England could not have done much more. To top their Nations League group and keep their hopes of qualifying for the Olympics on behalf of Team GB alive, they needed to beat Scotland by as big a margin as possible and hope it was enough.
It was not. A chaotic four minutes, where England were top, second, then top again, ended in heartbreak.
The Lionesses led Scotland 5-0 when Damaris Eggurola put the Dutch 3-0 up against Belgium and back top of the group.
With seconds remaining in England’s game, Lucy Bronze headed in a sixth goal that saw the two countries switch places again.
As Sarina Wiegman’s players waited for the full-time score, they got the news that Eggurola had scored again – a 95th minute goal that sent the Netherlands through. It was cruel.
Alex Greenwood (right) opened the scoring for England with a free header in the 13th minute
Lauren James struck twice in the space of a minute to put England 3-0 up in the first-half
James’ fantastic strike sailed into the top right corner for the third goal in the 39th minute
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‘I’m very, very disappointed,’ said a dejected Wiegman. ‘That’s the biggest emotion I have now. I think we delivered tonight. The team showed lots of character.
‘When Lucy scored that goal I thought “we can get this”, but that’s football. The Netherlands scored a late goal and that’s how close it was. We were waiting, those were long minutes.
‘We really thought we got it. I actually didn’t know what to say [to the players] because I’m really proud of this performance, but we’re not through and I’m very disappointed.’
England did not lose the chance of Olympic qualification here. They lost it in Belgium, where poor defending saw them succumb to a 3-2 defeat. They also lost it in the Netherlands, where a lapse in concentration saw the Dutch earn a late 2-1 victory.
They will look back at this Nations League campaign and wonder what could have been.
But perhaps, in the long run, a summer of rest after back-to-back major tournaments is not the worst thing for this group of players.
They could not have given more at Hampden Park, where they hit the woodwork twice, against a hapless Scotland side. Alex Greenwood opened the scoring in the 13th minute when she headed in Beth Mead’s corner in the 13th minute.
James struck twice in the space of two minutes to put England 3-0 up. The first took a huge deflection off Nicola Docherty to wrong-foot Gibson, but there was no doubting the second – a fantastic strike which sailed into the top right corner.
Mead then made it 4-0 before half-time. James was involved again with a sensational lofted pass, with Mead taking one touch before firing a shot into the roof of the net.
Beth Mead netted her first goal for England since rupturing her ACL in November last year
The Arsenal forward waited some time for the strike, and celebrated rampantly in Scotland
Lucy Bronze scored the sixth goal with the last touch of the game but it was not enough
It was Mead’s first goal for England since rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament in November last year.
The Lionesses knew there were more goals for them and three minutes after half-time it was 5-0.
Georgia Stanway drove down the right and cut-back for Kirby to tap-in from two yards out.
Bronze then headed in a sixth with the last touch of the game, but it was not enough.
But despite hitting Scotland for six, England were unable to affect the outcome of Netherlands’ tie with Belgium
Sarina Wiegman’s players had to wait for a brutal few minutes before they learned their fate