Hampton rescues England in tense Iceland victory
The keeper delivered an outstanding performance to ensure Lionesses claimed vital World Cup qualifying win
England made sure they finished the April international window top of their World Cup qualifying group after a very tense 1-0 win against Iceland in Reykjavík.
The Lionesses were up against it for much of the second half but secured the victory thanks to an Alessia Russo goal in the 21st minute.
Hannah Hampton can take credit for rescuing England in several key moments in the last 15 minutes of the game. The England keeper stepped up to stop Iceland from close range, saving with her feet on multiple occasions.
It wasn’t faultless from the England keeper, there were some nervous moments too. She nearly allowed Sandra Jessen to score in the dying minutes after a rare moment of hesitation. Hampton came out of her goal to try and close down the Iceland striker, but the forward easily tapped it around the keeper, who got away it after Jessen ended up on a tight angle and wasn’t able to find the equaliser.
Hampton had another shaky moment when she spilled a shot from distance and somehow collected the ball in just enough time to stop Sveindis Jonsdottir from tapping in the rebound.
Russo praised her goalkeeper’s performance, telling ITV after the game: “She [Hampton] was amazing. I just spoke out there about big moments keeping us in it and she showed up three or four times to keep that clean sheet and keep the three points.
“It was massive and sometimes you need someone to step up like that”.
This performance contained all Hampton’s multitudes; brilliant individual shot-stopping moments as well as potentially costly errors.
The 25-year-old has had a difficult season, missing a chunk of the campaign through injury and generally struggling to return to the sort of form we saw from her during Euro 2025.
She joked to ITV after the game that it was her “job” to rise to the occasion and pull of big saves for her team.
However, Saturday’s performance was a reminder of Hampton’s talent for brave goalkeeping. She is a player who is willing to take risks, can read the game exceptionally well and without her England would have likely drawn or even lost this fixture.
Sarina Wiegman’s bigger concern will be England's lack of control in the second half.
The Lionesses had over 70% possession in the first half, but that dominance dropped in the second period, as possession fell to 65%, but on the pitch, England struggled to manage the rhythm of the game.
Wiegman’s typically reliable midfield of Walsh and Stanway struggled to gain control of a choppy and messy second half. Every spilled pass or heavy touch was pounced on by Iceland, who more than deserved an equaliser for all their second-half efforts. They also hit the woodwork on two occasions.
England were forced deeper into their own half as Iceland's pressure grew, which prevented the usually aggressive Lucy Bronze at right-back from bombing up the channel and providing an outlet for England’s attack.
The Lionesses created very little outside of Russo’s brilliant finish, her 30th in an England shirt, and that will be cause for concern for the European champions.
Plenty of attacking moves resulted in a shot snatched or sent over the bar. In total, England chalked up 11 shots with just four on target, one fewer than Iceland. Three of England’s attempts were hopeful shots outside the box.
Perhaps it’s unsurprising that England delivered a lacklustre second half after the intensity and discipline of Tuesday night’s 1-0 victory over Spain.
This international window has also fallen in the most critical point of the players’ domestic seasons. Arsenal are just days away from their Champions League semi-final against Lyon, so you’d be forgiven for thinking this game is less than ideal for many.
The most important thing is that England got the job done. They are four from four in World Cup qualifying and sit three points clear of Spain heading into a rematch in Mallorca on 5 June.