England were handed another blow in their Nations League campaign on Tuesday night after losing 3-2 to Belgium.
A late penalty from captain Tessa Wullaert handed the Red Flames victory as the Lionesses tumbled to third place in Group A1.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what has happened to England in the competition.
What’s actually at stake in the Nations League?
This year marks the inaugural Nations League competition in women’s football and takes a similar format to the men’s edition, where 51 competing nations are divided into two leagues of 16 and one of 19.
Crucially there is plenty to play for in the tournament as the winners from League A will reach the finals, which also act as Europe’s 2024 Olympic qualifiers – meaning that a place in Paris is up for grabs.
Tuesday’s loss to Belgium means England’s hopes of Olympic qualification are in danger with only two games remaining in the competition to try and turn things around.
What happened on Tuesday?
Having beaten Belgium at Leicester on Friday night, the Lionesses travelled to Leuven in the reverse fixture on Tuesday hoping to boost their chances of qualification.
They got off to a poor start, falling behind to Laura De Neve’s ninth-minute free-kick before Manchester City defender Alex Greenwood was carried off the pitch on a stretcher following a clash of heads and received treatment on the pitch for over 10 minutes. City confirmed on Wednesday that she will return to the club for further assessment.
England took the lead through goals from Lucy Bronze and Fran Kirby in quick succession, but Wullaert levelled things deep into first-half stoppage time.
The Belgian captain came to her side’s rescue again in the 85th minute, slotting home from the penalty spot to leapfrog England into second.
How have England done so far?
Defeat to Belgium handed England their second Nations League loss in four matches, but the Lionesses have already endured plenty of tough challenges in Group A1.
Kicking off their campaign in Sunderland, England were able to seal a 2-1 win in a closely-fought contest against Scotland where the visitors were unable to capitalise on a multitude of chances in the second half.
However, defeat followed in Utrecht as Renate Jansen struck in the 90th minute for the Netherlands to squeeze a 2-1 victory against their former boss Sarina Wiegman.
Lauren Hemp’s goal gave England an important three points with a 1-0 win against Belgium on Friday, but the reverse fixture ended in defeat on Tuesday.
What does the table look like now?
With two wins and two losses, the Lionesses are third in the table, just one point behind the Red Flames in the standings.
The Netherlands are on track for that vital Olympic spot after back-to-back wins against Scotland ensured they sit at the summit, having won three and lost only one of their four games so far.
Scotland are at the foot of the table with only one point picked up throughout the competition, which came during their 1-1 draw against Belgium in September thanks to Sophie Howard’s last-gasp header.
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England’s slim hopes of Olympic qualification continue in December when the next round of fixtures are set to be played.
The Lionesses kick off matchday five at Wembley, where they come up against the Netherlands on December 1 before travelling to Hampden Park to play their final fixture against Scotland four days later.
Belgium will host Scotland before taking on the Netherlands where two wins would see England miss out on the top spot regardless of how the Lionesses do and Wiegman knows the challenges that lie ahead for her side.
She said post-match on Tuesday: “First of all, we have to win with more than one goal against the Netherlands at Wembley, and then we have to win the other game too, because Belgium is in a very good place too.
“We know we have work to do – we always do, but we have put ourselves in a hard position at the moment.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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