England’s 3-2 defeat away by Belgium on Tuesday not only meant they slipped to third in their Women’s Nations League group, but put Team GB’s 2024 Olympic participation in jeopardy, and now leaves Scotland in a bizarre position.
Team GB is made up of players from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and as the highest ranked British team, England is the nominated nation to qualify on Britain’s behalf.
England must win its group to have any chance of making it to Paris next year, and will more than likely need a win against Scotland to do so.
The four League A group winners qualify for the Nations League Finals. There are two Olympic spots up for grabs, and with France already qualified as host, if it reaches the final then the winner of the third place play-off would qualify.
The fact that England and Scotland were drawn together in Group 1 and the fixture schedule sees them face each other in the final game means the Scottish players may need to lose that game if they want to keep their Olympic dream alive.
World Cup finalist England has lost two games already, against the Netherlands and now Belgium, and finds itself three points adrift of the Dutch, and one point behind Belgium.
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The Lionesses’ next game is at home to the Netherlands, a must-win fixture, and if they end up level on points, England will need to better the Dutch’s 2-1 win against it.
A win on December 1 over the Dutch would see it level on points, but Belgium could go top if it beats Scotland the same day. Four days later, while the Netherlands and Belgium do battle, England travels to face Scotland at Hampden Park.
Scotland is yet to win a game in the group, but at home, it held Belgium to a 1-1 draw, and on Tuesday, the Netherlands only came away with a 1-0 win.
Away to England, Scotland lost 2-1, but getting revenge with a home win would have a bittersweet taste if it comes at a heavy price.
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