Scotland 0-6 England: Beth Mead says England are “devastated” after missing out on the Nations League final

• By Jess Anderson
• ` Sport at Hampden Park

December 5, 2023

Updated 57 minutes ago

video caption,

The moment England learns GB's Olympic dream is over

Beth Mead said England were “devastated” while coach Sarina Wiegman said it “really hurts” after her side miserably missed out on a place in the Women's Nations League final on goal difference.

England's game was over when the Netherlands scored their decisive fourth goal in the 95th minute, signaling the end of the Lionesses' Nations League campaign and also meaning Team GB will not take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics football competition .

“We thought we had crossed the line but that shouldn’t be the case,” Mead told ` Sport.

England needed to beat the Netherlands' result by three clear goals to reach the Nations League final and keep their Olympic hopes alive as they were set to qualify as a nominated nation on behalf of Team GB.

In the end, both England and the Netherlands finished Group A1 with twelve points each, with the Netherlands advancing due to a better goal difference of plus eight. England finished with plus seven.

“We are devastated. We did everything we could on the field,” Mead said.

“It's a difficult question. The girls worked incredibly hard. We may have disappointed ourselves earlier in the competition.”

video caption,

Highlights: England scored six goals against Scotland

Wiegman, who snapped a 30-match unbeaten streak when she first took over with the Lionesses, said she was “proud” of the achievement but “disappointed” that she didn't get over the finish line.

“We scored six goals and were so close. In the last seconds the Netherlands scored a goal, you can’t control that,” she said.

“I thought it would happen with us”

When Lucy Bronze's 93rd-minute header hit the net at Hampden Park – England's sixth goal – Wiegman said she believed her side had secured their place in the finals, and the noise from a group of fans in the stadium reflected that feeling reflected.

Alex Greenwood opened the scoring before goals from Lauren James, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby put the final in sight.

But the joy of a sixth bronze victory was quickly forgotten when the players gathered in a group during normal time and heard the news that the Netherlands had ended Team GB's Olympic dream with a fourth goal.

“I think it was about two minutes, but it took forever,” Wiegman said. “Actually, I thought the same way she did [Netherlands] I had just scored the third goal, in extra time, when we scored exactly that, wow, this is going to happen for us. I really thought that.

“I don’t really know what to say because I’m really proud of this achievement, but we’re not there yet and I’m very disappointed.”

Another away defeat against the Netherlands despite periods of dominance was also crucial and even just one more goal in Friday's 3-2 win against the Netherlands would have secured England's qualification this week.

“That’s part of football. It's not easy to maintain performance. We need a high level, and sometimes it drops,” Wiegman said.

“We had a very good camp after the Belgium game because the result against Belgium had nothing to do with how we trained as a team.”

But while the players will undoubtedly view this campaign as a missed opportunity and be disappointed to have missed another chance to win a title, the hectic schedule of recent years means they may also be grateful for the rest.

“After coming back to the World Cup, we had injuries, had bad luck at times and pushed ourselves,” Wiegman said.

“Hardly a break and it starts again. We conceded goals in September, the players were tired, there were more injuries, but we kept improving.”

England won Euro 2022 before reaching a historic World Cup final this summer, and fatigue and injuries were clearly factors in an ultimately difficult season.

“Of course it hurts because you want to be in big tournaments and we wanted to win the Nations League group, but if you look at the bigger picture, let's say what we have achieved in the last two and a half years,” Wiegman said.

England are also missing key players Mead, Kirby and Leah Williamson due to serious injuries, and captain Millie Bright is also missing the latter stages of the Nations League season due to injury.

“You want to go to every big tournament, so every player wants to,” Wiegman said.

“But overall we have to look at the calendar and think that the players are not robots and also need some rest, that's quite obvious.”