Alessia Russo

Alessia Mia Teresa Russo (born 8 February 1999) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for the North Carolina Tar Heels.[2] She previously played for Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion. A senior England international, Russo has also represented England at under-15, under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels.

Alessia Russo
Personal information
Full name Alessia Mia Teresa Russo[1]
Date of birth (1999-02-08) 8 February 1999
Place of birth Maidstone, England
Height 172 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Midfielder / Forward
Club information
Current team
 North Carolina Tar Heels
Number 19
Youth career
Chelsea
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017– North Carolina Tar Heels 57 (28)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Chelsea 1 (0)
2017 Brighton & Hove Albion 7 (3)
National team‡
2013–2014 England U15 2 (0)
2014–2016 England U17 27 (17)
2017– England U19 11 (0)
2017– England U20 7 (4)
2019– England U21 8 (0)
2020– England 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 December 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 March 2020

Club career

Early years

After captaining the team's development squad,[3] Russo earned her first and only appearance with Chelsea L.F.C. during the first round of the FA WSL Continental Cup.[4] Russo joined Brighton & Hove Albion for the start of the 2017 FA WSL Spring Series.

North Carolina Tar Heels

In 2017, Russo moved to the United States to play college soccer, joining ACC team North Carolina Tar Heels.[5] As a freshman she appeared in 19 games, making 18 starts. She finished as the leading scorer on the team with 9 goals as well as 2 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. In 2018, 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.[6]

International career

Russo has represented England on the under-15,[7] under-17 and under-19, under-20 and under-21 national teams.[8] In October 2015, she scored five goals against Croatia during their first Euro qualifying match helping England win 13–0.[9] In May 2016, she scored a brace against Germany in the semi-final of the European Championship.[10] She competed at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Jordan[11] and was part of the squad that finished third at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14]

Honours

College

North Carolina Tar Heels

International

England U20s

Individual
  • ACC Freshman of the Year: 2017
  • ACC Offensive Player of the Year: 2018

References
  1. "List of Players - England" (PDF). FIFA. 24 September 2016. p. 4. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  2. "Alessia Russo profile". UNC Tar Heels Athletics. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  3. Oberg, Tim (16 July 2015). "Chelsea här för att utvecklas". Goteborgs-Posten. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  4. "WSL Continental Cup - First Round review: Drama at the Hive, as Chelsea crash out to buzzing Bees". Vavel. 3 July 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  5. "Tar Heel Women's Soccer Adds Nine Newcomers For 2017". UNC Tar Heels Athletics. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  6. "Russo named Second-team All-America". UNC Tar Heels Athletics. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  7. Hoad, Alex (9 November 2012). "Maidstone schoolgirl Alessia Russo scores on her England under-15 debut". Kent Online. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  8. Tucker, Craig (12 July 2016). "Chelsea and England footballer Alessia Russo targets World Cup in Jordan after starring at European Championships". Kent Online. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  9. "Stanway and Russo each score five as England run riot". England FA. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  10. Lavery, Glenn (13 May 2016). "All eyes on the World Cup after Euro defeat by Germany". England FA. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  11. Association, The Football. "Alessia Russo stays grounded despite World Cup heroics". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  12. "ENGLAND WIN BRONZE MEDAL AT FIFA U20 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP". The FA. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  13. Veevers, Nicholas (26 February 2020). "Alessia Russo to join England squad for SheBelieves Cup, with Lucy Bronze ruled out". The Football Association.
  14. "Spain Defeats England 1-0 on Final Match Day of 2020 SheBelieves Cup". www.ussoccer.com. 11 March 2020.
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