Puskas award recognition ‘huge’ for women’s game, says England striker Alessia Russo

Alessia Russo admitted that being nominated alongside Kylian Mbappe for the FIFA Puskas award is “surreal” but insisted the recognition is “huge” for women’s football.

Russo’s backheel in England’s Euro 2022 semi-final victory over Sweden is one of three goals scored by women who are part of the shortlist of 11 nominations for the 2022 award, which is decided by public vote.

The Manchester United striker is nominated alongside some of the biggest names in world football, including Mbappe, Richarlison and Mario Balotelli.

Alessia Russo’s backheel shot is one of three goals scored by women on the 11-player roster

“It’s huge, as much as you don’t want to say it’s surreal, it is,” Russo said of his nomination.

“A few years ago that would not have been the case, so now to have this kind of recognition for female footballers, not just in England but around the world, is huge.” It’s huge for where we want the sport to go and you can tell that this is the direction it’s headed in now.

‘An amazing goal is an amazing goal, it doesn’t matter if it comes from men’s or women’s football. I think it’s great. We want women’s football to live up to and be recognized with the best. Now it’s coming. It’s great for the game.

‘I know that when I was a child, watching Puskas’ goals, there were never women there. It’s great for women’s sports, women’s soccer, and young girls.

“She’s really nice and nothing less than what women’s soccer deserves. The likes of Beth [Mead] winner of Sports Personality of the Year, it’s nice to see top athletes being recognized for what they’ve done.

“It took many years to get to this point for women’s sport and women’s football in particular, but now things are paying off.

Russo’s backheel, which struck Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl like a nut, became a social media sensation overnight. The boots Russo wore during the match were on display at the Tower of London, while the goalkeeper shirts went on sale shortly after the tournament.

“The boots at the Tower of London were the most amazing thing, and then Art of Football showed up with a jersey on, and then Adidas got hold of that and wanted to put the Adidas boots on him, which was really nice.

‘I have one, I haven’t used it but I have one. Some of the girls have them and use them sometimes to wind me up, I get a little embarrassed when people use them to be honest.

“The club I used to play for growing up was called Bearsted, they had a training session a few days after the game and one of their exercises was a heel drill, I don’t know why but I just wanted to add it to their session! So it was really cool – they sent me some nice videos of all of that, which was lovely.”

Russo joked that she is “a bit sick” of being asked about the goal, but admitted that it is probably the best she has scored in her career.

‘I think it has to be [the best]. Any goal in a major competition is huge, and then in the semi-final, and the nature of it.

“The goal was an instinctive moment and I was glad it hit the back of the net!”

Fans can vote for their favorite goal on the FIFA website: https://www.fifa.com/the-best-fifa-football-awards/puskas-award