by Kris Goman
Above: The Netherlands will be tough opposition to crack during the World Cup – albeit without the talismanic Vivianne Miedama. Photo: Versus.
Runners-up in France 2019 to add to their Euro 2017 title, but the present-day Netherlands squad are both post-Sarina Wiegman and without the injured Vivianne Miedema which makes life considerably tougher this time round.
Squad:
Provisional squad, with final 23 to be confirmed shortly.
Goalkeepers: Daphne van Domselaar, Barbara Lorsheyd, Lize Kop, Jacintha Weimar.
Defenders: Kerstin Casparij, Caitlin Dijkstra, Merel van Dongen, Kika van Es, Stefanie van der Gragt, Aniek Nouwen, Lynn Wilms, Dominique Janssen.
Midfielders / Forwards: Danielle van de Donk, Damaris Egurrola, Jackie Groenen, Victoria Pelova, Jill Roord, Jill Baijings, Wieke Kaptein, Sherida Spitse.
Forwards: Lieke Martens, Shanice van de Sanden, Lineth Beerensteyn, Renate Jansen, Esmee Brugts, Katja Snoeijs, Romee Leuchter, Fenna Kalma, Tiny Hoekstra, Alieke Tuin.
Coach
Andries Jonker has spent most of his career in the men’s game despite an earlier stint as the Netherlands women’s coach over two decades ago. He’s been in charge at Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich, assistant at Barcelona, and also had some time at the Arsenal academy. He’s a former player and was on the Netherlands men’s national team.
He took over from Mark Parsons in August 2022 after Parsons was sacked following a lacklustre performance by the Netherlands at the Euros 2022. Since he’s taken over, there’s been mixed results but he ensured the World Cup qualification.
His first match as coach saw a defeat of Scotland 2-1 but the next friendly saw Norway the victors 2-0, bouncing back from their disastrous Euros. The Netherlands then went on to trounce Costa Rica 4-0 and get the win over Denmark 2-0 last year. Friendlies in February with Austria resulted in a 2-1 loss, then a week later, a convincing win 4-0. In April, Germany proved too strong with a 0-1 loss but they backed up against Poland 4 days later to win again 4-1.
World Cup History
The Oranje Leeuwinnen (Orange Lionesses) come into this tournament as the runners-up from the 2019 tournament in France under Sarina Wiegman. They’ve only qualified twice before, the first time being in 2015 where they got to the round of 16, losing to Japan and coming 13th overall.
After their successful Euros win in 2017, they entered the 2019 World Cup as one of the favourites and made it to the final, losing to the all-conquering USWNT. They lost again to the USWNT in the quarter-finals at the 2020 Olympic Games, which has been their only appearance there.
They have been ranked as high as three in the world but enter the World Cup currently ranked ninth. The 2017 Euros win is their only major tournament win but it changed the way their country looked at women’s football. The team are genuine superstars now and recognised in the street in their home country. One of the enduring images of the 2017 Euros is the thousands of Oranje fans bouncing side to side down the street. The scenes in Utrecht as the squad travelled through the city on canal boats was something to behold. A sea of orange is an understatement.
Their biggest honour was to be made Knights of the Order of the Orange Nassau presented by King Willem-Alexander for those who have “earned special merits for society”. The team has changed somewhat since 2017 but quite a few of the Orange Knights remain.
How they qualified
For Europe (UEFA), 51 teams from 55 eligible teams were drawn into nine groups of five or six teams and each group played a home and away round robin mini tournament. Netherlands came into the qualifiers ranked number one based on their previous World Cup and Euro results. The nine group winners qualified directly while the nine runners-up had to fight through the playoffs. The Netherlands came through Group C and topped their group with 20 points to qualify directly. Iceland, Czechia, Belarus, and Cyprus were the other countries in their group.
Their final match to clinch qualification was against Iceland in September 2022, not long after the Euros. Netherlands had to win to get one of the 11 direct UEFA qualification spots and to avoid playoffs and Iceland were a formidable opponent. It was 1-1 at 90 minutes until Esmee Brugts sent in a cross in injury time that sailed straight into the goal sending the home crowd into raptures and the team to the World Cup. They came through the qualifiers with 31 goals for and three against.
Strengths
The Netherlands is a small country but has a rich footballing culture and history. That is now extended to the women’s team and they are a powerhouse in the women’s game. The concept of total football, popularised by Ajax coach Rinus Michels with Johan Cruyff as the main exponent, is tailored to the women’s game. There’s been a conscious decision to invest in the women’s game at all levels and it’s paying big dividends. Dutch culture is much more accepting of women’s football than most other countries and they’ve invested in the amateur leagues, raising the standard overall. In 2022 before the Euros, the Dutch football governing body, KNVB, agreed to equal pay between the men’s and women’s national teams.
As for the team themselves, there is still a solid core from the last World Cup and they have strengths in every area – goalkeeping, defence, midfield, and up the front. They are quite a tall team so have an aerial advantage often. They are technical, fast, and know each other well. Combined with significant depth, they are a force to be reckoned with. The clubs they play for read like a who’s who of the top Euro teams. Their secret weapon is their fans who turn up in large numbers to support the team.
Development Areas
There are two big issues that might impact the team during the World Cup and one is the time with the new coach. They’ve only been together less than a year and have only played nine matches together. But he is Dutch and they all understand the Dutch style. Their losses to date with him have been against top 20 teams. Still, these are the teams you have to beat to progress through the World Cup.
The other problem is the loss of Vivianne Miedema to an ACL injury. She’s the undisputed star of the team and a goal-scoring machine. It’s a loss of significant fire-power and while there’s still plenty of talent up front, no one can convert chances like Miedema – except Sam Kerr.
Key Player
With a team full of superstars, it’s hard to pick just one especially with Vivianne Miedema missing. But for this tournament, let’s go with goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar.
She had a huge Euros after replacing Sari van Veenendaal when she got injured in their first match. Her role will be critical to getting out of the group and progressing past the Round of 16. She’s young for a keeper at just 23 years old and is on the up and up. She’s played all her professional club games with FC Twente but she’s just signed with Aston Villa until 2026.
She was the star player for the Netherlands during the Euros and is likely to rise to this occasion. She’s tall, athletic, and capable of stunning saves. She could be the difference between first and second in the group stage.
One to watch
Keep an eye on Lieke Martens. A playmaker who has been with Paris St. Germain for the last two seasons after five seasons with Barcelona where she helped them to their first Champions League final. She plays on the left wing but is right-footed and can also play on the right. Anything can happen when she’s got the ball. She’s a prolific goal scorer and has 58 international goals to her name
2017 was her year when Martens won Player of the Tournament during the Euros and went on to win UEFA Best Women’s Player of the Year and FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. She’s been nominated for the Ballon d’Or twice since then.
Also watch out for Olympique Lyonnais midfielder, Daniëlle Van de Donk. She’s a feisty little nugget and won’t back down from any challenge. She’s guaranteed to get a few yellows but also create chances and may even sneak in a goal or two.
Success would be
Without Miedema, a return to the final is that bit more unlikely, but the semi-finals would be a great return.
Prediction
The Netherlands should go deep in this tournament and get through to the finals, probably coming second in the group. It should be the Netherlands and the USA that make it out of Group E. If they do come second in the group, they are likely to meet Sweden in the Round of 16. That might be the end of their tournament.
It’s not an easy path through but of course, anything can happen at these sorts of tournaments so expect some upsets. The USWNT are not the team they used to be and have a few injuries that they are carrying into the tournament. It might mean the Netherlands can top the group and get a slightly easier path through the knockout stages.
Group E Fixtures
23rd July – Portugal, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin.
27th July – USA, Sky Stadium, Wellington.
1st August – Vietnam, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin.
To read the other World Cup nation previews published so far, click on this link: https://impetusfootball.org/international-football/
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