da marjack bet： Beth Mead admitted England were 'devastated' after the Lionesses missed out on the Women's Nations League finals by one goal on Tuesday night.
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England miss Nations League finals by one goalNetherlands score late to qualify insteadMead 'devastated' despite 6-0 win over ScotlandWHAT HAPPENED?
England needed to better the Netherlands' win over Belgium by three goals on the final matchday of the Nations League group stages in order to top Group 1. They were doing that for most of the evening, too, eventually beating Scotland 6-0 in Glasgow. However, a 95th minute goal from Dutch midfielder Damaris Egurrola changed everything and secured the 2017 European champions the final spot up for grabs in February's finals.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The outcome isn't just a huge disappointment for England but also Great Britain as this competition doubles up as qualifying for the women's football tournament at the Olympics. Unlike on the men's side, the tournament is a senior one for the women, which means it is second-only to the Women's World Cup in terms of prestige.
As the team nominated to secure Team GB's place at the Games, the Lionesses knew that progress to the Nations League finals would've kept that Olympic dream alive. There, they would've needed to win their semi-final or, if hosts France made it to the final game, win at least the third-place match to qualify. Instead, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands will compete for the final two European qualifying spots in February.
WHAT BETH MEAD SAID
Speaking to after the game, Mead said: "We did everything we possibly could on the pitch tonight. I thought the team were incredible. Unfortunately, it wasn't in our hands and the Netherlands got four goals. Fair play to them but, obviously, we're devastated to miss out on such small margins.
"We made sure we kept in communication [during the game]. Sarina was feeding in what was happening with the other game so we knew what we were kind of meant to do. We got the goal late on and thought we’d got over the line but, unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. That’s football. Small margins, extra time, late goals happening in both games, but it wasn’t meant to be.
"It’s a tough one. The girls have worked really hard. I thought we were incredible in this camp and we’ve done ourselves proud in both games that we’ve played. Unfortunately, it was out of our hands, as I said, and we let ourselves down maybe earlier on in the competition. But we’ll keep working hard, we’ll keep coming back stronger and I’m excited to see what this team is about."
DID YOU KNOW?
While this was a hugely disappointing night for England in the end, it was a huge one on a personal level for Mead. After spending 11 months on the sidelined following an ACL rupture, one that forced her to miss this year's Women's World Cup, the Arsenal star made her first start for the Lionesses in over a year on Tuesday and marked it with her first international goal in 15 months.