England stunned by Belgium, France reach semis in Women's Nations League
LEUVEN, Belgium, April 8 ((Reuters)) - European champions England slumped to a shock 3-2 defeat away to Belgium in the Women's Nations League on Tuesday as France qualified for the last four of the tournament with a 2-0 win in Norway and Spain hammered Portugal to top Group 3.
The four group winners go through to the semis and world champions Spain now lead with nine points after a 7-1 win over third-placed Portugal, with England second on seven and Belgium bottom despite earning their first points of the campaign.
Having slumped 5-0 away to England on Friday, Belgium were a different side at home and led after four minutes through Tessa Wullaert, with Justine Vanhaevermaet adding a second before Wullaert struck again to make it 3-0 after 29 minutes.
Beth Mead won and converted a penalty six minutes later to reduce the deficit for the shell-shocked Lionesses but the Belgians refused to buckle until England's teenage striker Michelle Agyemang scored a stunner a minute after coming on.
Brought into the squad to replace the injured Alessia Russo, the 19-year-old controlled the ball with her thigh before firing a rocket into the top corner in the 81st but England could not build on her wonder goal as Belgium held on doggedly to win.
France's Sandy Baltimore and Clara Mateo struck in Oslo to secure victory over Norway in Group 2 as a fourth win from four games gave their side an unassailable eight-point lead over the hosts with two games left. Iceland are third on three points after their 3-3 draw at home to Euro 2025 hosts Switzerland.
Germany remain top of Group 1 on goal difference after a 6-1 thrashing of visitors Scotland that leaves them on 10 points ahead of Netherlands, who eased to a 3-1 win in Austria, with the top two set to meet in the next round of games on May 30.
In Group 4, second-placed Italy can knock Sweden off top spot when the sides meet next month after the Italians scored three second-half goals to win 3-0 away to Denmark. The Swedes are two points off the pace after a 1-1 home draw with Wales.
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