England beat Dutch in thriller to keep GB Olympic hopes alive،
England clawed their way back from a two-goal lead to beat the Netherlands 3-2 in a Women’s Nations League group match at Wembley on Friday and keep Britain’s dreams of a place at the Paris Olympic Games.
Ella Toone scored a goal in the 91st minute while Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp also scored to lift England into second place in Group A1 on nine points with one round of group matches remaining. The Dutch, also with nine points, top the group thanks to a superior goal difference.
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Lineth Beerensteyn took advantage of England’s poor defending to score a first-half brace – the Netherlands’ only two shots on target on the night.
“It was a big comeback,” Toone told ITV. “Three good goals. I love playing for England, I love playing football, tonight was really special. But the main thing is that we won.
“The character we showed to score those three goals, everyone wants to beat England, we have that target on our backs,” she added.
A two-goal victory would have put England in better control of their destiny. The group will now be decided on Tuesday, with England facing Scotland, fourth with two points, and the Netherlands taking on Belgium (third with eight points). An England victory combined with a Netherlands loss of points against Belgium would put the Lionesses top of the group.
The group winner will advance to the Nations League semi-finals, with both finalists securing an Olympic berth. If Olympic host nation France reaches the final, then the winner of the third-place playoff will qualify.
The Lionesses are the team named as the home nation that can qualify Team GB for Paris.
“I feel a bit strange,” England coach Sarina Wiegman said. “I’m really happy with the win but in the end you hope to win by two goals so you’re in a better position.
“But coming back from 2-0 down and the way we showed up in the second half was really well done.”
Beerensteyn scored her first goal in the 12th minute when she took a precise pass from Victoria Pelova before getting past two defenders.
The Juventus striker doubled the lead in the 35th minute after beating Jess Carter and Alex Greenwood before unleashing a low, powerful shot that Mary Earps let sail straight into her hands. The Manchester United goalkeeper slammed his fist on the turf in frustration.
When asked what she thought after the second goal, Earps replied: “Words I can’t say on television. It will haunt me for a long time. I really let the team down today today, and I’m really drained. really drained. [But] the team was incredible.”
Stanway finally had the Wembley fans cheering in the 58th minute with his header into the bottom corner following a chipped pass over the top from Lauren James.
Hemp headed home calmly in the 60th after a deflection of a shot from Beth Mead, who was playing her first match for England in more than a year following a knee injury.
England continued to press and second-half substitute Toone brought the crowd of 71,631 to their feet when she sent the ball through Daphne van Domselaar’s legs following a cross from James.
The Netherlands, seventh in the world rankings, were eliminated by eventual winners Spain in the quarter-finals of this year’s World Cup.
Reuters contributed to this report.
