Having reached the Women’s World Cup final in August, the Lionesses lost 3-2 in Leuven and sit third in the Women’s Nations League table.

Despite their lack of ruthlessness in front of goal and the mounting number of defensive errors on display, the European champions were defeated for the third time in five games.

Team GB’s Olympic qualification hangs in the balance as England must win its Women’s Nations League group to stand a chance of reaching Paris in 2024.

Managing director Sarina Wiegman told ITV: “Our first goal is to beat the Netherlands by more than one goal at Wembley [in December] so we know we have work to do.”

Wiegman could not have enjoyed a better start to his England tenure as they went 30 games unbeaten before a shock defeat by Australia in a pre-World Cup friendly in April.

Since that night in Brentford, England have struggled to consistently reach the high level of performance they demonstrated while winning Euro 2022, as she expressed frustration on Tuesday.

They reached the World Cup final, but received criticism for several underwhelming displays along the way.

England struggled to impose themselves and lacked creativity despite two standout performances against China in the group stages and Australia in the semi-finals.

It was once again a chance for the Lionesses to show their true potential in the new Women’s Nations League competition this September.