Do Lionesses lack ruthlessness in front of goal?

England take a two-goal lead into the second leg of their Women's World Cup qualifying play-off against Greece on Tuesday - but should it have been more?

Sarina Wiegman's side claimed a 3-1 victory in Crete on Friday but left the door open for their opponents - and the manager has demanded more ruthlessness from her team in Leicester (19:30 BST).

The Lionesses had 74% possession in the first leg but only netted three goals from their 26 shots and conceded in the second half, while Greece also hit the bar with a powerful strike.

It is not the first time the Lionesses have struggled to make the most of their chances, so is it an area they need to address?

England's lack of ruthlessness in front of goal has been an occurring theme since 2023 when they finished runners-up to Spain in the World Cup.

In that tournament, they came through the group stage unconvincingly, beating lower-ranked opposition Haiti and Denmark, both 1-0.

In the knockout stage, they got past Nigeria via a penalty shootout and had to come from behind to beat Colombia 2-1 in the quarter-finals.

In World Cup qualifying this year, England have performed well but have not won with ease, edging past Iceland and Spain and under-firing against Greece.

They are creating chances though, and had 58 touches in the opposition box against Greece and 210 passes in the final third.

"We played differently back then [in 2023]. There's a lot more pressure when you're at the World Cup," said midfielder Keira Walsh.

"In these [qualifying] games, the worrying thing would be if we were not arriving in the final third. That would be a bigger problem.

"It's the final pass, final cross and final shot. That was what was missing [on Friday]. I see the girls do that in training every day. They are fantastic at it.

"It's just putting that in the game tomorrow and hopefully we will."

Walsh said their hesitancy in front of goal was "frustrating" and they know there is work to do in the second leg.

One player who has stepped up to the challenge is Arsenal midfielder Georgia Stanway, who is England's top scorer since Euro 2025 with 10 goals.

She ranks inside the top three for most goals scored by European players in internationals and has a minutes-per-goal ratio of 81.

Wiegman hopes others will follow suit and was clear on where she thinks the team can improve when asked about it on Monday.

"We got in good positions but then it's staying onside, having the final pass, the right pass at the right moment, the run at the right time and deciding what cross, what cutback and whether to go for the far post," added the Dutchwoman.

"That is also about the connections between the players in those situations and taking out the counter-attack [threat]."

England's problem is not a lack of talent but perhaps where best to utilise them.

Chelsea's Lauren James has switched positions from being a winger, to a number 10 and even a centre-forward on occasion.

Injuries to strikers Aggie Beever-Jones and Michelle Agyemang has meant there is little competition for Alessia Russo in the number nine role.

Lauren Hemp has been in fantastic form but is not known for her goalscoring prowess, while Beth Mead is used in midfield as well as attack.

Former England striker Ellen White, who remains the Lionesses all-time top scorer, believes building connections and setting the right tempo is crucial.

"You need to build your own rhythm. You can't just whizz the ball around quickly all the time so you need players in midfield who can dictate it," White told the Women's Football Weekly podcast.

"You then have to have connections with players who are close to you, for example between a number 10 and a number nine.

"Fran Kirby was like a dream for me because she could always put the ball near me and I felt like we had a good connection. You have to build those."

The goals are at least being spread around the team with England having had 11 different goalscorers since Euro 2025.

Defenders Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter and Maya le Tissier have all netted in the past 18 months, while England's number nine has added six to the tally.

But England are still not clinical and have not won any games in which they have trailed since the end of Euro 2025, losing to Brazil and Spain on those occasions.

Regular starter Hemp, who has played 687 minutes, has scored just twice, while the talented James has not found the back of the net in her past 425 minutes.

Part of the problem has been that England have often come up against weaker opposition that sit in a low block and they have found it hard to break them down.

"The movement you have around the box is so important. You need to be unselfish in your movement," ex-England midfielder Kirby told Women's Football Weekly.

"You need runs in behind, even if they won't get the ball. You have to entice teams to come out. You need one person to make a mistake and leave space.

"You also need to pass to someone who has a higher percentage shot position than you. It seemed rushed [against Greece] instead of controlled.