Belgium vs England - Euro 2017 Qualifying Preview: Top of the group showdown

The Lionesses will be looking to get the win.

Belgium vs England - Euro 2017 Qualifying Preview: Top of the group showdown
chloe-leadbeater
By Chloe Leadbeater

Belgium face England tomorrow in a qualifier which will decide the team that tops the group. This should be a fairly easy task for the Lionesses as they only need to avoid defeat to do so but Belgium aren't exactly a pushover.

Qualification route

Belgium recently qualified for their first ever Euros on Friday as Portugal beat Finland 3-2. This meant that the Red Flames, along with Scotland and Iceland, gained automatic qualification to Euro 2017.

Belgium have had a fairly good run in qualification and still remain unbeaten. They kicked off with a 6-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina in September last year and beat them 5-0 in the return leg. They then drew with Serbia and England. The Red Flames went ahead in the England game thanks to Janice Cayman and it took a goal from Jill Scott to ensure England didn't go away empty handed a few minutes from the final whistle.

Belgium then repeated their double win against Bosnia & Herzegovina with a similar scoreline against Estonia. Belgium's penultimate match came against Serbia but they came away with a more convincing 3-1 win.

England kicked their qualification quest last year with an 8-0 thrashing of Estonia. They were looking to do the same in their next qualifier but unfortunately didn't. It was a tough game for the Lionesses with the horrendous weather conditions and the fact that the WSL had finished well over a month ago but they ground out a 1-0 win.

Belgium were next and the Lionesses were dealt a shock when the Red Flames went ahead. It took until the 84th minute for the equaliser to be scored and a point rescued. England again had a tight win over Bosnia & Herzegovina to keep their unbeaten run going.

It seemed like goals had dried up with these results but they flowed freely when the Lionesses completed a 7-0 double over Serbia. Their most recent qualifier was a 5-0 win against Estonia.

Who will remain unbeaten?

Going into this match, both teams will want to win and keep their unbeaten run going. Both have hardly conceded any goals so it might take one goal to win it. The Lionesses seem the more likely to win this one and will be fairly confident going into this. With them both qualifying for next year, this will be a good test for both as they could face each other yet again next year.

Unfortunately for England, they have had two withdrawals from the squad. Claire Rafferty has concussion so will not be able to take any further part in the qualifiers and will miss Chelsea's match on Sunday against Manchester City.

Becky Spencer has also withdrawn after sustaining a back injury and again will miss Chelsea's next match. She has been replaced in the squad by Mary Earps, Reading's number one.

Hopefully, the injuries won't mean too much as there is a decent depth in the England squad and it will be business as usual. Belgium will fancy themselves in this match but it's hard to see the Lionesses losing this one and they look likely to top the table.