The fallout of a failed crusade led to Wiener Neustadt’s creation in 1194 but England will remember it as the place where their World Cup qualifying mission was accomplished.

Although the city’s 3,000-capacity stadium, an hour’s drive south of Vienna, seemed a slightly underwhelming setting for the Lionesses’ first match since winning Euro 2022 in front of nearly 90,000 fans at Wembley in July, it was perhaps a fitting venue. A settlement built with the ransom money paid by the English to secure King Richard I’s release after his capture by Duke Leopold of Austria as the Lionheart returned from a failed attempt to take Jerusalem certainly seemed an appropriate springboard for an impending attempt at global domination.

Winning next year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will not be easy but there is now a sense that, with Alessia Russo around to lead the attack, anything is possible.

Russo’s seventh-minute volley – her ninth goal in 14 senior appearances – swiftly blew a gaping hole through Austria’s carefully constructed rearguard. Although they subsequently gave England a few frights, the defence held firm.

The somewhat strange presence of a giant pink water slide behind one of the stands – the stadium is situated next to an aqua park – lent a pre-season feel to the occasion, and the understandable lack of on‑pitch sharpness during the first half in particular made it seem more like a friendly than a key qualifier.

Granted, Sarina Wiegman’s decision to start Lauren Hemp on the right wing and Beth Mead on the left rather than in their customary positions on the opposite sides was arguably misguided, but England could not have been expected to be at their best 34 days after beating Germany in the Euro 2022 final and with the Women’s Super League not starting until next week.

Mission accomplished: England can begin planning for 2023 World Cup

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