flames

Where does Belgium compare to the absolute top of women’s football? That question was at stake on Friday evening at the Leuven Dreef. The Red Flames had caused an international sensation in their previous Nations League campaign by performing against both the Netherlands and England. They did this with unadulterated counter-attack football, based on sharp defense and the quick bursts of strikers such as Tessa Wullaert and Wolfsburg player Jill Janssens. Against world champion Spain, which demands the ball at all times, there might be spaces. Who knows, the coach and players hoped before the start, there might be a new stunt against the number one in the world.

During a mild spring evening, the OHL stadium was packed to see the Flames play against the reigning world champions. The VRT decided to broadcast the match on its main network. But at no point in the match were the Belgians able to put their foot next to that of their Spanish visitors. The alarm went off at the back at every turn. The Belgian women did not play football. Chasing the ball wildly forward, hoping that Wullaert or Janssens could be launched into the depths, even more so.

It turned out to be a tactic that led nowhere. Especially when Belgium conceded a goal from a set piece after less than ten minutes. Spanish captain Irene Paredes headed a corner into the face of her teammate Jenni Hermoso. The woman who became world famous for the wrong reasons saw the ball fall at the feet of Salma Paralluelo. The 20-year-old attacker scored her first goal of the evening after nine minutes.

Janice Cayman was not fully fit with the Flames. At her own request, she stayed aside, hoping to be able to play in Denmark on Tuesday. Interim national coach Kris Van der Haegen also opted for Janssens’ speed over OHL striker Marie Detruyer. In his interview beforehand, he had announced that he would receive Spain “not in a low, but a middle block”.

It didn’t make much difference on the field. Spain pushed the Flames back. Goalkeeper Lisa Lichtfus, the replacement for first choice Nicky Euvrard, distinguished herself by keeping Paralluelo from scoring a second goal. But after fifteen minutes the score was 0-2. Jenni Hermoso was allowed to score freely from the edge of the penalty area.

Eye-catching technology

Spain gave the Belgians football lessons. Aitana Bonmatí, the current Golden Ball, was absent due to injury, but Alexia Putellas, one of the previous laureates, demonstrated her eye-catching technique by offering Paralluela the 0-3 with a heel between the legs of a defender. Fans of the Flames who wanted to make it a pleasant evening concentrated better on enjoying the opponent’s game, without any doubt the best that a women’s team has ever put on a Belgian field.

The second half started even more dramatically than the first with another goal for Paralluelo, who used her speed to expose the entire Belgian defense. As a teenager, the daughter of a Spanish father and a mother from Equatorial Guinea was an acclaimed 400-meter sprinter. She once won gold with the Spanish relay at the European youth championships.

The Flames were now completely extinguished. Two substitutes, Esther González and Sheila García, scored the last three goals.

The European Championship qualification for the Flames only really starts on Tuesday, when they can fight the number thirteen in the world in Denmark. The Belgians themselves are in eighteenth place. The Belgian Football Association wants to take the team to the top 12 in the world and the top 8 in Europe. Whether the Flames can get there anytime soon will become clearer next week. On Friday at Den Dreef, the difference with the number one in women’s football turned out to be many times greater than some observers, and the players themselves, had dared to hope.