Alessia Russo has collected England women's player of the year and, frankly, it is hard to argue with the logic of it. This was not a sentimental nod or a trophy handed out for reputation alone. It was a fan vote, and it landed on a player who spent the 2025-26 campaign doing exactly what top forwards are supposed to do: show up, start, score and keep England moving.
Russo, 27, featured in all 10 England games in the campaign, started nine and scored five goals. That is the sort of return that does not just pad a profile; it gives a team reliability. England needed it too, because in international football, especially across a busy qualification run, consistency is worth more than occasional sparkle.
The numbers back it up. Russo now has 31 goals in 68 games for England, and her latest award sits alongside the one she won two seasons ago. She also found the net in serious moments, including the third goal in England's 3-1 win over Greece in the first leg of the 2027 World Cup play-off semi-final last week. That mattered because England were due to go again on Tuesday at Leicester's King Power Stadium, and goals in those fixtures are never decorative.
A player who keeps arriving in the right moments
Russo's England story has never been about one grand, isolated flourish. It has been about steady significance. She won her first senior cap as a substitute against Spain in the final game of the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, then went on to help England win Euro 2022 and, three years later, help them retain the title. She has represented England at every stage from under-15s level upwards. That is a proper international career, not a brief hot streak.
There was also a club season that reinforced the point. In May, Russo scored twice in Arsenal's 3-0 win at Aston Villa and helped Arsenal secure Champions League qualification. In September, she was among 30 players nominated for the women's Ballon d'Or. Those details matter because they show a player whose form is not being built on a single tournament or a lucky run. She is keeping herself in the conversation across the board.
There is, of course, a collective side to all of this. Russo was clear that the award felt special because it came directly from the fans, and she also made the obvious but important point that it is always about the team first. That is exactly right. But awards like this are still telling, because they show who supporters trust when the pressure rises and the game starts asking awkward questions.
Russo has become one of those players England can lean on without turning it into a drama. She may not always dominate the headlines in the loudest way, but she keeps producing the sort of output that keeps campaigns alive. In a sport full of noise, that is a very valuable habit indeed.
