England got their quest for Olympic qualification is back on track by beating Belgium at the King Power Stadium as they try to secure a place at Paris 2024 on behalf of Great Britain via the Women’s Nations League.
The Lionesses will be in action again on Tuesday in the reverse fixture, along with all of the other home nations, as the next round of matches in the inaugural Women’s Nations League approaches.
Wales and Republic of Ireland face daunting trips to Denmark and Albania respectively, while Northern Ireland host Hungary, Scotland welcome the Netherlands, and the Republic of Ireland will travel to Albania.
Following mixed results in the second round of fixtures, how are things shaping up for the home nations?
England in a better position while Scotland face difficult task
Things have not been easy for Sarina Wiegman’s England since their World Cup final defeat by Spain.
They opened their Nations League campaign in late September with a narrow and unconvincing 2-1 win over neighbours Scotland at the Stadium of Light, before losing by the same scoreline away to the Netherlands, who were beaten by Belgium in their first game.
Wiegman has been chosen to lead Great Britain at the 2024 Olympics should they qualify. England, who were nominated as the representative for Team GB in qualifying, need to top the group to stay in contention for a place at next year’s Paris Games.
After narrowly beating Belgium in the first match of their double-header, England are level on points with the Netherlands at the top of the group with six points, but the Dutch have a better goal difference.
The Lionesses travel to Leuven on 31 October.
Meanwhile, Scotland remain bottom of the group with just one point after being thumped in the first match of their double-header against the Netherlands and will hope to put that right against the same opponents at Hampden Park on Tuesday.
Wales already in must-win territory
For Wales, it was always going to be an uphill challenge for them to avoid relegation from League A as the fourth seed in their group, and results so far leave them in a vulnerable position.
A 1-0 defeat in their first game away to Iceland was followed by a 5-1 thrashing at home by Denmark, leaving them six points adrift of the danes in first place and three points off Iceland and Germany.
Another 5-1 thrashing was suffered against a Germany side still reeling from a group-stage exit at the World Cup over the summer, meaning Wales are bottom of their group and pointless after three matches.
Their trip to Denmark next week is now a must win.
Northern Ireland and the Republic vie for promotion
In League B, both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are aiming for promotion.
They find themselves in the same group, with the Republic currently leading the way. They have won three games from three, including includes a 3-0 victory over their neighbours in Dublin last month and a 5-1 thrashing as they outclassed Albania.
Northern Ireland suffered a last-gasp 3-2 defeat against Hungary in their latest fixture, and they will host the same opponents at Seaview next week.
Hungary are now a point above Northern Ireland, with Albania bottom of the group.
What happens after the group stage?
Following the conclusion of the group stage, with the final matchday on 5 December, each of the League A group winners will be drawn into semi-final ties.
Those will be played on 21 and 28 February as one-legged ties before the third-place play-off and final.
The two finalists will join hosts France as the European representatives at the 2024 Olympic Games.
If France are among the finalists, the third-placed team fills the remaining slot for the 12-team tournament in Paris.
