Time to sign off. I’ll leave you with Suzy Wrack’s match report:
And now a word with the opening goal scorer, Alessia Russo. Is she hoping to make the No 9 shirt her own? “I’m just loving every minute I get to play for England,” she says. “I just want to take the chances I’m given.”
She pays tribute to White – “a true, true goal scorer” – and says the team are looking forward rather than back after their Euros triumph. “It was a special summer, but there’s no time to reflect. We have some big games coming up, and a World Cup to look forward to.”
A reminder that Sarina Wiegman is still unbeaten as England manager – winning 19 of her 21 games. The Lionesses have won nine from nine World Cup qualifiers, scoring 70 and conceding zero.
And here’s Nikita Parris, scorer of the second goal: “It was a tough game, they always defend well against us … second half, we had much more momentum. That’s what I want to be doing, scoring goals for this team.
“We’ve had great games, great performances and we have to keep that going with the World Cup coming up. We’ve got a lot of depth and quality, you’ve seen Lauren James coming on today, Ebony Salmon on the bench – young players coming through.”
Sarina Wiegman speaks, and pays tribute to Ellen White and Jill Scott. “We miss them, on and off the pitch! Too bad I could only work with them for one year, but I understand their decisions. We would love to have them with our group still, but it’s a chance for other players to come through and be leaders.”
The England manager is also looking forward to October’s friendly against the USA at Wembley. “Teams in Europe have been trying to catch up with them for a long time! It’s a good test, another high level match, and going back to Wembley.”
Sarina Wiegman gathers her players and staff in her usual post-match huddle on the pitch. With qualification assured, the team can enjoy the occasion on Tuesday with 30,000 fans expected for the final game against Luxembourg in Stoke.
England qualify for 2023 Women's World Cup!
Full time! Austria 0-2 England Alessia Russo’s early opener and a fine finish from substitute Nikita Parris have proved enough to earn victory here, and secure England’s place at next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
93 mins: Georgieva gets her volley on target, but Earps is safely behind it. And that’s that!
92 mins: Austria get a free kick as Lauren Hemp is penalised. England are yet to concede a goal in this qualification campaign. Can the hosts change that?
91 mins: James gets a few touches as England cruise towards the final whistle. The rain has just started falling, so maybe hold off on the water park trip.
89 mins: There will be three added minutes. England fans can probably make a move for the water park now.
87 mins: Two more Austria changes. Lisa Kolb replaces Barbara Dunst, while the dangerous Julia Feiersinger goes off, with Marie Höbinger coming on.
84 mins: Rachel Daly comes on for Lucy Bronze. There’s been a tactical tweak up front, with Parris dropping wide and Mead through the middle. James has taken up Toone’s position, in behind the centre-forward.
82 mins: Lauren James is the sibling of Chelsea’s Reece; her debut means they are the first brother and sister to play for England. It’s quite a moment for their dad, Nigel:
80 mins: Nicola Billa goes off, replaced up front by Katja Wienerroither, who is wearing No 2. The Austrian right-back, Laura Wienroither, is wearing No 12. Not ideal. The substitute almost latches on to a through ball immediately, but is flagged offside.
78 mins: Two more England changes, and Lauren James will make her Lionesses debut. She replaces Ella Toone, while Jess Carter comes on for Leah Williamson. Millie Bright takes the captain’s armband.
77 mins: A trademark Keira Walsh pass finds Parris beyond the back four. She controls it perfectly – almost too well – but sees her shot deflected behind. Austria are then given the goal kick, much to her annoyance.
74 mins: Parris wins a corner, with Bronze attacking it but unable to get her head on the ball. Austria threaten to break away but England race back in numbers, and look to have more left in the collective tank than their hosts.
72 mins: Laura Feiersinger fires a low ball right across goal, but nobody in red is on hand to turn the ball in. Austria not quite finished yet …
GOAL! Austria 0-2 England (Parris 70')
England are heading to the World Cup! Georgia Stanway plays a perfect diagonal pass to Nikita Parris, who waits for Zinsberger to move and then fires a finish across her and into the roof of the net!
Updated
68 mins: A first change for Austria, as Hickelsberger-Füller is replaced by Katharina Naschenweng.
67 mins: England have a corner. Stanway swings it in, but Millie Bright is penalised for wrestling with her marker.
65 mins: Remember, Austria need two goals to stop England securing their World Cup place today – but every point counts in the playoff race. Austria could still finish among the top three runners-up, which would mean a bye in the first round.
The Republic of Ireland will be watching with interest, as an England win would boost their own hopes of being seeded for the playoffs.
62 mins: Wiegman makes her first changes, with goal scorer Russo replaced by her new Manchester United clubmate, Nikita Parris. Beth Mead also heads off, replaced by Beth England.
60 mins: Save! Feiersinger curls a shot towards the top corner from the edge of the area, but Earps claws it away! That was the closest Austria have come, and they cause another flutter in the England defence from the corner before Earps claims the ball.
59 mins: Brilliant from Beth Mead, skipping along the byline and lifting the ball over Zinsberger. Russo looks to have an open goal, but Wenninger does very well to get her head to it first, and the grateful keeper collects.
56 mins: Billa almost latches on to a through ball, reminding England’s defence they can’t afford to switch off.
54 mins: Much better from England since half-time, and they’re finding gaps in the Austrian defence. Stanway has another shot from distance that flies wide, before Russo’s shot is comfortably saved by Zinsberger.
Updated
52 mins: Now Leah Williamson has a sight of goal after advancing into the area – but her shot lacks power and is held by Zinsberger, diving low to her right.
50 mins: England have started this second half with plenty of intent, and Mead lays the ball off to Toone, whose shot flies just wide of the far post.
48 mins: England get forward and Mead plays in Bronze, in space to the right of goal. She weighs up a cross and then tries, and fails, to catch Zinsberger out with a shot.
Updated
46 mins: Eek, this was almost a nightmare moment for Mary Earps, who delays her pass and gets closed down by Hickelsberger-Füller. When the keeper does play the ball, it’s deflected off the forward and just wide of the post!
Peep!
The second half is under way.
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Half time! Austria 0-1 England
Alessia Russo’s early goal is the difference at the break, but it’s been far from easy for England, who were on the back foot for long spells in that half. Still, they are 45 minutes away from securing their World Cup spot. Back soon.
44 mins: England win a cheap corner and Russo almost connects at the near post. There’ll be one minute of added time.
43 mins: Stanway finds Bronze on the right, and her cross almost lands at Russo’s feet – in the end, her touch only takes the ball away from the advancing Beth Mead, caught in a tangle of Austrian defenders.
42 mins: England look a bit more like their old selves in the last few minutes, moving the ball through midfield with authority.
40 mins: The hosts’ key tactic is to press and win the ball in midfield, then spring forward – but they haven’t been able to find the killer pass so far.
39 mins: Austria’s midfield are putting plenty of pressure on Walsh, not letting her turn into space in midfield.
37 mins: Russo drops deep to collect a clearance on her chest, and is clattered over by Wenninger. From the free kick, Toone’s ball towards Hemp down the left is overcooked.
36 mins: Bright’s hopeful long ball towards Toone is cut off and Hickelsberger-Füller breaks forward, Greenwood intercepting her cross.
34 mins: Wiegman pushes England upfield, Bright and Williamson beyond the halfway line as they try to build some momentum – but Austria keep pressing, disrupting their rhythm, and Greenwood is penalised for a foul.
32 mins: Earps comes off her line to claim a cross. There is plenty of English support here, despite reports of limited sales to UK-based fans.
Quick! Get back in the slide for kick off! https://t.co/qJL5E2l1bC pic.twitter.com/q4OVC6Zcfs
— Suzy Wrack (@SuzyWrack) September 3, 2022
30 mins: A brief lull in proceedings, punctuated only by the parping of a trumpet in the crowd.
Updated
27 mins: Austria’s full-backs, Hanshaw and Wienroither, are pushing upfield and causing problems – but Bright and Williamson are able to deal with their deliveries, with only Billa in the penalty area.
24 mins: As the patrons of a water park overlooking the ground watch on, Keira Walsh is dispossessed in midfield before Billa’s shot is closed down. England struggling to get any control in this game, but they still lead.
22 mins: We just had a brief loss of picture to go with the shoddy sound, but when it returns, Austria are on the front foot again. Williamson clears a cross before Zadrazil mishits a shot from a tight angle, 18 yards out.
20 mins: England are sitting quite deep as Austria enjoy their best spell so far. Marina Georgieva moves forward and is brought down; from the free kick, Nicole Billa is a little isolated in the area and England can clear.
18 mins: Verena Hanshaw, the left-back, motors past Lucy Bronze and crosses towards Billa – but Williamson is in the right place to boot it clear.
16 mins: Stanway has a crack from distance that flies high and wide. I think the commentary delay has been resolved now.
Here’s the opening goal. Finish!
The perfect start in Austria!
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) September 3, 2022
🙌 @alessiarusso7 🙌
Watch the #Lionesses live on @ITV. pic.twitter.com/nAzKzKyNox
13 mins: This game is being shown on ITV, but directly from the host broadcaster’s feed, by the looks of the graphics. The commentary also seems to be a few seconds ahead of the live pictures. Sort it out!
12 mins: Austria give their opponents a scare, with Julia Hickelsberger-Füller pouncing on a loose pass 20 yards out. She is closed down quickly but still gets a shot away that fizzes about a foot over Earps’ crossbar.
10 mins: Forgive me for stating the obvious but that’s an ideal start for England. Austria proved very tough to break down in that Euro 2022 opener, but the early goal means the hosts will have to push forward.
8 mins: Oof, it should have been two! Hemp bursts beyond her marker down the right and her cut-back takes a deflection, looping into Russo’s path – but her header is straight at Zinsberger.
Beth Mead plays a short pass to Greenwood, overlapping down the left. Her deep cross ricochets off a defender and drops to Russo, who shows terrific instinct to flick the ball into the bottom corner!
Updated
GOAL! Austria 0-1 England (Russo 6')
From their first foray into the Austrian box, England lead!
Updated
3 mins: This stadium has 3,000 seats, with all 2,700 available tickets sold. The terrace behind Mary Earps’ goal is tarped over – at the other end, there’s only coaches parked behind the goal. It’s all a bit of a contrast to Wembley on 31 July.
2 mins: England play it around midfield but Stanway is dispossessed by Dunst, whose shot from 40 yards out drifts well wide.
Peep!
Both sets of players take the knee, to warm applause from the crowd, before England kick off.
The teams are out – Austria in red shirts and black shorts, England in all-white. Let’s do this!
Elsewhere in qualifying today, Germany booked their World Cup place with a 3-0 away win over Turkey. Felicitas Rauch’s penalty opened the scoring in the second half, before goals from Klara Bühl and Lea Schuller.
Germany join Sweden, Spain, France, Norway and Denmark in having qualified for Australia/New Zealand 2023.
Updated
Here’s more from Suzanne Wrack on England’s new era:
The teams
Austria (4-1-4-1): Zinsberger; Wienroither, Wenninger (c), Georgieva, Hanshaw; Puntigam; Hickelsberger-Füller, Zadrazil, Feiersinger, Dunst; Billa.
Subs: Kresche, El Sherif, Wienerroither, Klein, Degen, Schasching, Schiechtl, Kirchberger, Höbinger, Eder, Naschenweng, Kolb.
England (4-2-3-1): Earps; Bronze, Bright, Williamson (c), Greenwood; Stanway, Walsh; Mead, Toone, Hemp; Russo.
Subs: Roebuck, MacIver, Daly, Zelem, Wubben-Moy, Carter, Parris, Nobbs, England, Stokes, James, Salmon.
Here’s how the hosts line up. Austria have already guaranteed at least a play-off place but need a win to keep alive any hopes of overhauling England at the top of the group.
Mit dieser Aufstellung gegen die @Lionesses !
— ÖFB - oefb.at (@oefb1904) September 3, 2022
Live in ORF 1 📺#GemeinsamÖSTERREICH 🇦🇹🦅#OneHeartOneGoal ❤️ pic.twitter.com/dXnqWXV59K
The England team is out …
Here's how our @Lionesses line up for today's @FIFAWWC qualifier against Austria 👊
— England (@England) September 3, 2022
Kick-off is at 4.30pm. Watch LIVE on @ITV! https://t.co/Cd4o7bmgc6
Preamble
England resume their World Cup qualifying campaign in Austria tonight, but this is unquestionably a new era for Sarina Wiegman and her team.
They take to the field as European champions for the first time with several stalwarts absent – Fran Kirby is injured, while Ellen White and Jill Scott have both called time on their careers. The Lionesses need just a point at the Stadion Wiener Neustadt, a modest venue on the outskirts of Vienna, to secure their finals spot next summer.
Even if they lose against the team they faced in the Euro 2022 opener, there is a chance to make amends and get the job done against Luxembourg in Stoke next week. Not that Wiegman will stand for any complacency tonight. “When you’re satisfied with what you’re doing right now, you’ve lost,” she said before the game.
The still-unbeaten England coach marks a year in charge tonight, and her main concern beyond sealing a World Cup place is finding the successor to White up front. Alessia Russo and Ella Toone both start tonight as Wiegman begins shaping her new England side. Kick off is at 4.30pm BST, 5.30pm local time.
