Netherlands 2-1 England: Renate Jansen nets last-gasp winner as Sarina Wiegman suffers defeat on homecoming

Sarina Wiegman suffered defeat in her homecoming as the Netherlands scored a last-gasp winner to secure a 2-1 victory over England in the UEFA Women’s Nations League.

Renate Jansen’s 90th-minute goal proved decisive after Alessia Russo levelled matters following Lieke Martens’ first-half opener.

It was a disappointing night for the Lionesses, who were the victims of their own downfall, making two defensive mistakes that ultimately cost them in Utrecht.

“We gifted them two goals which was disappointing on our behalf,” England captain Millie Bright said to ITV after the match.

“We’ve got to reflect, evolve, get better as a team. Tonight we just couldn’t find a way to win.”

The home side took the lead after 34 minutes, punishing England by taking advantage of a moment of carelessness at the back after Georgia Stanway’s clearance was blocked by Jackie Groenen.

The ball rebounded off the Dutch midfielder and found Danielle van de Donk inside the penalty area who had been retreating from an offside position, but the referee waved play on, with Van de Donk passing back to Martens and she curled the ball into the right side of the goal to break the deadlock.

England had struggled to click in the opening exchanges of the match and it seemed as though it was only a matter of time before the Netherlands broke through, yet the opener spurred England into action.

They came out a lot better in the second half and reaped the rewards for their work in attack, with Stanway’s cross deflecting off a Netherlands defender to find Russo inside the six-yard box, who looped the ball into the right corner of the goal to pull the Lionesses level.

But despite their hard work, Wiegman’s side suffered their second defeat in their last 10 outings, with Jansen, who had been brought on as a substitute just six minutes earlier, capitalising on a poor pass from Alex Greenwood, before driving through on goal to fire a thunderous strike into the top-right corner of the goal.

The victory leaves Netherlands second in Group A1 after two matches, behind Belgium who have six points.

With the Women’s Super League set to kick off on October 1, England’s next appearance in the Nations League will come against Belgium on October 27, with the Netherlands next in action against Scotland.

Ahead of tonight’s match, Wiegman claimed that she was ‘”relishing” the “special” return to play against her former side but admitted it was “a little bit strange” to be back in her native country. The England manager became the first coach to win two consecutive European Championship titles with two separate teams.

But the 53-year-old will have plenty to think about before her side are back in action at the end of October. England struggled to get into the game on Tuesday night, with the Netherlands seeming to overrun them in midfield during the first half.

The Dutch side looked the more dangerous at the beginning of the match and while question marks can be raised over whether their opening goal was offside, the Netherlands did seem to be the team more likely to break the deadlock.

Despite that, Wiegman’s side had plenty of good chances, but at times were unlucky to not convert, with Van Domselaar in goal proving superb on the night to block multiple attempts. They came out looking more fired up in the second half, knocking on the door on several occasions early on, before getting their equaliser.

Wiegman will hope England can get off to a better start and be more composed defensively ahead of their next Nations League outing.

Several Netherlands players looked dangerous with Beerensteyn and Janssen putting their names in the hat, considering their efforts leading the Dutch attack. But it was van Domselaar who impressed most on the night, with the Netherlands goalkeeper keeping her side in the match on several occasions, with some sensational saves.

Netherlands: Van Domselaar 8, Pelova 6, Dijkstra 7, Janssen 6, Brugts 6, Groenen 7, Spitse 6, Van de Donk 6, Beerensteyn 7, Roord 7, Martens 8.

Subs: Kaptein 5, Willms 5, Egurrola 5, Jansen 7.

England: Earps 8, Carter 5, Bright 7, Greenwood 6, Bronze 7, Stanway 6, Zelem 6, Toone 6, Daly 6, Russo 7, Hemp 6.

10’ Beerensteyn showed her pace to break through and chase down a long ball but Bright intercepted again. The home side certainly looked the better side at the start of the match. Controlling the majority of possession, the Netherlands exploited the space against England, targeting speedster Lineth Beerensteyn up top with multiple long balls. Millie Bright was called into action twice early on, heading away a long-range shot before intercepting Beerensteyn on the break.

24’ Andries Jonker’s side take their first real chance, winning possession on the half-way line with Manchester City midfielder Jill Roord drove through England’s defense before striking a long-distance shot at Mary Earps. It was a pretty simple save for the Lionesses shot-stopper, but a powerful one no less. England had a chance moments later, with Rachel Daly, playing on the left wing tonight, sweeping a lovely ball into the penalty area with Ella Toone rising to meet the looping pass, but was about an inch short of making contact.

30’ The Netherlands played with a lot of confidence in the opening stages, while it just wasn’t clicking for the Lionesses in the opening stages of the match. Earps, England’s formidable last line of defence was called into action again, with Caitlin Dijkstra weaving her way into the box, to get a powerful shot away from close range, but it was parried away by the shot-stopper. England caused problems for themselves, with the Dutch counter pressing against England winning possession in dangerous positions.

34’ The Netherlands looked like they would be the team to break the deadlock in the first half, taking the lions’ share of chances, before Martens put the home side a goal up. It came after England were careless at the back in possession, with Stanway’s clearance being blocked by Groenen, with the ball falling to van de Donk who was in an offside position inside the penalty area.

43’ Van Domselaar denies both Hemp and Bronze’s strikes with a duo of excellent saves. And it was end-to-end stuff just before half-time, with Beerensteyn showing her speed to get goalside of Jess Carter, to hit the crossbar.

53’ The Netherlands appealed to the referee after she got in the way of an England attack, with Russo playing in Bronze. A deep cross came in with Lauren Hemp meeting the ball at the back post but she was denied by a Dutch defender. England returned soon after with Kelly firing in another ball to Hemp in the same position, but this time it was the goalkeeper who kept the ball out with a sensational save.

70’ The Dutch are very good at getting players inside the box, with Bereensteyn pressing on England to beat Bright and get a shot away at Earps.

90′ Jansen had only been on the pitch for six minutes and she claims the winner for the home side, capitalising from a poor pass from Greenwood, striking a thunderous shot past Earps in goal.