Lauren James scored twice as England thrashed Scotland 6-0 at Hampden Park, but finished sccond in League A1 and missd out on Olympic qualification.
Alex Greenwood nodded England ahead in the 11th minute before James netted a quick-fire brace then provided the assist for Beth Mead’s strike in first-half injury time.
Fran Kirby added England’s fifth goal after she calmly converted Georgia Stanway’s 49th minute cutback pass, whilst Lucy Bronze’s header wrapped up victory.
Netherlands however beat Belgium 4-0 in Tilburg to top League A1 ahead of England on goal difference by just one goal.
Belgium finished the group in third ahead of Scotland, with the Tartan Army relegated to League B for UEFA Euro 2025 Qualifying.
“I’m very disappointed,” commented England manager, Sarina Wiegman upon confirmation that England had finished second and missed out on potential Olympics qualification plus a place in the UEFA Nations League Finals.
“The team showed lots of character and we started really well.
“I thought when Lucy scored that we’re going to get this. Then the Netherlands scored, and that’s how close it was.”
Wiegman though was pleased with England’s display as she continued: “I was really proud of the performance, but we’re not through, and it’s very disappointing.
“If you don’t get through on goal difference, it’s not enough.
“I still think what we’ve done, with the EUROs, getting to the final in the World Cup, having hardly any rest, going into the first Nations League campaign and, yes we had moments we struggled, but we had moments where we did really well. But that’s football.”
Despite England’s fate being out of their own hands after they failed to beat Netherlands by two goals, Wiegman made two changes as Mead and Esme Morgan came into the starting line-up in place of Chloe Kelly and Jess Carter respectively.
Those tweaks proved key early on as England enjoyed an energetic start and Lucy Bronze won a second minute free-kick from a foul by Nicola Docherty, but Greenwood curled the set-piece wide of the top left corner.
England continued to press with James’ ninth minute strike deflected over before Fran Kirby chipped her shot from a corner over the bar.
Scotland’s resilient defending however was breached in the 11th minute as Greenwood headed into the top-left corner unmarked from Mead’s cross to send England top of the group at that moment.
Bronze then put a high shot just over the bar two minutes later before she fouled Lisa Evans up the other end inside her box, but referee, Alina Pesu waved away Scotland’s appeals for a penalty.
Scotland refused to give up and Rachel McLauchlan unleashed a powerful 24th minute shot which forced Mary Earps to punch over the bar.
England though needed to score at least four goals to stand any chance of topping the group and almost netted a second goal three minutes later, but Mead flicked Keira Walsh’s direct cross wide of the bottom right corner.
News came through in the 37th minute that the Netherlands had scored against Belgium in Tilburg, which meant that England needed at least three more goals to keep their Olympics dreams alive.
Lauren James in particular seemed ignited by that news as Scotland failed to clear a corner a minute later and she pounced with a shot from the edge of the box, which took a heavy deflection into the top right corner to put the Lionesses two goals up.
That goal though meant that England were two goals behind the Dutch on goal difference but James further cut that deficit barely a minute later, after Niamh Charles broke forward but pulled back for her to rifle England’s third goal into the top-right corner beyond Lee Gibson’s reach.
James wasn’t done before half-time as she turned provider in the only minute of first-half injury time, with a calmly composed cross towards Mead near the right corner, and the Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner calmly lobbed her shot in beyond Gibson.
Mead’s first international goal since September 2022 also meant that England sat top of the group at half time, with Netherlands having failed to further extend their slender lead over Belgium before the break in Tilburg.
Scotland responded to their late first-half implosion with a triple substitution at the break as Jenna Clark, Emma Makundi and Rachel McLauchlan were substituted for Sophie Howard, Fiona Brown and Jamie-Lee Napier.
That gamble from Pedro Martinez Losa saw Scotland enjoy a strong start to the second half as Napier forced a 48th minute save from Earps.
Scotland’s hopes of an unlikely comeback were eventually destroyed a minute later as Stanway got up the right flank, and squeezed a cutback pass from the byline towards the centre of the box for Kirby to calmly roll in for England’s fifth goal.
Kirby and James soon afterwards saw chances go begging whilst James played a 57th minute through ball forward for Hemp into the box, but her shot was blocked by Gibson.
Tensions soon cranked up a gear moments later as news arrived that Netherlands had scored a second goal against Belgium, which meant that England sat top from the Dutch by virtue of goals scored and on course for the inaugural Women’s Nations League Finals.
Barely seconds after that news had hit Hampden Park, Charles saw a shot blocked by Gibson as England began to push for further goals.
Gibson made a further excellent save in the 61st minute as she blocked Greenwood’s curled free-kick destined for the top-right corner, after James had drawn a foul from Erin Cuthbert just outside of the box.
England continued to push in hope of putting further pressure on Netherlands with another goal but James blasted a 73rd minute shot wide, whilst Stanway’s 86th minute shot was blocked by Rachel Corsie.
Earps meanwhile denied Scotland substitute, Martha Thomas plus Kirsty Hanson in two notable chances for the hosts, who otherwise struggled to mount a strong attacking threat in much of the second half.
Scotland however saved their best chance until the first minute of second-half injury time as Thomas latched onto a header towards England’s bottom-left corner, yet Earps scrappily flicked the ball onto the left post to protect the Lionesses’ lead.
England’s nerves eventually dissipated in the final minute of the match as a breakaway attack saw substitute, Ella Toone deliver a deep cross which Bronze headed in to complete victory.
Netherlands meanwhile had gone 3-0 up at home to Belgium with two more minutes to play as the game at Hampden Park finished, which led to a tense wait for England players, staff and fans alike.
Arsenal and Netherlands forward, Vivianne Miedema however would be the player to break England’s hearts as she struck the winning goal, which sent the Dutch through to the Nations League Finals at the Lionesses expense with a 4-0 home win over Belgium.
England’s failure to advance also meant that Team GB failed to qualify for next summer’s Olympics in Paris, France.
What’s Next?
Scotland are relegated so will play UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 Qualifying in League B, with fixtures set to commence in Spring 2024.
England meanwhile will remain in League A where the top two finishers in each group automatically qualify for UEFA Women’s Euro 2025.
Teams
Scotland: Lee Gibson, Rachel Corsie, Jenna Clark (Howard 45′), Emma Mukandi (Brown 45′), Nicola Docherty, Rachel McLauchlan (Napier 45′, Sam Kerr, Erin Cuthbert, Lisa Evans, Kirsty Hanson (Harrison 79′), Claire Emslie (Thomas 64′)
Substitutes: Jenna Fife, Fiona Brown, Abi Harrison, Sandy Maclver, Hayley Lauder, Lauren Davidson, Sophie Howard, Brogan Hay, Martha Thomas, Kirsty MaClean, Amy Rodgers, Jamie-Lee Napier
England: Mary Earps, Lucy Bronze, Esme Morgan, Alex Greenwood, Niamh Charles, Georgia Stanway, Keira Walsh, Fran Kirby (Toone 65′), Beth Mead (Russo 65′), Lauren Hemp, Lauren James
Substitutes: Jess Carter, Hannah Hampton, Ella Toone, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Katie Zelem, Chloe Kelly, Grace Clinton, Rachel Daly, Maya Le Tissier, Khiara Keating, Millie Turner, Alessia Russo
Referee – Alina Pesu (Romania)
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