Alessia Russo wins England player of the year after five-goal campaign

Alessia Russo has been named England women's player of the year for the 2025-26 season after supporters voted the Arsenal forward ahead of Lucy Bronze and Hannah Hampton. England Football announced the result on Sunday, confirming a second award for Russo, who previously received the honour for the 2023-24 campaign.

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The official announcement said thousands of fans took part in the vote, with Bronze finishing second and Hampton third. Russo appeared in all ten of England's matches during the season covered by the award and scored five goals. She started nine of those games, including each of the Lionesses' six qualifying fixtures for the 2027 Women's World Cup.

Two performances highlighted in England Football's report showed her contribution to that qualifying campaign. Russo scored twice in the 6-1 win over Ukraine in March and supplied the only goal when England beat Iceland 1-0 in Reykjavik. Those three goals formed part of the five-goal total recognised by voters, alongside her involvement across the full ten-match schedule.

Russo was presented with the award by girls representing the Alessia Russo Foundation. They attended an open England training session as invited guests at the beginning of the current international window. Responding to the honour, she thanked supporters for choosing her and credited her team-mates, emphasising the collective effort behind her performances. She also expressed her enjoyment of representing England and her hopes for the season ahead.

The announcement follows another international goal for Russo in England's 3-1 victory against Greece in Heraklion on Friday. According to England Football, that strike took her international tally to 31. Georgia Stanway and Maya Le Tissier also scored in the first leg of the teams' opening-round World Cup qualifying play-off, giving England a two-goal advantage in the tie.

England will host Greece at Leicester's King Power Stadium on Tuesday, 13 October, for the return leg. Qualification remains in progress: the Lionesses are seeking to reach the next stage of the process for the 2027 tournament. Russo's latest goal came after the 2025-26 campaign on which the newly announced award was based.