England suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to Belgium in the Women’s Nations League, four days after Sarina Wiegman’s side had beaten the Red Flames 5-0 on home soil.
Belgium had the perfect response to their resounding defeat on Friday as they stormed into a three-goal lead within the first 30 minutes of the fixture.
Tessa Wullaert latched on to a long ball over the defence to nestle the opener into the bottom-left corner (4), before Everton’s Justine Vanhaevermaet rose highest to loop a header over the outstretched arm of Hannah Hampton (16).
Belgium midfielder Justine Vanhaevermaet (L) celebrates scoring her team’s second goal
The situation went from bad to worse for England when Wullaert tapped home her second of the night (28), but the Lionesses reacted immediately when Beth Mead went down in the area, following a challenge from Davina Philtjens, and stepped up to slot the penalty away to make it 3-1 before the break (35).
After being frustrated for the vast majority of the second half, hopes of completing the comeback were lifted when 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang climbed off the bench and scored with a stunning two-touch volley, seconds into her international debut, to tee up a tantalising finish (81).
However, England fell short in their efforts and walked away empty handed on the evening thanks to their slow start in Heverlee.
The defeat drops the Lionesses into second place in Group C, two points off Spain in first following their 7-1 win against Portugal, while Belgium pick up their first points of the competition with the impressive victory at Den Dreef.
Wiegman: We were not good enough
England boss Sarina Wiegman speaking to ITV:
“We started really sloppy and not sharp. They exposed us. You are down quickly.
England’s head coach Sarina Wiegman reacts from the sidelines during the defeat to Belgium
“We conceded three in half an hour. It is not good enough. We played a better second half, but overall it wasn’t good enough.
“We expected this, we were prepared for a different game. We have been here before and were missing some players. We knew it would be the case.
“This game was about being focused and we did not do that. That is the biggest lesson.”
Williamson: Belgium were a different team
England defender Leah Williamson speaking to ITV:
Tessa Wullaert scored twice as Belgium beat England
“We started too slow and they didn’t. You expect it after the other day.
“We needed to figure it out, and we didn’t. Ultimately, you have to deal with the players and runners better.
“We will watch it back. We need to make sure we improve that. Really disappointing and there is a lot of frustration, there are two games left but we have made it harder for ourselves.
“It is more to do with them. They were a completely different side to the other night.”
