England’s World Cup Hangover – Olympics Qualification Hangs in the Balance

Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses didn’t just feel invincible, they were invincible. They racked up an astonishing 30-game unbeaten run, which included their famous Women’s Euros 2022 win, before falling short against Australia in the friendly match on 11 April 2023.

Some pundits have cited the absences of Beth Mead, Fran Kirby and Leah Williamson as being at the core of the problem. No doubt, losing players of this calibre would weaken any team.

The Lionesses had a spluttering start to the World Cup, with narrow wins against Haiti and Denmark sending a stark warning that they were not going to get an easy run in the competition. A much more convincing 6-1 win over China gave England a confidence boost but they never seemed to hit the levels of the victorious Euros run.

The Round of 16 saw Nigeria take England to penalties, with some poor penalties from African team to thank for England’s progress to the next round. A marginal 2-1 win over Colombia was enough in the quarter-finals, with hosts Australia waiting in the semis. The Lionesses looked back to their best, breaking the home nation’s hearts in a compounding 3-1 defeat.

The joy of beating Australia soon turned to despair, as a dominant Spain beat Lionesses 1-0, despite the heroics of Mary Earps and her penalty save from Jenni Hermoso.

The World Cup hangover

In football, the disappointment of being so close and yet so far from such an important victory can have a lasting effect on morale. Unfortunately for the Lionesses, the World Cup loss has left a psychological scar.

Qualification for the GB team for the Olympics 2024 now hangs in the balance following England’s losses to the Netherlands and Belgium in the Women’s Nations League. A team that so recently played with confidence and fluidity now almost unrecognisable, displaying defensive frailties and a lack of cohesion that had we haven’t seen under Wiegman.

Even the long-awaited return of Fran Kirby into the England fold was not enough to revitalise the squad. Beth Mead has made her Arsenal comeback but the road back from an ACL Injury is a long one, so she will need time to gain rhythm before she can have a real impact for club and country again.

Great teams don’t turn into bad teams overnight but it is clear that the players are struggling for form since the World Cup final. Key England players such as Daly, Russo and Toone have not hit their top form, while the squad seems short of options that can change the game from the bench.

Can Team GB still qualify for the Olympics?

For Team GB to qualify for the Olympics 2024, they must finish top of Group A1 and win the semi-final play-off. To finish top, they will need to beat Netherlands by a better score than the 2-1 defeat in the reverse fixture and they need Belgium to drop points in their games against Netherlands and Scotland. So, their Olympics qualification fate is now out of their hands.

Next Nations League Group A1 fixtures:

1 December 2023

Belgium v Scotland

England v Netherlands

5 December 2023

Netherlands v Belgium

Scotland v England