Alessia Russo has said England's Euro 2022 winners are ready for the challenge of facing world champions United States in an "amazing" occasion at Wembley Stadium in October.
Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses, who claimed England women's first major trophy by beating Germany in the final at Wembley on Sunday, will face the four-time World Cup winners for the first time since 2020 in a friendly on Oct 7.
- Lionesses' victory is the start of something special for the game
- England's Euro 2022 success is a platform for the next generation
Interest in the game led to the English Football Association's website crashing temporarily due to demand for tickets following the announcement on Tuesday, with as many as 45,000 fans held in an online queue at one stage.
Manchester United forward Russo, who emerged as a star of the tournament after scoring a back-heeled goal during the 4-0 semifinal win against Sweden, believes that beating the U.S. is the next big objective for the Lionesses.
"They [USWNT] have always been [the benchmark]," Russo told ESPN. "If you think of women's football, you think of what the USWNT have achieved in the past.
"To win so many major competitions is a credit to them and their programme. I used to grow up watching World Cups when I was younger, and U.S. always seem to come out on top, so to take them on at Wembley Stadium will be amazing.
"I think we're ready to take on whoever. Obviously there's still lots of work to be done, but we've had a great tournament and we just hope that we can keep getting better and keep going on to winning more and more."
Since beating Germany in the Euro 2022 final, over 20,000 tickets have been sold for England's World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg in Stoke next month and the clash with the USWNT is expected to be a sell-out at Wembley. Over 87,000 fans attended the Euro 2022 final to make it the biggest crowd ever recorded at a Euros game, in both the men's and women's game.
Russo, who spent two years playing in the U.S. College game with North Carolina Tar Heels, admits she has been stunned by the surge in interest in the game, which has been increased by the arranging of the U.S. clash.
"It's crazy," she said. "I think if you told us that a few months ago, we wouldn't have believed you.
"But yeah, what a time to take on the likes of USWNT, who are ranked so highly in the world and have such a huge history of winning. That'll be an amazing game."