ALESSIA RUSSO is backing England to show Spain why they can be world beaters at Wembley on Wednesday night.
Tomorrow’s 8:00pm Nations League clash will be their first meeting since Spain broke Lionesses’ hearts in the 2023 World Cup final.
England have not beaten the best women’s side on the planet since the quarter-finals of their Euro 2022 winning campaign.
But the squad that toppled Spain that day will be entirely different to the one that steps out in front of a 55,000-strong crowd at the national stadium.
Five players are injured – including joint-Golden Boot winner Beth Mead and match winner Georgia Stanway – while Jill Scott, Ellen White and Rachel Daly have retired.
Arsenal striker Russo wants England to move forward with their new generation and avoid focusing on revenge for the World Cup.
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Among England’s newer rising stars is Grace Clinton who started against Portugal on February 21 in a League A group C encounter.
Tonight could the six-capped Manchester United ace feature in midfield again with Stanway recovering from a collateral knee ligament tear.
Russo said: “We have lots of new faces and quality in the squad now.
“Revenge reflects on the past a little bit. It hurt and it wasn’t nice to lose out, but we want to be moving forward.
“We have a new opportunity and we have all of our fans there.
“We have a new team now, lots of different new faces, lots of energy around the place which is nice. We are in a good place and enjoying our football.”
A lacklustre 1-1 draw with Portugal last Friday led to criticism of England’s form with just two wins from their last six games.
But victory tomorrow for head coach Sarina Wiegman would not be about making critics eat their words.
The Lioness boss said: “We’re not playing football to beat the critics. We’re playing football to win games and we can just try to be at our best.
“We want to get more consistency to keep it going longer. Then we move forward.
“Sometimes things go really well, sometimes things don’t go as well. We try to stay neutral.”
Russo, who scored the opener against Portugal, could face Arsenal pals Mariona Caldentey and Laia Codina.
The trio all featured in the last World Cup final in Sydney, which Spain won 1-0.
She added: “Laia and Mariona are both very funny and great additions (for Arsenal)
“I really enjoy speaking to them and talking about (our) different experiences.
“To play alongside them, they bring so much quality.
“As opponents, they are top players. The whole Spanish squad is full of talent.
“This is a test against some of the best players in the world, but it’s also a chance for us to put on some of our best football.”
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