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- A disappointing defeat for England was compounded by the worrying injury
- The Manchester City defender was involved in a collision during the first half
- Greenwood was attended to by medical staff on the pitch for roughly 13 minutes
On a night where England suffered their worst defeat of Sarina Wiegman’s reign that leaves their Olympic hopes hanging in the balance, the most concerning outcome was the serious head injury suffered by Alex Greenwood.
The defender was taken off on a stretcher after a 13-minute delay following a collision with Janissa Blom.
There will be more concern given the defender has already suffered two head injuries this year.
The Lionesses bench looked immediately worried when Greenwood went down, with six paramedics and four members of England’s medial team attending to the defender, who was given oxygen.
Greenwood was placed in a neck brace before being taken off on a stretcher, but was seen squeezing the hand of team-mate Millie Bright as she left the pitch. The defender was said to be conscious and talking at half-time.
The Manchester City defender was attended to by medics on the pitch for roughly 13 minutes
A rare bright note on the evening was Fran Kirby’s goal on her return to the squad after injury
Belgium skipper Tessa Wullaert equalised in first-half added time before scoring the winner
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Greenwood, one of the stars of England’s World Cup campaign, was heavily missed in defence as England capitualted on a miserable night in Leuven.
Belgium had taken an unlikely lead eight minutes before Greenwood’s withdrawal when Laura De Neve’s free-kick deceived England’s five-player wall and goalkeeper Mary Earps to end up in the bottom right corner.
But England were level shortly after Greenwood left the pitch, as Chloe Kelly’s free-kick picked out Lucy Bronze, who sent a header into the top right corner. Alessia Russo should have made it 2-1 moments later but could only fire wide after Nicky Evrard had pushed out another Bronze header.
It did not take long for the Lionesses to get themselves in front with a well-worked team goal. Keira Walsh played in Lauren Hemp down the left. She cut the ball back to Kirby, who placed a calm finish into the bottom right corner.
The win sees Belgium leapfrog England into second place of the Nations League group
But England were the constructs of their own downfall as they gifted Belgium an equaliser in added time. Justine Vanhaevermaet pounced on Georgia Stanway’s loose pass to play in Tessa Wullaert, who finished smartly past Earps.
England controlled possession but struggled to break down a resolute Belgian defence and needed a big save from Earps to deny Wullaert on the hour mark.
But Earps could do nothing to prevent Wullaert scoring the winner from the penalty spot in the 85th minute after Stanway had been penalised for handball.
The result means England’s fate is out of their hands. They will need to beat the Netherlands and Scotland in December and hope Belgium drop points in their remaining fixtures.
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