© BELGIUM
No ultimate stunt for the Red Flames in this Nations League. Our compatriots lost 4-0 against the Netherlands and thus finished third in the group of death. The Netherlands became group winners in the very last minute.
Valerie Van Avermaet in the Netherlands
Yesterday at 10:37 PM
The Red Flames no longer had their fate in their own hands beforehand. To become group winners and advance to the Final Four of the Nations League, they needed a win against the Netherlands and England had to lose points against Scotland. However, neither condition was fulfilled.
Much has been said and written about the match between England and Scotland. With a view to an Olympic ticket for Great Britain – which can be earned in the Final Four – the Scots benefited from a big victory over the English and so it happened. England won by no less than 0-6, but in the end it was the Netherlands that could call themselves group winners after a crazy finish.
Despite the English victory, the Red Flames were still able to secure retention in the A division of the Nations League. After all, a victory in the den of the Orange Lionesses would result in second place in the group, but a victory was never actually possible in Tilburg. From minute one, the Netherlands monopolized possession, while the Flames were too sloppy the few times they had the ball. Their favorite and previously successful counter game did not turn out that way this time.
It ultimately resulted in a smooth 4-0 victory for our northern neighbors. First it was Lineth Beerensteyn who scored twice, twice it was the otherwise strong Tine De Caigny who made a mistake at the back. Ultimately, Egurrola made it 3-0 and in the final minute it even became 4-0. The Netherlands thus became group winners. The Flames could only manage two attempts from Tessa Wullaert and thus finished third in the group of death after a strong campaign in this Nations League – they still scored eight points.
© BELGIUM
As third in the group, a jump-off match will follow in February against a number two from division B. The stakes: retention in the A division and an advantage in qualifying for the 2025 European Championships in Switzerland. The draw for those jump-offs will take place on Monday. The Flames’ possible opponents are Hungary, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
National coach Ives Serneels: “Our victory against England will be remembered for a long time”
“I put our victories against the Netherlands and England in this Nations League campaign on par with reaching the quarter-finals at the European Championships in 2022. In each of those three moments I was away from the world for a moment after the final whistle. You dream of being able to win against those countries, but honestly: I didn’t dare hope for it. I didn’t expect that we would be so far along that we could win twice against an absolutely top country in six games. I especially thought our 3-2 win against England was impressive. That will stay with you for a long time. I don’t think any teams will win against England anytime soon. I also noticed very clearly from the reactions of other people that that victory was really special. I also thought our second half in Scotland was very good, because we should have always made it 0-2 there.”
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