‘Best in the world’ - Belgium manager makes firm England admission after Arnold Clark Cup defeat

How Belgium’s manager assessed their thrashing against England

Belgium Women’s manager Ives Serneels revealed that in his opinion, Sarina Wiegman’s England Women are the best international team in the world.

The Lionesses stormed to a 6-1 victory over Serneels’ side to lift the Arnold Clark Cup at Ashton Gate on Wednesday night, after several star displays in white.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The win stretched the Lionesses’ remarkable unbeaten run under Wiegman to 29 matches, as they continue to blow their opponents away and go from strength to strength.

When asked just how good this England team is, Serneels replied: “Maybe the best in the world... We looked to England before this tournament for a few games, we've seen it already during the Euros that when this team are good, it is hard to beat them.

“When they have difficult moments, they have girls on the bench who are at the same level, which is a really good strength of theirs.”

The Lionesses brought on names such as Lauren Hemp and Rachel Daly in the route, and had a substitutes bench full of talent and experience.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But, they didn’t need to turn to their subs for inspiration, but rather just to see the game out. Goals from Chloe Kelly and Leah Williamson in the first half gave the Lionesses a healthy lead at the break, the pair both struck again in the second half, as one from Lucy Bronze and an own goal sealed Belgium’s fate.

“It was a tough match, that’s for sure,” Serneels said. “We knew before the game, without looking for excuses, that it would be a difficult game, you’re playing against a team who won the European Championship. I talked yesterday to my colleagues in the Belgian press, they said that in every position, each girl in the England team, you can put in the first three in the rankings.

“We had some injuries after the first game, two central defenders, but that’s not me looking for excuses. When you play against a team like England, we hoped that we could do it with what we put on the field, which proved difficult. We had girls who had never played together, we scored an own goal that we could’ve done better, but it was a deserved win for England.”

Despite shipping six goals, Belgium did hit back with a brilliant goal of their own through Elena Dhont, and showed a real togetherness and fight against superior opposition.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We started this year a new process with our girls and I'm also proud of my team and what they’ve brought in the first two games,” Serneels added. “We lost today 6-1, but we will go back to Belgium with positives to take forward into the future.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.