Alessia Russo

Early and personal life Born in Maidstone, Kent to Carol and Mario,

Russo first played competitive football from the age of 6, playing for West Farleigh Sports Club in the under 7's boys' team.

Russo played for Bearsted F.C. Girls U10 as a child; in 2022, as part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign, a plaque honouring Russo was installed at the club. In 2006, she was a mascot for her future Manchester United manager Casey Stoney, who was captain of Charlton Athletic while Russo was at the London club's Centre of Excellence. Russo attended the St Simon Stock Catholic School in Maidstone, where she took part in a variety of sports; as well as playing as both a midfielder and a forward in football, she undertook athletics, ran cross country, and competed in cricket and netball.

Club career Youth career and Chelsea Russo played county schools' football for Kent Schools FA whilst attending St Simon Stock School. She began her career at Charlton Athletic's Centre of Excellence, staying with them from 2007 to 2010, Her first and only senior appearance with Chelsea came during the first round of the FA WSL Continental Cup on 2 July 2016.

Brighton & Hove Albion, 2017 In January 2017, Russo joined newly promoted WSL 2 side Brighton & Hove Albion ahead of the 2017 FA WSL Spring Series. She made her Brighton debut on 5 February 2017 in an FA Cup third round victory against AFC Wimbledon. On 11 February, Russo scored Brighton's first ever goal at WSL level in the team's Spring Series opener, a 1–1 draw with London Bees.

North Carolina Tar Heels

2017 In autumn 2017, Russo moved to the United States to play college soccer, joining the ACC team North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman she appeared in 19 games, making 18 starts. She finished as the leading scorer on the team with nine goals as well as two assists and earned several accolades including co-ACC Freshman of the Year, ACC All-Freshman Team selection and United Soccer Coaches All-East Region first team selection. The team won the 2017 ACC Women's Soccer Tournament, beating Duke 1–0 in the final, having finished runners-up to Duke in the regular season. Russo was named tournament MVP and, though having missed matches to join up with the England youth squads, ended the year with a string of personal accolades, including the university's own for best female newcomer in an athletics program. Russo earned a United Soccer Coaches first-team All-America selection, the first Tar Heel to make the first team since Crystal Dunn in 2013, and was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year as North Carolina won the regular season title for the first time since 2008. Russo received increased personal recognition, making national rankings, and was a semi-finalist for the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the nation's best college soccer player; she was joint team lead in scoring with six goals, and North Carolina noted her tendency to score the game-winning goals during her first two years. also making the Hermann Trophy semi-final list again.

Manchester United

2020–21 Russo (left) playing for Manchester United against Lewes in 2023. On 10 September 2020, Russo signed a two-year contract with the option for a third year with Manchester United, the club she grew up supporting. She made her debut three days later as a half-time substitute in a 5–2 league victory over Birmingham City, registering an assist. She scored her first goal for the club in the following game, starting in a 3–0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion. Russo was nominated for WSL Player of the Month in October 2020 with three goals and one assist in three appearances. However, she would miss the rest of the 2020–21 season after tearing her hamstring during training.

2021–22 In the 2021–22 season, Russo led the team in goals with 11 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions and was named the inaugural winner of the team's Players' Player of the Year award.

2022–23 During the January 2023 transfer window, with six months left on her contract, Russo was the subject of two world record transfer bids from WSL rivals Arsenal worth more than the £400,000 Barcelona paid for Keira Walsh in September 2022. Both were rejected.

On 5 March 2023, Russo scored her first hat-trick in Manchester United's 5–1 victory over Leicester City in the WSL to extend Manchester United's lead at the top of the Women's Super League.

On 16 June 2023, it was announced that Russo would leave the club upon the expiry of her contract at the end of the season.

Arsenal

2023–24 Russo in action against Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium in October 2023.

On 4 July 2023, it was announced that Russo had signed for Arsenal on a free transfer. She made her debut for the club during their UEFA Champions League first round qualifying match against Linköping on 6 September 2023. On 9 September, she scored her first goals, a brace, during Arsenal's 3–3 draw against Paris FC in the final of the first round qualifiers, which Arsenal ultimately lost on penalties. On 15 October, Russo scored her first goal for Arsenal in the WSL, finding the net in the 94th minute of stoppage time to seal a 2–1 comeback win against Aston Villa. She scored the winner in the 1–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 3 March. She scored for Arsenal in the 2024 Women's A-Leagues All Stars Game in Melbourne, Australia in a 1–0 victory.

2024–25

In the 2024–25 season, Russo scored for Arsenal in four consecutive matches, including two against Aston Villa. This helped to keep their unbeaten record of eight matches.

At the end of the season, Russo was awarded FWA Women's Footballer of the Year for her impressive season for Arsenal, helping the team win the Champions League for the second time. After scoring 12 goals in 21 league appearances, she also shared the WSL Golden Boot award with Khadija Shaw.

2025–26 On 5 September 2025, Arsenal announced that Russo had signed a new long-term deal with the club, with Russo stating that “Arsenal feels like home” and that “Playing for Arsenal is an honour, and I feel empowered with this badge on my chest.” She scored a hat-trick within the first 30 minutes in a 5–2 North London derby win over Tottenham on 28 March 2026.

International career Youth Russo has represented England on the under-15, under-17 and under-19, under-20, and under-21 national teams. She also played in under-16 matches, captaining this side for a game in November 2014. Russo finished joint top-scorer in qualifying with 9 goals and then again at 2016 UEFA Under-17 Championship, scoring 5 goals including a brace against Germany in a 4–3 semi-final defeat as England finished third. She competed at the 2016 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Jordan and was part of the squad that finished third at the 2018 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Senior On 26 February 2020, Russo was called up to the senior England national team for the first time as part of the 2020 SheBelieves Cup squad, initially as a training player but was later added as an injury replacement for Lucy Bronze. She made her senior international debut on 11 March 2020 in the final game of the tournament, appearing as a 76th-minute substitute for Toni Duggan in a 1–0 defeat to Spain. On 30 November 2021, she scored her first international goals, a hat-trick in a national record 20–0 victory over Latvia during 2023 World Cup qualifying. Timed at 11 minutes, the hat-trick was the fastest by any England player in history.

In June 2022, Russo was included in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2022. She appeared in all six games, all as a substitute, during the campaign as England won the Euros for the first time. She ended the tournament with four goals, the fourth an audacious back-heel between the legs of Sweden keeper Hedvig Lindahl in the semi-final, described as "instantly iconic" by The Guardian. This total placed her third highest, behind her teammate Beth Mead and Germany's Alexandra Popp (six each). Her goal against Sweden was awarded "Goal of the Tournament" by UEFA and was later nominated for the 2022 FIFA Puskás Award.

On 31 May 2023, Russo was named to the squad for the 2023 FIFA World Cup in July 2023. Russo scored England's winning goal in a 2–1 quarter-final win against Colombia. In the World Cup semi-final, Russo scored England's third goal in a 3–1 win against Australia as England reached the World Cup final for the first time.

Russo scored in both the 2–1 win against France and the 2–1 win against the Republic of Ireland, helping secure England's qualification for the Euro 2025.

On 22 October 2024, she was named England Women's Player of the Year for the 2023–24 season.

On 21 February 2025, Russo scored her first goal of the year, against Portugal, during their opening Nations League game, which ended in a 1-1 draw. On 3 June, she scored on her 50th appearance for England in a 2–1 Nations League defeat against Spain. Two days later, she was named in England's squad for UEFA Euro 2025. During the final, also against Spain, on 27 July, Russo scored the equalising goal in the 57th minute with England ultimately going on to win the tournament for the second consecutive time through a penalty shoot-out.

Playing in England's 2027 World Cup qualifying campaign, Russo scored in a 1–0 win over Iceland on 18 April 2026, in what was the 500th fixture played in the Lionesses' history. The goal took her into the top 10 all time goal-scorers.

Russo has been awarded the Legacy number 215 by The Football Association.

Career statistics College

Club .

International Statistics accurate as of match played 9 June 2026.

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Russo goal.

Honours North Carolina Tar Heels Atlantic Coast Conference regular season: 2018, 2019 ACC Women's Soccer Tournament: 2017, 2019 NCAA Division I College Cup runners-up: 2018, 2019

Manchester United Women's FA Cup runner-up: 2022–23

Arsenal Women's League Cup: 2023–24 UEFA Women's Champions League: 2024–25

England U17 UEFA Under-17 Championship third place: 2016

England U20 FIFA U-20 World Cup third place: 2018

England

UEFA Women's Euro: 2022, 2025 Arnold Clark Cup: 2022, 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup runner-up: 2023

Individual UEFA Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2016 UEFA Under-17 Championship Top Scorer: 2016 UEFA Under-17 Championship qualification Top Scorer: 2016 ACC Freshman of the Year: 2017 ACC Offensive Player of the Year: 2018 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I first team All-America: 2018, 2019 FA Women's Super League Goal of the Month: November 2021, December 2024 FA Women's Super League Player of the Month: March 2022, April 2024, December 2024 PFA WSL Team of the Year: 2024–25, 2025–26

PFA Fans' Player of the Month: November 2022 Manchester United Women's Players' Player of the Year: 2021–22 Manchester United Women's Goal of the Season: 2022–23 (vs. Arsenal, 19 November 2022) UEFA Women's Championship Bronze Boot: 2022 UEFA Women's Championship Goal of the Tournament: 2022 UEFA Women's Championship Team of the Tournament: 2025 Freedom of the City of London (announced 1 August 2022) Women's Football Awards Player of the Year: 2023 FIFA FIFPRO Women's World 11: 2023 Arsenal Women's Player of the Month: April 2024, December 2024, February 2025, March 2025 England Women's Player of the Year: 2023–24 2025–26