By Roos Schelen (29/10/2025)
Above: the Dutch national team forms a guard of honor for Sherida Spitse. Photo: Oranjevrouwen on X.
Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Canada saw Netherlands’ record cap holder Sherida Spitse’s final match in an orange jersey. As the Leeuwinnen prepared to kick off against Canada, Spitse sang the Wilhelmus one final time. The 35-year-old is retiring from international football, but will keep playing in Ajax colours in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Impetus Football looked back at her impressive international career – in which she racked up 248 caps. Those 248 matches in orange make her the record international appearance maker in Europe (considering both men and women), ahead of legends like Caroline Seger.
Eight major tournaments
She started her international career in 2006 at just 16 years old when she made an appearance in the 4-0 loss against England. She found out about her call up when her mother came to her in the supermarket she was working at, to inform her that then-head coach Vera Pauw had called.
It was the start of something special for the Frisian player: a career in which she played at five European Championships and three World Cups. That Euros in 2017? A special one. She only went and won it with her team mates. But more about that later.
In 2009 the Dutch women’s national football team went to their first Euros, under Vera Pauw as head coach. It wasn’t an unsuccessful tournament at all, as the Oranje Leeuwinnen lost their semifinal against England after extra time and eventually went on to win the bronze medal. The following Euros in 2013 weren’t as glorious as the Dutchies did not make it out of their group.
On to 2015, when the Leeuwinnen went to their first World Cup, in Canada. This time, they made it out of their group but stranded in the Round of 16. Then came that home tournament in 2017.
Spitse started the tournament without the captain’s armband, but captain Mandy van den Berg was quickly moved to the bench by Sarina Wiegman. After a successful tournament, it was Spitse who lifted the trophy with the captain’s armband on her arm. Spitse scored a free kick in the final. Spitse herself calls that day, the 6th of August 2017, the best day in her international career. She said: “I will never forget that day. […] 2017 is the best year. We became European Champions and my son was born”.
The Leeuwinnen made it to the final at the World Cup in France in 2019, but lost out to the United States, who beat the girls in orange 2-0. Spitse captained the team throughout the tournament. She missed out on the Olympics in 2021 with a knee injury.
Her two final Euros weren’t as successful as Spitse as Oranje exited the tournament to France in the round of 16 in 2022 in England, and did not survive the group stages this summer in Switzerland. Nor was the World Cup in 2023, when they went out in the quarter finals against Spain.
Set piece queen
Spitse could always be heard coaching the team, especially during the COVID-19 lockdowns when no audiences were allowed in the stadiums. She was always making sure her team mates were fighting for the ball and closing down spaces.
When set pieces had to be taken, Spitse was the player her fellow Leeuwinnen looked at. Spitse has a phenomenal shot in her, a skill she will no doubt continue to use at Ajax in the Eredivisie. She has scored some cracking goals for the team. Her most notable (but nowhere near her best) goal was that free kick in the final against Denmark in 2017. It was a low shot past the Danish wall, while everyone probably expected her to kick the ball high.
The down-to-earth player from Sneek could pick out some great passes as well. To name another example from the 2017 Euros final: her long ball over the top to find Vivianne Miedema, who turned Spitse’s pass into an assist, was a beauty. In her hay days she would also effortlessly control the pace in midfield. When she missed out on the Olympics, her absence as the anchor in midfield was notable. The team struggled to keep their defensive shape throughout the tournament, conceding a whopping 10 goals in 4 matches.
An ending international career
She was however losing out to opponents increasingly later in her international career. She was moved back a line to play at centre back, making up for her deteriorating pace, under head coach Andries Jonker in 2023. But, in her final two years as an international player, the criticism swelled. Spitse started the Euros this summer on the bench.
And now, she is retiring. In an interview with the KNVB (the Dutch FA), Spitse said her priorities have changed. She wants to spend more time with her children and focus on her club, Ajax. She also wants to become a coach when her playing career ends definitively. She said: “singing the Wilhelmus every time and being allowed to wear that shirt, that’s what fills me with pride.”
And so, in the 48th minute on her 248th cap, Spitse was subbed off to a standing ovation by the spectators and a guard of honour by the Dutch and Canadian players. She addressed the crowd emotionally after the match, flanked by her two children Jens and Mila.
Let’s not let the recency bias dictate our feelings towards Spitse too much. She was an anchor in the Dutch team for many years, contributing to a lot of successes like the Euro 2017 win. Always available when the team needed her to be, a leader when prompted and unprompted. It’s definitely the start of a new era for the Oranje Leeuwinnen.
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