Northern Ireland World Cup dream over after loss to England

At a sold-out Windsor Park on Tuesday, The Lionesses secured a 5-0 win over the Green and White Army leaving their dream of reaching the World Cup in 2023 well and truly over.

Lets take a look at 5 other things we learnt from this England masterclass.

1. The Lionesses have all but qualified for the World Cup in 2023

England went into the game topping Group D, they sat comfortably on 21 points. Sarina Wiegman’s side had conceded no goals, lost zero games and scored a total of 63 goals.

The Lionesses were unfazed by the record breaking home crowd in Northern Ireland and they soon became dominant, they could have been 2 goals up within the first ten minutes. But after 26 minutes star winger Lauren Hemp got them swiftly underway to victory.

From that moment on, The Lionesses asserted their control and were on fire in the second half, they scored 4 goals. Manchester City Women midfielder Georgia Stanway got 2, Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone got 1 and Lauren Hemp grabbed another.

The win leaves Wiegman’s side top of Group D still and they are now 5 points clear of second placed Austria. In order to secure qualification they need just one point in their penultimate match against the Austrians in September.

As for Wiegman her focus now turns to her Euros squad selection for the summer, she surely will be keeping a close eye on everyone during the WSL season run-in.

2. The World Cup dream is well and truly over for Northern Ireland

Despite playing in front of a home record crowd of 15,348 at Windsor Park, Kenny Shiels’ side failed to beat England.

And even though mathematically his side can still finish level on points with second placed Austria, the Austrians have a far superior head-to-head record which therefore means the Green and White Army’s dreams of qualifying for the World Cup are over.

They can’t even make the play-offs next summer.

In truth, The Northern Irish side were dominated from start to finish in the game and were miles off the pace compared to The Lionesses.

However Shiels and his squad should still see their qualification process as a success. Despite not qualifying they’ve only conceded 14 goals (so far) and they’ve scored 31 (so far). And of course they can still finish third in the group which would be an amazing achievement for them without qualifying for the playoffs.

3. Lauren Hemp is going to be an England star

Manchester City Women winger Lauren Hemp starred in her sides victory over Northern Ireland on Tuesday. After scoring two goals, she showed not only for the first time, that she is going to be a future England star for many tournaments to come.

The 21-year-old has only 19 caps so far for her country. At this time she has already scored 6 goals and is proving to be one of the first names on the team-sheet under new boss Sarina Wiegman.

During the current WSL season, Hemp has made 18 appearances so far and has scored 6 goals and grabbed 3 assists.

If she keeps up her current run of form and avoids any injuries, she surely has to be one of the first choices for Wiegman other than new captain Leah Williamson for the Euros this summer.

4. Kenny Shiels had to apologise for some controversial comments he made after the game

The 65-year-old made the comment “women are more emotional than men, so they take a goal going in not very well.” The comment came after his side conceded 4 goals in 27 second half minutes.

Following a meeting with the Irish FA on Wednesday, Shiels immediately apologised for his comments. Also Northern Ireland captain Marissa Callaghan issued a statement, in which she said: “we (the squad) collectively stand by our manager.”

She also said that his comments were in relation to a pre-match meeting where the team’s problem of conceding goals in quick succession was discussed.

Shiels has been backed by the Irish FA, and will continue to be Northern Ireland manager for the foreseeable future.

Maybe next time he just needs to be careful what he says after a game as some people may find it offensive.

5. England could be a real contender at the Euros this year under Wiegman

Since being appointed as Phil Neville’s successor as the England manager in September 2021 Sarina Wiegman has built nothing short of an outstanding team.

In fact, The Lionesses have not lost a game since the 52-year-old took over. She has taken charge of the team for 11 games so far, they have won 9 and drawn 2. In this time, her side has scored a total of 72 goals and conceded just 2. They also won the first ever Arnold Clark Cup under the new manager which was her first piece of silverware as England boss.

Some arguments will come, as The Lionesses haven’t played against top opposition such as America, Brazil or Wiegman’s old side The Netherlands yet with the Dutch national in charge.

However, if the team at the moment is anything to go by England look in pretty good shape for the home Euros tournament this summer, especially with a lot of younger talent breaking through.

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