Lionesses must win tonight as Olympic dream hangs in the balance

Friday 01 December 2023

The Lionesses are back in Nations League action tonight for the first of two must-win games.

Maya Le Tissier is again in the squad for the clashes with the Netherlands tonight and then Scotland on Tuesday which as well as deciding their Nations League group also determines whether Team GB make the Olympics.

“We’re very clear on how we want to play and what we want to do,” England manager Sarina Wiegman said.

“I see good things on and off pitch, and that gives me confidence that we’re really ready.”

Pictured: Sarina Wiegman (Bradley Collyer/PA Wire).

Her side are third in Group A1 after four games.

They were beaten 2-1 in September by the Dutch and 3-2 last month  by Belgium, who they trail by three and one point respectively.

How does Team GB qualify for the Olympics?

England need to top the group to have a chance of securing a place for Team GB in the Paris Olympics next year.

That requires winning tonight at Wembley and likely having to beat Scotland at Hampden on Tuesday.

If Belgium lose to Scotland and then draw against the Netherlands, a draw against Scotland would be enough, but only if England win by two goals tonight.

If England win both games, they will have 12 points and would need Belgium to drop points.

If England win both games but Belgium win both games, they cannot top the group.

If England win both games and the Netherlands beat Belgium, they will go through only if they win by two goals or better the Dutch’s 2-1 win from the return fixture

If both England and the Netherlands both finish on 12 points and with identical head-to-head records (ie both games are 2-1 home wins), then it will come down to overall goal difference in Group A1. Netherlands hold the advantage at the moment on +5 compared to England’s 0.

If France reach the Nations final, the automatic qualification spot will go to the winner of the third place playoff in the Nations League finals.

England v Netherlands kicks off at 7:45pm and is being shown live on ITV4.

Pictured top: England's Grace Clinton (left), Maya Le Tissier (second left) and Rachel Daly (centre) ahead of training session at St. George's Park.  (Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)