The Northern Ireland manager, Kenny Shiels, blamed women for being “more emotional than men” as a reason for women’s teams conceding a second goal shortly after a first, following a heavy defeat which all but guarantees England’s qualification for the Women’s World Cup.
“In the women’s game, I’ve noticed, as I’m sure you’re aware, if you go through the patterns, when a team concedes a goal they concede a second one in a very very short period of time, right through the whole spectrum of the women’s game, because girls and women are more emotional than men,” he said. “So, they take a goal going in not very well.”
His team had conceded three in nine minutes against Austria on Friday and in the 26th minute then four in 27 minutes in the second half against England.
The comments marred a historic night for women’s football in Northern Ireland where a record crowd of 15,348 fans were welcomed to Windsor Park.
Two goals each from rampant winger Lauren Hemp and her Manchester City teammate Georgia Stanway and another from Manchester United’s Ella Toone guided England to an emphatic win against a team they will meet in their final group game of the Euros in the summer.
England ensured at least a playoff place for next summer’s tournament but will likely top the group with Austria needing to overturn the superior goal difference of 32 should the Lionesses take a single point from their final two games of the qualifying campaign.
Northern Ireland were always going to offer a sterner test than North Macedonia had the previous week, not just in terms of the 10-0 score-line. The Lionesses swapped the close-to empty Tose Proeski Arena for a trip to the sold-out Windsor Park, the dry heat of Skopje for a bitterly cold Belfast, a record Northern Ireland crowd in full voice and were facing a team that had not conceded in the first half in six games prior.
But it would have been naive to think that Sarina Wiegman’s side, serious contenders for the home Euros ahead, would not overturn a team of players that entered a first ever seven-month full-time spell in January in preparation for a first appearance at a major international tournament this summer.
For Shiels’s team, a crushing 3-1 defeat to Austria, their main rivals for a 2023 World Cup playoff place, last week piled the pressure on for the visit of England.
Instead, England punctured the first-half run of the home team. It had been coming. Hemp went on a bursting run into the box on the left before a neat one-two with Toone and the Manchester City winger finished the move by lofting the return over Jacqueline Burns and into the far corner. It was Hemp’s fifth senior international goal, a staggeringly low tally given her influence in the England attack in the last year.
“The result is great,” said Wiegman. “I’m really happy with 5-0. I thought it was a mature performance from us. I think we dominated the game as well.”
England had made two changes to the side that cruised past North Macedonia. Newly-named Euros captain Leah Williamson was positioned alongside Millie Bright in the centre of defence, after sitting out the previous tie while following concussion protocol as a precaution. Jess Carter, who had filled in alongside Bright, was shifted to left-back in place of Demi Stokes.
In the 52nd minute England doubled their lead against the team they beat 4-0 at Wembley in October. Right-back Lucy Bronze weaved into the box, evading four green shirts, before sending in a cross that Toone would sweep in at the back post.
Northern Ireland almost hit back instantly, with Lauren Wade turning on the edge of the box before forcing England keeper Mary Earps to get down low to push away her effort.
Wales kept alive their hopes of a Women’s World Cup qualification play-off place as Natasha Harding marked her 100th cap with a goal in a comfortable win away to Kazakhstan.
With France in charge of Group I, Wales are competing with Slovenia and Greece for second place.
Gemma Grainger’s side cantered to a 3-0 victory in Nur-Sultan as Kayleigh Green opened the scoring before Harding struck and Jess Fishlock sealed the win after the break. Harding was holding back the tears during the national anthem as she reached her century of appearances.
It took Wales until just before the half-hour mark to break the deadlock, a low strike from Green setting the visitors on their way. Sophie Ingle then hit the crossbar before Harding toasted her landmark cap, doubling the lead with a close-range finish from Ceri Holland’s cross.
Fishlock wrapped up the points with a well-taken third, opening up her body and scoring from 12 yards to leave Wales with the prospect of qualifying for their first ever World Cup.
With a play-off place the most likely path, Wales face a trip to Greece and a home tie against Slovenia in September knowing two wins would still have them in the hunt for a place at the 2023 finals in Australia and New Zealand.
A record attendance for a women’s international in Scotland watched the home side produce a much-improved performance against Spain as the visitors won 2-0. A crowd of 7,804 watched at Hampden as Scotland delivered a competitive display.
It was not until the 78th minute when Spanish captain Jennifer Hermoso scored her second goal of the game that the visitors looked comfortable.
Scotland threatened early on when Manchester City midfielder Caroline Weir got in behind but was denied by a last-ditch clearance.
The visitors stepped things up and went ahead in the 14th minute when Hermoso netted from the spot after Nicola Docherty had conceded a penalty.
Lee Alexander made saves either side of the break and Spain had a goal disallowed for offside, while Rachel Corsie produced a couple of excellent blocks to keep the game in the balance.
Erin Cuthbert saw a deflected effort spin just wide and Martha Thomas went through but the offside flag was raised as she rounded the goalkeeper and finished.
The clincher came after Hermoso took a return pass and finished into the top corner.
The win sealed Spain’s place in the World Cup finals but Scotland remain in second spot.
By the hour mark though the visiting team were three up. Williamson’s perfectly weighted defensive-splitting pass found Hemp and the forward rounded Burns with a single touch before sending the ball rolling into the empty net.
Stanway provided the goal that would match their Wembley tally but it was the mazy run of Toone on the left as green shirts stood back that deserved the credit, with the young United midfielder selflessly handing over for Stanway to hammer home.
Stanway scored her second less than 10 minutes later, hooking into the bottom corner after scrappy play in the box.
“We really have to make it clear that with the opponents we don’t expect that level at the Euros,” cautioned Wiegman. “It will be harder to score but we do see the connections between players and how we want to play. The level is really high in the training sessions so it’s getting clearer.”
