By Roos Schelen (13/10/2025)
Above: Arjan Veurink and his staff. Photo: Oranje Leeuwinnen on X.
Arjan Veurink will announce his inaugural squad for the Netherlands national team on Tuesday.
He faces some challenges after the team disappointingly went out in the Euros group stages under former head coach Andries Jonker, leaving the squad low on confidence. Arguably one of the biggest challenges is the defensive line of the Oranje Leeuwinnen.
Jonker changed the back line around a lot leading up to the Euros. He also played in a lot of different systems, leading to miscommunication all across the pitch, not just in the back line. It is up to Veurink to restore that defensive stability and make some clear cut personnel decisions.
One of his first moves should be to move Esmee Brugts up the pitch, away from the left back position. Brugts is a very talented footballer, but her qualities are arguably more suited for a position in the front line. Brugts also plays at left back for her club Barcelona but the quality of the opposition, with all due respect to Liga F, is different from the opposition usually faced by the Oranje Leeuwinnen.
Brugts is able to move up the pitch a lot more for her club which allows her to shine bright. She has been caught out quite often on the pitch wearing an Oranje jersey recently. Her recovery pace makes up for a lot but ultimately we would like to see her in a more advanced position.
In Janou Levels and Marisa Olislagers, Veurink has two players at his disposal who are more natural fullbacks and are both left-footed players. Levels hasn’t been called up for the Netherlands national team since 2022 and has only earned herself 2 caps. It’s not like she isn’t talented: she is the starting left back for the German giants Wolfsburg. Marisa Olislagers isn’t too bad a player either. She currently plays for Brighton & Hove Albion in the WSL and was elected Players’ Player of the Season for the club. Like Levels, it’s been a while since she last got a call up.
Another conundrum faced by Veurink is the position of Sherida Spitse, the longstanding captain of the team. Her leadership qualities are evident on and off the pitch, with her constantly coaching the team. She has often been outpaced whilst against international opposition, however, and Jonker was criticised extensively for maintaining her as a starter despite her age.
She plays regularly for Ajax and performs well in the Eredivisie, where the speed of the football is lower. Jonker relied on Spitse a lot, but started giving opportunities to younger players like Veerle Buurman and Caitlin Dijkstra at the end of his tenure.
Interestingly enough, when asked about Sherida Spitse and Daniëlle van de Donk, Veurink hinted that he would not make symbolic choices anymore. Whatever that means, we will have to see. What we do know is that talents like Veerle Buurman and more established players like Caitlin Dijkstra are ready to take over. As for that captaincy, there are enough players that are natural leaders too and are more than suitable to have that (C) behind their names. Jackie Groenen and Vivianne Miedema have both already worn the captain’s armband recently.
The right back position is another interesting one. Manchester City’s Kerstin Casparij has mastered that spot over the past period, but Lynn Wilms has recently played very well for Aston Villa. They are both good candidates for the starting right back position, but it depends on what Veurink wants from his fullbacks. Casparij’s attacking qualities are better than Wilms’, but similarly, Wilms is more stable defensively.
If Veurink can’t pick between the two, another option is to move Casparij to left back and start Wilms at right back, a solution already found by Jonker in the Netherlands’ last group stage match against France. With set piece taker Spitse possibly out, Wilms is a good asset to have as she is very strong on set pieces.
As said above, Jonker changed the team around a lot and used a multitude of systems. He asked a lot of different things of his players, especially in the last part of his tenure. He was often frustrated with his team “playing the ball to someone wearing a different colour”, but that was likely a consequence of the changes he made all the time. Veurink will have to instill a clear playing style again, one where players know what to do and what to expect.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see some fresh faces in Veurink’s first squad and we have already mentioned Levels and Olislagers as good candidates to get their first call up in a while. The first fixtures ahead are friendly fixtures against Poland and Canada. It would give Veurink an opportunity to try out players and tactics without too much riding on it and he will have a bigger squad to his disposal as compared to competitive fixtures.
Jaimy Ravensbergen is Twente’s first pick striker and was the Eredivisie top scorer last campaign with 23 goals scored in 19 matches. The 24-year-old is currently leading the top scorer list too with four in four. With Katja Snoeijs out injured, a call up for Ravensbergen might be on the horizon.
Ella Peddemors is a box-to-box midfielder who plays for Wolfsburg. Like many Dutch talents, she started her career at FC Twente. FC Twente is also the club where Lynn Groenewegen plays. She plays as a defensive midfielder, just like Rosa van Gool, who just joined Everton in the summer from Ajax. They all have strong competition from players like Jackie Groenen, Damaris Egurrola and Wieke Kaptein. It really depends on what Veurink wants to see in his midfield.
With Daniëlle van de Donk very likely absent, there is space for an attacking midfielder. That midfielder could be Danique Noordman, who has had a very strong season for Ajax so far and sometimes plays right-back. It could also be Kayleigh van Dooren, who joined AC Milan in the summer from FC Twente, but hasn’t played much for them.
Arjan Veurink announces his first squad this Tuesday and it will be interesting to see who makes the cut. It will be even more intriguing to see who he actually fields against Poland and Canada.
The Oranje Leeuwinnen travel to Gdansk to play Nina Patalon’s Poland on the 24th of October, followed by a home match against Canada in Nijmegen on the 28th.
Follow Impetus on social media –
Twitter (X): @impetusfootball TikTok: @impetusfootball
Instagram: @impetusfootball
impetusfootball.org 