Belgium Women v England Women
2025 UEFA Women’s Nations League
Date: Tuesday 8 April 2025
Venue: King Power at Den Dreef, Leuven
Kick-Off: 7.30pm UK time
Just four days after their previous meeting at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate, Belgium and England renew rivalries in Group A3 of the UEFA Women’s Nations League as the Lionesses look to maintain their lead at the top of the group.
Friday’s game saw England run out 5-0 winners, with Aggie Beever-Jones and Keira Walsh getting their first senior goals. Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright and Jess Park also got themselves on the scoresheet.
It means that Sarina Weigman’s side are in pole position to reach October’s Nations League Finals, as well as ensuring they will be in League A once again when the draw for 2027 FIFA World Cup qualifying is made later this year
How does the group stand?
England’s second successive win means that they have taken seven points from their three matches so far, with defending champions Spain just behind on six points after they beat neighbours Portugal on Friday.
That was Portugal’s first defeat of the group stage and having gone into matchday three in top spot, they now find themselves in third place on four points. Belgium are bottom and without a point having lost all three of their matches so far.
Should those results be repeated tomorrow night, England will be almost assured of a top two finish, while Belgium would be assured of finishing in the bottom two and at best would face a promotion/relegation play-off/
Previous Meetings
There is plenty of recent history between these two sides, who also met in the previous Nations League cycle in October 2023. On that occasion England claimed a 1-0 victory on home soil before falling to a 3-2 defeat in Belgium.
That defeat ultimately proved costly as they narrowly missed out on top spot in the group and a place in the finals, as well as the Olympics, to the Netherlands. Their previous clash in February that year had seen England run out 6-1 winners.
Overall tomorrow night will be the eighth meeting between the two sides with England having won four. That win in October was Belgium’s only victory over the reigning European champions, with the other two being draws.
Key Team News
In form forward Alessia Russo and Lauren James have both been ruled out of the game having picked up injuries in Bristol on Friday and have been replaced in the squad by Jessica Naz and Michelle Agyemang.
James has a hamstring injury, while Russo’s injury has not been specified but she has returned to Arsenal for further assessment. Brighton forward Agyemang has been awarded her first senior call-up having previously played for England at Under 19 and Under 23 levels.
It leaves Sarina Weigman with a selection dilemma although Park and Beever-Jones could be in line to start having both scored from off the bench, while Nikita Parris also came on in place of Russo.
Big games on the horizon
Whilst Weigman will want to perform well in the Nations League, it will no doubt be in her mind that England only have a handful of games before beginning their defence of the European Championships on 5 July when they face France in Zurich.
In fact, they only have three more matches between now and the tournament getting underway. After tomorrow night’s clash with Belgium they host Portugal on 30 May before rounding off the Nations League group stage with a visit to Spain.
That means there are not many more opportunities for Weigman to give players game time before picking her squad for the tournament in Switzerland, where England’s three Nations League opponents will face each other again.