England suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to Belgium in the Women’s Nations League, four days after Sarina Wiegman’s side had beaten the Red Flames 5-0 on home soil.
Belgium had the perfect response to their resounding defeat on Friday as they stormed into a three-goal lead within the first 30 minutes of the fixture.
Tessa Wullaert latched on to a long ball over the defence to nestle the opener into the bottom-left corner (4), before Everton’s Justine Vanhaevermaet rose highest to loop a header over the outstretched arm of Hannah Hampton (16).
Belgium midfielder Justine Vanhaevermaet (L) celebrates scoring her team’s second goal
The situation went from bad to worse for England when Wullaert tapped home her second of the night (28), but the Lionesses reacted immediately when Beth Mead went down in the area, following a challenge from Davina Philtjens, and stepped up to slot the penalty away to make it 3-1 before the break (35).
After being frustrated for the vast majority of the second half, hopes of completing the comeback were lifted when 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang climbed off the bench and scored with a stunning two-touch volley, seconds into her international debut, to tee up a tantalising finish (81).
However, England fell short in their efforts and walked away empty handed on the evening thanks to their slow start in Heverlee.
The defeat drops the Lionesses into second place in Group C, two points off Spain in first following their 7-1 win against Portugal, while Belgium pick up their first points of the competition with the impressive victory at Den Dreef.