Belgium Women vs England Women; Women's International Friendlies
Belgium Women vs England Women. Women's International Friendlies.
Den Dreef.
Belgium Women 3
- C Telford (38th minute own goal)
- E Van Kerkhoven (47th minute, 55th minute)
England Women 3
- J Taylor (22nd minute)
- B Mead (26th minute)
- N Parris (75th minute pen)
Phil Neville urges England to be 'braver and tougher' ahead of Euro 2021
England face Belgium in Leuven on Thursday (kick-off 6.30pm BST); follow the women's international friendly via our min-by-min blog on the Sky Sports app
Thursday 29 August 2019 14:33, UK
England Women manager Phil Neville has urged the Lionesses to be "braver and tougher" as they prepare for a home European Championship in 2021.
The Lionesses were beaten in the World Cup semi-finals by eventual winners the United States and also lost the subsequent third-place play-off match against Sweden.
Ahead of Thursday evening's friendly away to Belgium (kick-off 6.30pm BST) - and also with next Tuesday's trip to Norway in mind - Neville has challenged his players to reach "greater levels" on the pitch.
He told BBC Sport: "We've done an extensive debrief of the World Cup and we concluded that the foundations are rock solid.
"But we have to be braver, tougher and accept that what we are doing at the moment is not at the levels we need to win a gold medal in a final.
"We have to push our bodies, football, and tactics to even greater levels. That's what we are telling the players on camp."
Nineteen players from the World Cup squad have travelled to Belgium, though Fran Kirby and Alex Greenwood will miss the game at the 10,020-capacity Den Dreef Stadium in Leuven due to injury.
Reading's Fara Williams and Chelsea's Hannah Blundell will step up to replace the duo, the former having collected the most England caps of any player, male or female, with 170 appearances.
England debuts have been handed to Bethany England and Aoife Mannion, who play in the Women's Super League for Chelsea and Manchester City respectively.
Also called up to the England senior team for the first time are 21-year-old Sandy MacIver and 20-year-old Anna Patten, both of whom featured in the bronze medal-winning squad at the 2018 U20s World Cup.
MacIver, who plays in goal for Clemson University in South Carolina, was instrumental in securing the medal as the play-off match against France went to penalties having finished 1-1.
The Lionesses will face a Belgium side who failed to qualify for the World Cup and were beaten 6-0 earlier in the year by England's nemesis, the United States.
Neville's side then travel to Norway to face the squad they beat 3-0 to reach the last four at the World Cup.
You can follow the match live via our minute-by-minute blog on the Sky Sports app and skysports.com from 5.30pm on Thursday
