# Lien Mermans

Lien Mermans (born 27 September 1990) is a Belgian football midfielder who last played for VC Moldavo.

## Club career

Mermans started her senior career at Vlimmeren, which later became known as Women's Department Lierse SK.
After 1 year with DVC Eva's Tienen, she returned to Lierse where she played from 2010 until 2016. During that period, they won the Belgian Cup twice. At the end of the 2015/16 season, Lierse's women's department folded because of financial problems and Mermans subsequently joined KRC Genk Ladies. Her first year at Genk saw some good performances rewarded with "The Sparkle" trophy - the women's equivalent of the Belgian Golden Shoe.
She missed out on most of the 2017/18 season and the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 tournament because of an inflammation on the heart muscle. At the end of 2018, Mermans announced her retirement from the national team and signed for D1 team VC Moldavo.

## International career

Mermans was a long-time member of the Belgian women's national team. At youth level she played for U-15, U-17 and U-19.
On sep. 5, 2009 she earned her first cap for the senior team in a friendly game against Romania where she substituted Femke Maes in the 88th minute. The match ended in a 2-7 win for Belgium.
The first time she scored was on 20 juni 2012, during a qualification match for UEFA Women's Euro 2013 in an away game against Hungary. Mermans started the match and scored 0-1 in the 13th minute.
Mermans' 48th and final cap was in a friendly against Scotland on 11 April 2017, where she scored 2-0 in the 46th minute. The game ended in a 5-0 victory.

## Personal life

Mermans works full-time as a physical education teacher.

## Career statistics
### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Belgium U15 | 2005 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 1 | 0 |
| Belgium U17 | 2005 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 4 | 0 |
| Belgium U19 | 2005 | 1 | 0 |
| Belgium U19 | 2006 | 3 | 1 |
| Belgium U19 | 2007 | 3 | 0 |
| Belgium U19 | 2008 | 6 | 3 |
| Belgium U19 | 2009 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 19 | 4 |
| Belgium | 2009 | 2 | 0 |
| Belgium | 2010 | 2 | 0 |
| Belgium | 2011 | 7 | 0 |
| Belgium | 2012 | 9 | 1 |
| Belgium | 2013 | 7 | 2 |
| Belgium | 2014 | 8 | 4 |
| Belgium | 2015 | 1 | 0 |
| Belgium | 2016 | 6 | 0 |
| Belgium | 2017 | 6 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 48 | 9 |
List of international goals scored by Lien Mermans :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 20 June 2012 | Haladás Sportkomplexum, Szombathely, Hungary | Hungary | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2013 W-EURO Qualy Group 3 |
| 2 | 2 June 2013 | Proximus Basecamp, Tubize, Belgium | Ukraine | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 2 June 2013 | Proximus Basecamp, Tubize, Belgium | Ukraine | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 5 April 2014 | Niko Dovana Stadium, Durrës, Albania | Albania | 0–3 | 0–6 | 2015 FIFA WC, UEFA Group 5 |
| 5 | 13 September 2014 | Den Dreef, Louvain, Belgium | Greece | 3–0 | 11–0 | 2015 FIFA WC, UEFA Group 5 |
| 6 | 13 September 2014 | Den Dreef, Louvain, Belgium | Greece | 5-0 | 11–0 | 2015 FIFA WC, UEFA Group 5 |
| 7 | 22 November 2014 | Sosnowiec, Poland | Poland | 1–4 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 8 | 1 March 2017 | GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus | Switzerland | 1-1 | 2–2 | 2017 Cyprus Women's Cup |
| 9 | 11 April 2017 | Den Dreef, Louvain, Belgium | Scotland | 2-0 | 5–0 | Friendly |

## Honours
### Lierse SK

Runners-up
* Belgian Women's Super Cup: 2012–13

### Individual

* Winner of The Sparkle trophy: 2017