England returned to winning ways in the Women’s Nations League with a 1-0 victory over Belgium on Friday night. Both teams entered wearing black armbands in honour of England World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton, who died on Saturday morning.
England were without Lauren James due to a concussion sustained in training. Sarina Wiegman has confirmed that the 22-year-old had gone back to Chelsea. “Lauren is not ready. She won’t be ready for Tuesday also. She picked up a concussion and as you know we have to be really careful and follow the protocol so it’s just too short for the upcoming two games.”
Lucy Parker, also returning to her club, was forced to withdraw from this camp due to sustaining an ankle injury during training. Parker has returned to Aston Villa to be assessed and treated.
Your Friday night #Lionesses! ✨ pic.twitter.com/o0iT3DqTlX
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) October 27, 2023
Lauren Hemp’s goal gave England the lead in the first half, when she struck a rebound off the post that came from a Millie Bright header. Belgium tested Earps on a few occasions but England remained calm and held on for victory at a sold-out King Power Stadium in Leicester.
The Lionesses are back to winning ways and level on points with group leaders the Netherlands with three games to play, they must top their group in order to have a chance of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.
A key player in Friday night’s match was of course, England’s No.1, Mary Earps. She made many crucial saves to deny Belgium the opener with Vanhaevermaet’s header in the ninth minute before stopping the visitors equalising 10 minutes into the second half. Belgium definitely showed they could cause problems when given the opportunity.
Arguably the best night in an England shirt for Player of the Match, Niamh Charles. Charles has been on excellent form for Chelsea playing both at left-back and wing-back so far in the Women’s Super League.
Her work rate in Friday’s game down the wing for England set the pace early on. Winning corner’s, tackles and being a big threat to a strong Belgium side. Charles has certainly done enough to earn herself a place on Tuesday starting line up after that performance.
Tickets remain on sale for England’s final group stage game at Wembley Stadium on Friday 1st December. Earlier this month, The FA announced over 50,000 tickets had been sold for the fixture.
For more football related articles, click here.
Follow Sporting Her on social media by searching @SportingHerFootball, or use the links: Instagram // Twitter
