Potter helps England find magic but World Cup playoff format needs rethink | Tom Garry

Lexi Potter and Lauren James stole the show against Greece but England’s 8-1 aggregate win was one of many lopsided scorelines If there had been a vidiprinter at the King Power Stadium displaying the aggregate scorelines from the night’s Women’s World Cup qualifying playoffs arou

Lexi Potter and Lauren James stole the show against Greece but England’s 8-1 aggregate win was one of many lopsided scorelines If there had been a vidiprinter at the King Power Stadium displaying the aggregate scorelines from the night’s Women’s World Cup qualifying playoffs around Europe, it might have looked more at home on the cricket scoreboard just over a mile further south at Leicestershire’s Grace Road. Sweden 15-0 against Lithuania. Republic of Ireland 12-0 against Kazakhstan.

Netherlands 11-0 against Hungary. How much, therefore, could be gleaned from England’s 8-1 aggregate win against Greece ? It was, irrefutably, a significantly better performance from England, on a night when they got some of their mojo back, they played with a zip and panache, but overall there was plenty to observe but very little new information.

After 180 minutes of football and more than 3,000 miles travelled, to all who correctly guessed the outcome a week ago, congratulations, you were correct: the European champions were able to beat a team ranked outside the world’s top 50 over two legs. Continue reading...