Belgium dent England’s Nations League hopes and GB Olympic bid
Sarina Wiegman’s side were beaten for the second time in their Nations League group (Rene Nijhuis/PA)
England suffered another Nations League setback as a late penalty from Belgium captain Tessa Wullaert condemned them to a 3-2 defeat in Leuven.
After falling behind to Laura De Neve’s ninth-minute free-kick and then seeing defender Alex Greenwood carried off on a stretcher having been involved in a clash of heads, the Lionesses turned things around to lead via goals from Lucy Bronze and Fran Kirby.
But Wullaert subsequently put Belgium back on level terms in first-half stoppage time, then notched the winner from the spot with five minutes of normal time remaining at the end after Georgia Stanway handled.
Tessa Wullaert, centre right, scores Belgium’s winner from the penalty spot (Rene Nijhuis/PA)
The result sees England – 1-0 victors over the Belgians in Leicester last Friday – leapfrogged by the Red Flames in Group A1 as Sarina Wiegman’s side slip to third place having been beaten for a second time in four matches in the pool.
With six points, England, who lost 1-0 to the Netherlands in September, are three behind the table-topping Dutch and one behind second-placed Belgium – the former won 1-0 against Scotland on Tuesday.
England’s next game is against the Netherlands at Wembley on December 1 as they look to bounce back in a competition that provides them with the opportunity to secure a Paris 2024 Olympics qualification spot for Great Britain – they need to finish top of the group to have a chance to do that.
Belgium looked threatening early on, with Wullaert bringing a save out of Mary Earps, albeit with the flag going up for offside.
And three minutes later the hosts were in front as De Neve curled a free-kick over
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