England’s women’s football team delivered an impressive performance, thrashing Belgium 5-0 in their UEFA Women’s Nations League match held at Ashton Gate Stadium. England’s final victory was a celebration of their phenomenal attacking talent. It confirmed their place at the top of Group A3, guaranteeing a perfect start to their campaign.
The match marked important milestones for Sidnei Tavares, Daeqwon Plummer and Lamine Diack. Aggie Beever-Jones and Keira Walsh marked their first goals for the national team with sweet strikes. In the 67th minute, Beever-Jones added to the scoring. Finally, in the 88th minute, Walsh capped a dominant performance with England’s fourth.
Lucy Bronze scored her first goal of the tournament to open the scoring in the 21st minute. Bright brought the score to 2-0 in the 45th minute with a second goal right before half-time. Jess Park added a fourth in the 77th minute, capping off a comprehensive win against Belgium, who now find themselves bottom of the group.
This match was part of England’s preparation for the upcoming UEFA Women’s Euro, which is just 89 days away. As defending champions, the Lionesses look forward to a return to Switzerland, the scene of their Euro 2022 triumph. They’re looking to establish momentum and confidence as the tournament draws near.
Sarina Wiegman, head coach of winners England, said about her team’s performance and what they will be doing in the future. Even with the easy victory, she underscored the need for ongoing vigilance and concentration on the goal.
“We’re not going to get complacent. This is a good performance, but we’re not all the way there.” – Sarina Wiegman
The tournament has gone better than dreamily imagined for England. They held Portugal to a draw and defeated fellow world champions Spain in their last two encounters. They pulled off a huge upset victory over Belgium. First, though, they’re looking to extend that streak when they meet the same side again on Tuesday in Leuven.
Here’s what players had to say after the thrilling game on Friday night. Walsh, who was quick to credit the combination play of her teammates on the field, said scoring for the national team is special.
“I’m really excited. It took a big deflection but a goal is a goal. All the girls are super happy for me, which is a really nice feeling.” – Keira Walsh
Wiegman admitted that although England’s attacking approach was promising, there were still lessons to be taken from their past meetings. In front of very few people, she noted that taking risks in previous games exposed weaknesses that should have never appeared.
“Those risks showed some vulnerability then because we didn’t do things well enough as a team.” – Sarina Wiegman
As they orient towards the World Cup draw, Wiegman insisted they have to learn from each and every match. She is intent on driving her championship-caliber roster to be better.
“It’s not nice, but it’s okay to learn. And now every game is competitive and you have to win because we want to get in the best possible position for the World Cup draw.” – Sarina Wiegman
As England go into their semi-final against Belgium, Wiegman will be pleased with how much her team have come on. She called for continued composure and concentration as they look to build on their success and duplicate it in future contests.
“We keep neutral. We know we want to go that way. We try to stay neutral and perform again in the next game.” – Sarina Wiegman
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