against the goalkeeper she trains week in, week out against at Arsenal but the 26-year-old is solely focused on England's capabilities.
'She's a world-class goalkeeper and someone that is a very talented player but as a team we're very focused on how we can create and the positions that we want to find ourselves in on the night,' she explained.
'We're aware that they have lots of talented players and Daph's definitely one of them but we've been looking at ourselves and how we can best prepare.'
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Alongside Van Domselaar, Russo lifted the Champions League trophy in Lisbon in May having also featured in the past two major tournament finals at international level.
Just like knockout football, Wednesday marks a must-win encounter as England would find their chances of progression severely dented if the result goes any other way.
But the England forward is yet to experience such pressure so early on in an international tournament.
'It's a different scenario but one that we as a team are ready for. Every tournament makes me learn something different and brings out different parts of my game and my mentality,' said Russo.
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'You have to adapt and you learn a lot from these experiences. We've also got players like Lucy [Bronze] and Alex [Greenwood] who have been to lots of major tournaments and have that wealth of experience.
'We can lean on them at times as well. We've played in high pressure moments before and ultimately we know that this is one of them too, but we're looking forward to that.'
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