What do the Lionesses need to do for Team GB to qualify for the Olympics?
England manager Sarina Wiegman says the Lionesses “know what we have to do” as they face the Netherlands in a must-win Nations League clash at Wembley.
The Lionesses are third in Group A1 after four games, having been beaten 2-1 in September by the Dutch and 3-2 last month by Belgium, who they trail by three and one point respectively.
Failure to beat the Netherlands in their penultimate group fixture will end their hopes of the first-placed finish they require to have a chance of securing a Paris 2024 Olympics qualifying spot for Great Britain.
"We’re very clear on how we want to play and what we want to do,” Wiegman said. “I see good things on and off pitch, and that gives me confidence that we’re really ready for tomorrow, and of course we all know what we have to do."
But England’s fate is not in their hands, however, and things could get complicated as they look to top their Nations League group. Here’s everything you need to know and here are the England vs Netherlands latest odds.
How can England finish top of Group A1?
The Lionesses must win against the Netherlands. Any other result and they are out of the running to top the group.
If England win, they will likely have to beat Scotland at Hampden next Tuesday: a draw at Hampden would only be enough if Belgium lose to Scotland and then draw against the Netherlands, and even then England would need to beat the Netherlands by two goals to take the head-to-head record.
If England win both games, they will have 12 points and would need Belgium to drop points either against Scotland or against the Netherlands. 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. The Lionesses must do this to take the head-to-head record.
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.
Coming into the final two rounds, England have a goal difference of 0 while the Netherlands have +5.
What would the Lionesses then need to do to qualify for the Olympics?
England must reach the Nations League final to be sure of their place at the Olympics next summer, as the nominated side for Team GB.
Both Nations League finalists will qualify for the Paris Games - unless one of those teams is France, who qualify automatically.
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.
France, Denmark and Spain are top of Groups A2, A3 and A4 ahead of the final two rounds of fixtures.
How do the Lionesses avoid relegation, or a relegation play-off?
Scotland will be relegated automatically if they fail to win both games.
England will be forced to go through a relegation play-off if they finish 3rd in the group and fail to overtake either the Netherlands or Belgium.
When is England vs Netherlands?
The Nations League fixture kicks off at 7:45pm on Friday 1 December at Wembley Stadium.
How can I watch it and what TV channel is it on?
The fixture will be shown live on ITV 4, with coverage kicking off from 7pm. It will also be available to stream live on the ITV X website.
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What is the team news?
England are without captain Millie Bright after the Chelsea defender withdrew from the squad due to a knee injury. The centre-back was replaced by Manchester United’s Millie Turner and goalkeeper Mary Earps will captain the Lionesses in her absence.
Beth Mead is back in the England squad for the first time in over a year after returning from an ACL injury. The Euros golden boot winner adds to Sarina Wiegman’s options in the forward line, with Lauren James, Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly all in form.
Vivianne Miedema is also set to return for the Netherlands after her own injury absence and could join Lieke Martens and Jill Roord in attack, but Andries Jonker is likely to stick with Juventus forward Lineth Beerensteyn.
Predicted line-ups
England: Earps; Bronze, Carter, Greenwood, Charles; Walsh, Stanway; Hemp, James, Kelly; Daly
Netherlands: Van Domselaar; Dijkstra, Spitse, Janssen; Pelova, Groenen, Van de Donk, Brugts; Roord; Beerensteyn, Martens
