Alessia Russo's feelings as England Lionesses star's brother enters Love Island
Alessia Russo is set to lead the line for England in the upcoming Women's European Championships but her brother - once a budding footballer himself - faces a different summer
As Arsenal and England star Alessia Russo prepares to lead her country's charge at the upcoming European Championships, her brother faces a rather different summer. While Alessia is in Switzerland with the Lionesses, Gio Russo will be on Love Island.
Gio (short for Giorgio) was once a budding footballer himself, playing for a number of non-league clubs, and has a big interest in sport himself. However, as the reality show star explained, his sister is also a Love Island fan.
"She's really excited, she watches every year and reckons I can do well so she's excited to see how I get on," Gio told ITV. With Gio looking for love, he has also outlined the need for any potential partner to be into sport.
"My sister plays pro football, so being interested in sport, they don't have to know football or understand it, but if they can show some sort of interest because it is such a prominent thing in our family," he said. "It would be hard if they hated it.
"Other green flags are having a nice family, I'm sick of being the 7th wheel in my own family!" added Gio ahead of his late addition to the show, which began on June 9.
The timing of the reality show meand Gio could miss a great deal of Alessia's involvement at the Euros. England begin their campaign against France on July 5, with The Netherlands and Wales rounding off the group.
England and France were also paired together in qualifying, with Alessia scoring for Sarina Wiegman's team during a victory in Saint-Etienne. The Arsenal star scored four times for the Lionesses as they won the Euros on home soil in 2022, and was England's top scorer in qualifying for the 2025 tournament with three.
Wiegman's team have a farewell friendly on Sunday, at home to Jamaica at the King Power Stadium. Alessia Russo scored in England's most recent game, a UEFA Nations League match away to Spain, though that ended in a narrow 2-1 defeat.
Gio, isn't the only islander with football connections. Dejon Noel-Williams, son of former Watford striker Gifton and a Grenada international footballer in his own right, is also part of the line-up.
"I've met all kinds of famous people through him," said Dejon, who works as a personal trainer and semi-pro footballer. "When I was younger it was weird because he was just my dad, but we'd go to a game and fans were asking for photos. I've met David Beckham, he was really nice."
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