England secured a comfortable 3-1 win over Greece in the first leg of their 2027 World Cup qualifying playoff tie.
Georgia Stanway swept home from a fine team move to put the Lionesses ahead before the break, with Maya Le Tissier smashing in the second just after the hour mark.
Alessia Russo struck a quick-fire third to put England firmly in control but Kallisti Brouksair capitalised on poor defending to pull one back for the hosts.
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The Lionesses missed out on automatic qualification after finishing second in the group stage and need a win over two legs to progress to the final round of qualifying.
England finished level on points with Spain but the reigning world champions won the group due to a superior goal difference, meaning Sarina Wiegman's side need to book their World Cup spot via the playoffs.
The road to Brazil continued against Greece, with the second leg taking place at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday.
Should England win the tie, they will face either Ukraine or Slovakia in the final round of qualifying.
Wiegman's 23-player roster included the in-form Alexia Potter who received her first senior call up after making a bright start to the season.
Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone were left out as Wiegman explained the high-profile players' "levels" on the pitch this season were not up to standard.
However, Toone has since been called up to replace Lucy Bronze who left camp with a minor injury and the Manchester United forward will be keen to repay the faith in the all-important playoffs.