GLASGOW, Scotland — England spent the final moments of their 2023 schedule huddled ’round a phone, in the middle of a freezing Hampden Park pitch trying to work out what was going on in Tilburg, where the Netherlands were playing Belgium. It capped a roller-coaster year that saw them reach the final of the Women’s World Cup, but also lose out in a spot in the semifinals of the Nations League by the narrowest of margins.
On Tuesday evening, for the second match running, England scored late goals and secured impressive wins, but the players’ celebrations were nonexistent. That’s the situation they put themselves in after defeats to the Netherlands and Belgium saw their Nations League hopes hang by the narrowest of threads ahead of two blockbuster matches. But in the end, they lost out on top spot in their Nations League group by a single goal,…
