England’s super subs spark comeback win in 3-2 thriller

LONDON — There’s something about the Wembley Lionesses and the super substitutes that saves the day. At half-time, England were 2-0 down to the Netherlands and looked like they had frozen on a cold winter’s night. But after the restart England woke up, Beth Mead gave them life, Ella Toone and Alessia Russo came on just after the hour mark and Toone scored a late winner to guide England through at home 3-2.

It was like Euro 2022 all over again, except this time it all took place on a freezing night and it was an England team looking to find some pride and hope in front of a near-sold out Wembley.

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England were poor in the first half against the Dutch, lacking intensity in midfield, and conceding two sloppy and avoidable goals to Lineth Beerensteyn. Both strikes had question marks, but the 2-0 deficit meant England were about to see their chances of winning their Nations League group, and with it, the team’s chances British team to go to the Olympics (England is the chosen team). to qualify Team GB, and to do so they must reach the Nations League final to take one of the two European places).

But then came the changing tide. Mead replaced Chloe Kelly and helped restore balance in midfield. Georgia Stanway was allowed to go further, and England touched the ball less, picked up the pace and scored two quick goals in the 58th minute thanks to a header from Stanway and then a strike from Lauren Hemp at the hour mark.

They kept up the pressure and Toone forced a winner in the 91st minute from a Lauren James cross. England pressed on again, looking for another goal, one that would have been so vital to their hopes of topping the pool. But they couldn’t do it.

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Wiegman: Mead showed she is ready to play for England

Sarina Wiegman discusses Beth Mead’s return to the England squad after recovering from an ACL injury.

The crowd greeted the full-time whistle with enthusiastic celebrations. But perhaps they misunderstood England’s mission on Friday night. After two defeats in four Nations League matches, England needed to win by a two-goal margin to keep things in their hands at the top of the group, ahead of the final group stage match against Scotland on Tuesday. But Belgium’s draw against Scotland tonight and England’s 3-2 win mean England’s chances of topping the group depend on Belgium preventing a Netherlands victory on Tuesday , or England scoring a huge victory against Scotland.

Reflecting on the changes needed for the second half, England manager Sarina Wiegman told ITV: “I don’t think we played badly in the first half, but we needed to score a goal and we thought at half-time “That we needed to change something. So we brought in Beth Mead and then made a few more changes because we felt like we needed better connections and more energy.”

This explains England’s non-existent celebrations at full time after a memorable comeback. Instead, Mary Earps was in tears, Toone fell to the ground with his head in his hands, while others walked around as if they had been defeated. Teams fell to the ground exhausted, England wondering why there was this void in victory. They can still qualify top of the group, but this is not an England team used to things being taken care of.

After Earps said she felt like she let the team down, Weigman said, “I talked to her real quick and I don’t want her to talk like that because you win as a team and you lose as a team. When something at the back, it’s a goal very quickly. It’s part of the game. Of course, she didn’t let the team down. Everyone is doing their best and gives your all. You only let your team down when you don’t put effort into the game.”

England came into this match on the back of a poor run of form since their run to the World Cup final. The defeats in the Netherlands and Belgium were shocking, given that we are so used to seeing England triumph under Wiegman. But on Friday, in front of 71,632 fans at Wembley, there was a feeling the Lionesses could yet produce another stunning performance to keep the ship heading in the right direction.

But the first half quickly put an end to any pre-match optimism. England were dominated in all facets of the field. The opening goal will make England’s defense look gloomy, as they missed the stability of the injured Millie Bright, and the new partnership between Jess Carter and Alex Greenwood lacked familiarity. Beerensteyn took advantage, exploiting Bronze and Carter’s disorganization for the first match, then rushing into a series of mishaps for the second.

HT: England 0-2 Netherlands
FT: England 3-2 Netherlands

The Lionesses make a remarkable comeback against the Netherlands in front of 71,000 supporters at Wembley 👏 pic.twitter.com/bKmLixsu0P

– ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) December 1, 2023

Carter first missed a header, then Greenwood failed to cut out Beerensteyn’s shot and Earps saw the shot go past the near post. But both objectives were lucky to have held, or to have existed. England should have been awarded a corner before the Netherlands scored their opener, but after Hemp’s effort was saved the referee awarded a goal kick. A few seconds later, the Dutch scored. Beerensteyn then appeared offside for the second. But without VAR, both stood. England were down and looking out of sorts.

But then along came Mead at halftime. She was back in an England shirt for the first time in over a year after recovering from an ACL injury. Her presence on the right wing saw her help England rebalance the midfield after being outnumbered and outplayed in the first half. She offered more in midfield than the replaced Kelly and England played with more urgency.

Stanway’s header after 58 minutes came from a brilliant cross from James, while Hemp’s effort from outside the box two minutes later capped off a marvelous quick passing and moving move from the point of attack. Russo and Toone were ready to come into play at this point, but Wiegman sat them down again. Seven minutes later they were introduced and England found another gear. But it wasn’t until the 91st minute that they broke the Dutch resolve for a third time when James’ cross found Toone at the far post to score.

But despite all their efforts, they could not force a fourth. So they are counting on the kindness of Belgium, or to regain their ability to score freely, something we have not seen – apart from China’s victory – since last year’s comfortable Arnold Clark Cup campaign .

Wiegman is now looking forward to the next match. “We need to win in Scotland, and now we really need to win. We depend on the other game, but if we want to progress we need a really good win by four goals, I would say. We can control , play well and win this game. That’s what we have to do first. We can’t control what other people do,” she said.

England are not out of the woods yet, but it is an unusual scenario after such a period of dominance under Wiegman. They could still find themselves in the relegation playoffs if they finish third in the pool, or they could plan for a semi-final. The day-saving super subs brought back more than a hint of Euro 2022 sentiment, but England have yet to salvage their Nations League campaign.