England 5-0 Belgium
By Catherine MacKenzie (05/04/2025)
Above: Aggie Beever-Jones celebrates her first senior goal. Photo: Shell Lawrence for Impetus.
Five different Lionesses were on the scoresheet at Ashton Gate on Friday evening, as England followed up February’s win over Spain with a demolition of Belgium’s Red Flames.
England came into the game against Belgium with positivity following a win against world champions Spain in February. The Lionesses started the game joint-top of their Nations League group, level on points and goal difference with Portugal.
Marvellous Mead goes under the radar
It is rare that a player of the match performance goes to a player who did not get on the scoresheet. However, on a chilly Friday evening in Bristol, Beth Mead accomplished exactly that. Whilst Lucy Bronze also deserves many plaudits and was a standout player in the match, Mead deserves a mention in the conversation.
England’s most active goal scorer in the last European Championship, Mead’s role for club and country has evolved over recent months, following a lengthy absence due to an ACL injury. At twenty-nine, she is now one of the older members of this Lionesses squad, and goalscoring duties mainly rely on her Arsenal team-mate Alessia Russo.
For some, this evolution has implied that Mead is somehow past her best; that her most effective position is as an impact player off the bench. However, she has consistently been putting in strong performances for Arsenal, scoring six goals in 17 appearances, assisting twice and making a goal-line clearance against West Ham in the closing moments that saved the game.
Mead was withdrawn from the last England camp due to a minor injury (replaced by Chloe Kelly, who has pulled out of the current camp due to minor injury), so she missed the Lionesses’ statement win over Spain. However, her link-up play with teammate Russo was something fans were eager to see spill over into England performances, and this was certainly the case against Belgium.
She played the full 90-minutes, providing an assist for Aggie Beever-Jones, making 40 accurate passes (out of 44, for a completion rate of 91%), nine key passes, six crosses, and creating two big chances. She also made a couple of tackles at the other end, showcasing her willingness to get back and help her team defend.
Substitutions make an impact
When England won the 2022 Euros, substitutions made the difference. Every player wants a starting position; to stand facing the audience to sing the national anthem, to be featured in the starting line-up photograph. The importance of being an impact player is often underestimated; Toone’s goal off the bench in the Euros final is not marred by the fact that she did not start the game, neither is Kelly’s. The impact player has a vital role in tournament football and is something England will have been slightly concerned about in recent windows.
However, the win against Belgium showed that the impact substitutions are still there for England if squad members take their chances. Aggie Beever-Jones replaced Lauren James at half-time, scoring her first senior goal and causing the Belgian defence a lot of concern with her pace and ability to stretch the opponent. It is difficult to know if she would have had such an impact from a starting position, however given Russo’s form of late, a substitution was always going to be the most likely option to give Beever-Jones minutes.
Another substitution that made a difference was Jess Park, who replaced Ella Toone on the hour mark. After scoring against Spain to secure a vital win, Park may have felt aggrieved not to start against Belgium. It is likely the Toone-Clinton club connection that is currently working so well that pushed Park out of the starting line-up, however Park took her chance and showed why she is also effective as a substitute. The Belgian defence was fatigued by this point and gave Park the space to be at her creative best, leading to England’s third goal.
Esme Morgan, Jess Carter and Nikita Parris also got minutes, giving Leah Williamson, Millie Bright and Russo some time to recover ahead of the return leg on Tuesday.
First senior goals for Beever-Jones and Keira Walsh
Widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, Keira Walsh has numerous accolades to her name – from winning the Champions League with Barcelona, to the 2022 Euros with England. On her 83rd cap Friday evening, she added another ring to her belt – goal-scorer for England.
Defensive midfield is not a position known for its goal-scoring potential, however Walsh put that right against Belgium. Speaking post-game, head coach Sarina Wiegman said that she encouraged Walsh to shoot more – “she has a good shot!”.
Slightly earlier in her England career, twenty-one year old striker Aggie Beever-Jones also netted her first goal, getting into the right position to strike from a superb Mead cross.
Momentum is building
Ahead of the match, Wiegman admitted that her focus on the Nations League is split with focus on the European Championships this summer. Following the win against Spain, there is a feeling about England – that something is shifting, that they are discovering the form that made them so unbeatable back in 2022.
This is the first time that feeling has been around since then, and it is striking that it is being felt when the squad are dealing with so many injuries to important players. That is important to remember – Georgia Stanway, Lauren Hemp, and Alex Greenwood are still to be added to the squad.
Speaking to Ian Wright and Karen Carney post-match, Wiegman admitted that she is feeling this too; she said “…something is happening, we are getting closer.” A key test of this momentum will be to see if they can maintain this high level of performance, remaining consistent in the few remaining games heading into the tournament this summer.
England now lead their group with seven points, one ahead of Spain in second. They also have a superior goal difference, with six compared to Spain’s two.
TEAMS: ENGLAND (4-3-3): Hampton, Bronze, Williamson, Bright, Charles, Clinton, Walsh, Mead, Toone, James, Russo.
Substitutes: Beever-Jones (James 45′), Park (Toone 60′), Morgan (Williamson 73′), Parris (Russo 73′), Carter (Bright 80′), Moorhouse, Earps, Turner, Parker, Le Tissier, Symonds.
Scorers: Bronze 21′, Bright 45′, Beever-Jones 67′, Park 77′, Walsh 88′.
BELGIUM (3-4-3): Evrard, Iliano, Cayman, Tysiak, Janssens, Teulings, Vanhaevermaet, Philtjens, Toloba, Missipo, Eurlings.
Substitues: Delacauw (Missipo 62′), Detruyer (Toloba 62′), Deloose (Philtjens 76′), Blom (Eurlings 83′), De Caigny (Teulings 84′), Lichtfus, Bastiaen, Elyn, Wijnants, Dhont, Mathys, Van Kerkhoven.
Referee: Marta Huerta de Aza (ESP)
Attendance: 23,202
England next face Belgium away in Leuven on Tuesday – kick off at 19:30 UK time on ITV1.
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