England vs Northern Ireland LIVE: Euro 2022 result and final score as Alessia Russo adds to Beth Mead goal

Alessia Russo made an instant impact from the bench as her quickfire double added to first-half goals from Fran Kirby and Beth Mead

Euro 2022: England will be "ruthless" in front of any opposition, says Chloe Kelly

England made it three wins out of three at Euro 2022 as the tournament hosts defeated Northern Ireland 5-0 at St Mary’s Stadium.

Having already qualified for the quarter-finals as group winners, England named an unchanged team for the third match in a row but Northern Ireland defended well in the opening stages to frustrate the Lionesses.

Northern Ireland were already unable to progress to the knockout stages but it took until Fran Kirby’s excellent strike on 40 minutes for England to take the lead, and it was swiftly followed by Beth Mead’s fifth goal of the tournament.

England made three changes at half time but it was Alessia Russo who made the biggest impact, scoring a header and then adding a quick second after a sublime turn and finish.

With England manager Sarina Wiegman unavailable for the match after testing positive for Covid-19, the Lionesses made it five late on after Northern Ireland defender Kelsie Burrows turned Mead’s cross into her own net.

England  will now look forward to a quarter-final against either Spain or Denmark next Wednesday. Follow live reaction from St Mary’s, below:

Euro 2022: England vs Northern Ireland

• GOAL! Burrows turns Mead cross into own net (5-0)
• GOAL! Russo gets second with sublime turn and finish (4-0)
• GOAL! Sub Russo adds England’s third after half time (3-0)
• GOAL! Mead doubles England’s lead shortly before half time (2-0)
• GOAL! Kirby gives England the lead with composed finish (1-0)
• Austria shock Norway in battle for second place and quarter-final spot
• England manager Sarina Wiegman tests positive for Covid-19

[15 July 2022 21:29 · Jamie Braidwood]

England 4-0 Northern Ireland

66 mins: England are in a very comfortable position now - but they still have key players out on the pitch with the quarter-finals still to come. They can only take one more off and at this point, you are surely wrapping Mead up in cotton wool?

[15 July 2022 21:24 · Jamie Braidwood]

England 4-0 Northern Ireland

62 mins: Kelly is indeed next to come on, replacing Hemp.

Russo, meanwhile, is averaging a goal every 22 minutes at Euro 2022.

(The FA via Getty Images)

[15 July 2022 21:21 · Jamie Braidwood]

England 4-0 Northern Ireland

58 mins: Smart play from Toone to turn and drive at goal. Her shot goes wide but these substitutions have just gone to show how deep and balanced this England squad is. So many players are in form.

Chloe Kelly will be next to come on.

[15 July 2022 21:15 · Jamie Braidwood]

GOAL! England 4-0 Northern Ireland (Russo 52’)

Wow! That is quality from Alessia Russo. She receives Ella Toone’s pass on the turn, beating the defender, and the rolls the finish past Burns.

What an impact!

[15 July 2022 21:13 · Jamie Braidwood]

England 3-0 Northern Ireland

And that’s another record! England have now scored 12 goals in the Euros group stage. No team has ever scored more in their three matches.

[15 July 2022 21:09 · Jamie Braidwood]

GOAL! England 3-0 Northern Ireland (Russo 48’)

Super sub! Another brilliant goal for England. Well worked again down the right where Mead is again the creator. She clips it into the middle where Russo sends the header back across goal for her second of the tournament.

That could well have been her first touch!

[15 July 2022 21:07 · Jamie Braidwood]

England 2-0 Northern Ireland

There will be three changes for England at the break.

Alessia Russo, Ella Toone and Alex Greenwood are all on.

Ellen White, Georgia Stanway and Millie Bright are off.

So no record for White tonight.

Back underway!

[15 July 2022 21:03 · Jamie Braidwood]

HALF-TIME: England 2-0 Northern Ireland

Over in the other match in Group A, Austria are leading Norway 1-0 at half-time and as it stands, they will be joining England in the quarter-finals...

What a shock that would be.

[15 July 2022 20:54 · Jamie Braidwood]

HALF-TIME: England 2-0 Northern Ireland

And what a finish this was from Fran Kirby.

[15 July 2022 20:51 · Jamie Braidwood]

HALF-TIME: England 2-0 Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland made it to 40 minutes after frustrating England, but two moments of quality from Fran Kirby and Beth Mead have taken the game away at St Mary’s.

Now it’s a case of how many.