Tuesday night saw Englands Nations League campaign come to a close as their 6-0 victory wasn't enough to qualify for the Semi-Finals.
The Lionesses comfortablty beat Scotland 6-0 in the last match of the Nation Leagues group stage. Due to England being on the same points as The Netherlands, England knew they were going have to put many past Scotland in order to beat The Dutch on goal difference.
The Nations League Semi-Finals were in sight for The Lionesses, as they were 5-0 up by the hour mark. Furthermore, with The Netheralnds only winning by two goals in their game against Belgium, it was looking postitive for England.
However, in the 91st minute, Dutch midfeilder, Damaris Egurrola, managed to get one back for her side, putting her nation top of the group on goal difference. England had to quickly pull something out of thing air in order to go through to the Semi's. One of England's most prolific players, Lucy Bronze, managed to see the light and scored a late header in the last kick off the game. Sadly for her and her nation, this was not enough as Damaris Egurrola got yet another injury time goal, sending England home.
This therefore means that England will also be unavilable to qualify for the Olympics. Usually, Olympic qualification for European women’s football teams is decided using the World Cup, with the best-placed squads earning a spot. This year, however, European qualification is via the inaugural Women’s Nations League, with the two finalists in the tournament going on to play at the Games.
France are the hosts of the 2024 Olympics, meaning that they automatically qulalify, and the two remaining spots go to the two Nation League finalisits.
The table below shows how close England were to making it to the Nations League Semi-Final.
Nation | Points | Goal Difference |
Netherlands | 12 | +8 |
England | 12 | +7 |
Belgium | 8 | -3 |
Scotland | 2 | -12 |
The following four teams are the nations that remain in the Nations League, providing them a chance to qualify for the 2024 Olympics:
Netherlands
France
Germany
Spain
England now have to keep their heads high and focus on the next target in sight. What this means for Sarina Wiegman future as England head coach, we will have to wait and see.
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