Alessia Russo


Alessia Mia Teresa Russo is an English footballer who plays as a forward for the North Carolina Tar Heels. 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.

Club career

Early years

After captaining the team's development squad, Russo earned her first and only appearance with Chelsea L.F.C. during the first round of the FA WSL Continental Cup. 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. 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.

International career

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

Honours

College

North Carolina Tar Heels
England U20s