they are very good in the air but woefully slow. Japan has a lot of pacey players that will cause problems.
The Dutch definitely need to find another couple of good pacey, athletic players in the back. Bloodworth has become a very good centerback, which is testimony to her size, athleticism and skill set, especially given that she only plays CB for the national team. She is a very good player. I'm a fan of Van Lunteren: She's not slow but certainly not a match for some of the speedy winters/outside backs in the tournament--but she is very solid, smart and tough. She struggled at times today but that's football. Van Dongen proved a smart choice today: Certainly she is not all that speedy or that good going forward, but she can get in some good crosses and is usually very sound positionally. I do hope the Dutch have some defensive talent coming up in the ranks--I'm not sure after Van Dongen there is much on the bench in France.
FIFA official highlights of the game. I get the message that they have a pre-determined 2':11" format that they won't break for any reason in the universe, but keeping Van de Donk's bicycle kick out of highlights was criminal to me! ):