Belgium beat England for first time leaving Lionesses’ Olympics bid in doubt،
Goals from Laura De Neve and Tessa Wullaert were enough for Belgium as they fought back in the Nations League to beat England 3-2 for the first time in their history and increase their chances of qualifying for the Olympics from Paris.
It was a clinical performance from Belgium, who were happy to sit back and absorb the pressure from the Lionesses, showing marked improvement from their 1-0 defeat at Leicester on Friday. A perfect free kick from De Neve put the Red Flames on track before a 13-minute stoppage for a head injury to Alex Greenwood disrupted the pace of the match.
England looked to have turned the tables when Lucy Bronze’s looping header fell under the bar before Lauren Hemp invited Fran Kirby to fire home after passing into the box.
Midway through added time, Wullaert broke through the backline to bring the hosts back into a draw and level the scores before half-time. It seemed the ghosts of the 3-3 at the same stadium in 2019 had come back to haunt the Lionesses as they struggled to return to their best form, but ultimately it was the missed chances that came back to haunt visitors Leuven.
Another well-timed break from the hosts sparked the final result when Yana Daniels’ ball into the box struck Georgia Stanway on the arm, gifting Wullaert the chance to seal victory from the spot. Even though Mary Earps was tracking the ball’s trajectory, there was little the English number 1 could do against Wullaert’s well-struck penalty.
The result jeopardizes England’s path to the Olympics as they sit third in League A, Group 1 and only the two Nations League finalists are assured of a place in Paris at the alongside France, host.
The Lionesses’ best chance is to win their last two matches (against the Netherlands and Scotland) by a comfortable margin and hope that Belgium drops points somewhere. If England, named as the home team to represent Great Britain at the Olympics, fail to score maximum points against the Dutch at Wembley in early December, Great Britain will be out of contention for the Olympics.
The fight for first place in the group will likely continue until the final matchday on December 5.
