PARIS: England, Germany, and World Cup champions Spain delivered dominant performances on matchday three of the Women's Nations League on Friday.
England cruised to a 5-0 victory over Belgium in Bristol, with first-half headers from Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright putting them in control. Aggie Beever-Jones, Keira Walsh, and substitute Jess Park added to the scoreline.
The two teams will meet again next Tuesday in Leuven, where England manager Sarina Wiegman emphasized the importance of securing a strong position for the World Cup draw, while focusing on defending their European Championship title.
Spain defeated Portugal 4-2, moving into second place in Group A3, just behind England. Meanwhile, Germany routed Scotland 4-0 at Dundee’s Tannadice Park, with Elisa Senss' early strike and an own goal from Scotland’s Sophie Howard putting the match beyond reach.
Cora Zicai and Lea Schuller completed the scoring for Germany, who top their group on goal difference ahead of the Netherlands, who triumphed 3-1 over Austria. Sherida Spitse became the joint most-capped European player in that win.
France, the previous Nations League runners-up, defeated Switzerland 2-0, with Sandy Baltimore and Selma Bacha scoring. France are now five points clear at the top of their group, with Norway their next opponent on Tuesday.
The four League A group winners will qualify for the Nations League finals in the autumn, and the group standings will determine the teams competing in promotion and relegation matches for the 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
[Reported by Arab News]
