Stapleton Scores Twice As Foxes Near World Cup Qualification

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Stapleton Scores Twice As Foxes Near World Cup Qualification

Jessie Stapleton netted in both games for Republic of Ireland, who along with Switzerland and Finland, took one step closer to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

2026-10-14T13:25+01:00

by Matthew Temple

Published

14 Oct, 2026

Stapleton Scores Twice As Foxes Near World Cup Qualification

Jessie Stapleton netted in both games for Republic of Ireland, who along with Switzerland and Finland, took one step closer to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Matthew Temple

2026-10-14T13:25+01:00

Stapleton Scores Twice As Foxes Near World Cup Qualification

Jessie Stapleton netted in both games for Republic of Ireland, who along with Switzerland and Finland, took one step closer to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Matthew Temple

2026-10-14T13:25+01:00

Stapleton Scores Twice As Foxes Near World Cup Qualification

Jessie Stapleton netted in both games for Republic of Ireland, who along with Switzerland and Finland, took one step closer to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Matthew Temple

2026-10-14T13:25+01:00

Stapleton Scores Twice As Foxes Near World Cup Qualification

Jessie Stapleton netted in both games for Republic of Ireland, who along with Switzerland and Finland, took one step closer to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Matthew Temple

2026-10-14T13:25+01:00

Jessie Stapleton scored in both matches for Republic of Ireland who beat Kazakhstan
Alisha Lehmann came off the bench twice for Switzerland who were victorious against Israel
Paulina Nyström's Finland got past Serbia in their bid for FIFA Women's World Cup Brazil qualification
Poppy Pritchard was an unused substitute for England Under-23s during their 2-0 loss to Norway

It's been a successful international break for the Foxes, with our European players all one step closer to booking a place at next summer's World Cup in Brazil, while Poppy Pritchard was part of the Young Lionesses squad that faced Norway.

Starting with the Republic of Ireland, Stapleton, who joined us this summer, played the full 90 minutes in both matches against Kazakhstan and netted in each game. First, she scored the final goal late on at Astana Arena in an 8-0 victory, before opening the scoring a few days later at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, as they secured a 4-0 win.

Training with the Finland National Team.

Heather Payne was an unused substitute in both games, while midfielder Jess Ziu didn't feature, as Ireland beat Kazakhstan 12-0 on aggregate to book a place in a final play-off against Poland later this year.

For Alisha Lehmann, the winger came off the bench in both of Switzerland's wins over Israel. Introduced in the final 10 minutes of a 7-3 away victory, she played just under half an hour in the second leg, which saw Iman Beney and Julia Stierli score in a 2-0 win. The Swiss will now face Austria in November and December for a place at the World Cup.

Paulina Nyström failed to make it off the bench for Finland in either match against Serbia, but City's No.17 did witness consecutive 3-1 victories. This means her home nation will take on European heavyweights Italy in a bid to secure a place at next summer's competition.

King Power Stadium hosted the Lionesses for a third time on Tuesday evening.

Finally, Pritchard had the honour of receiving a call-up to Lydia Bedford's England Under-23s squad, but was also an unused substitute as the Young Lionesses lost to Norway at LNER Community Stadium on Monday evening. They'll now face Belgium in November for matchday two of the European Women's Under-23 Competition.

The round of international fixtures also saw King Power Stadium host the Lionesses' 5-0 win over Greece as England continued their World Cup qualification campaign. The Leicester players will now rejoin the group at Belvoir Drive ahead of Saturday's Subway Players Cup match against Watford, which kicks off at 3pm BST.

Nyström image courtesy of Finland National Team.

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