England’s Lionesses stunned by late Netherlands goal as errors threaten Olympic hopes
Netherlands 2-1 England (Martens 34’, Jansen 90′ | Russo 64’)
UTRECHT – As her native country turned into enemy territory for one night only, Sarina Wiegman had vowed there would be no favours on her “strange but special” return home. Renate Jansen’s spectacular late goal and England’s lingering World Cup hangover ensured the Netherlands did not need any.
Despite spending so long on the back foot, the Lionesses believed they had done enough to fight back and ensure they remained favourites to qualify for next year’s Paris Olympics. Instead, two lapses of concentration led to a third defeat of Wiegman’s reign.
England had been duly punished when Lieke Martens displayed exactly the composure they had been lacking, curling her effort past Mary Earps after a dreadful mix-up at the back.
Georgia Stanway took too long to clear the ball after a hurried reception from Millie Bright. Though it was charged down by Jackie Groenen, it was Danielle van de Donk who played the key pass into Martens – and the former Arsenal midfielder was clearly offside.
With no VAR, there was no rectifying that. England can hardly complain when Bright herself got away with a penalty shout against Scotland; still, the boot never fits quite so comfortably on the other foot.
It was no less than the hosts deserved and with Alex Greenwood giving the ball away carelessly in the build-up to Jansen’s strike, England have serious issues to address before they travel to Belgium next month.
Nothing had felt quite right – not even the national anthem. There were two operatic pleas for God to save the Queen, before the mistake was realised, and the king belatedly crowned for the final line.
The Lionesses, likewise, got a little less chaotic as proceedings went on, Rachel Daly hitting the post with her first real effort. Most of her evening was spent wrestling with Victoria Pelova on the wing.
Chances did come. Whatever is said about England’s rustiness, Daphne van Domselaar was the Netherlands’ best player, with three pivotal saves from Lauren Hemp. Arguably the only one who received a louder cheer from Stadion Galgenwaard was Wiegman herself.
In both Nations League matches so far (the first a 2-1 win over Scotland), England have now given up as many opportunities (eight) as in the World Cup final against Spain. Lineth Beerensteyn exposed familiar flaws at the back, rattled another effort off the crossbar as England clung on.
When Alessia Russo levelled, it came via a stroke of fortune as Stanway fell while attempting a cross; it still took a deflection before it found the Arsenal striker.
If there is ever a temptation to dismiss these Nations League fixtures, that logic cannot be applied when Team GB’s 2024 hopes are riding on them. The FA has confirmed Wiegman will take charge of the British side should they get there; at present it is hard to get too excited about what would happen if they did.
Back in the present, as the WSL approaches its opening weekend, it still looks as if a World Cup summer is set to take its toll on players who already look overburdened.
Yet there is every chance they will look a totally different outfit once again by next summer. The truth is that if Team GB are to go for gold, Wiegman will likely have to create England 3.0.
