Hampton: Back-to-back wins a bonus

Hannah Hampton played down her individual heroics as she produced a number of excellent late saves to secure a 1-0 win for the Lionesses in Iceland on Saturday.

In the 500th match of the England women’s history, the Chelsea and Lionesses' number one had a decisive role, producing two superb reflex saves from close range in the second half.

This came after Alessia Russo’s turn and finish in the 21st minute had given Sarina Wiegman’s side the lead.

“We know it was a tough second half, they threw more bodies forwards and more dangerous balls in later in the game but we got there in the end,” Hampton said after the match.

On her standout saves, she added: “It is my job isn’t it really, let’s be honest. We are in it as a team, I can’t score goals but I can stop them. We win as a team and that is what we pride ourselves on. We are a right pack, as they call it. ‘Less got a great finish at one end, I had to do my job at the other.

“We would've liked to have controlled the game better than we did but we know they have a lot of threat when they have momentum. There were a lot of balls into our box, set-pieces, they have proved they can do that before. We needed to make sure we were really solid in defensive areas. It was nerve-wracking but it was a positive result.”

And victory, after a 1-0 win against Spain at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, means the Lionesses are three points clear at the top of Group C in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 qualifiers. Only one team qualifies automatically, so victory in the return fixture against Spain in June would guarantee progression to next summer’s tournament in Brazil.

On going into the Iceland match as favourites to win the group, Hampton said: “That never goes well for England, we always like to make it chaotic. We knew we wanted to get six points from this camp and we managed it, it is a big bonus. We go into the next camp with positivity around us.”