Those results were factored into the rankings already, which is why they were 7th. The drop is solely based on results from the end of March to this week. Getting a narrow 1-0 win at home against a team ranked far below the Netherlands is going to cost them points, as the difference in rankings predicted a win by a larger margin. Attendance numbers and fan support have jack all to do with the rankings, which are solely based on performances on the field. They dropped to 9th because the results from the past 3 months were put into the formula that is used to determine the ranking, and it gave them an overall points total that was lower than 8 other teams in the world. It's simple math.
The drop in ranking was only based on results from the past 3 months. That slim win over Slovakia cost ranking points, as it was less than the expected result. I'm actually hoping for the Netherlands to be a replacement for Germany or France at the SheBelieves Cup next year. Those two teams aren't going to be back for it, so there's a spot open if they want it. I don't see any opportunities for the US and the Netherlands to play this year, since the US has the Tournament of Nations in July, two friendlies against Chile in September, and WCQ in October.
Only the qualifier in Norway in September is listed here... - https://www.onsoranje.nl/tickets-all/nederlands-vrouwenelftal
Interesting you brought up Norway and Denmark - you are certain they are not contenders?.Okay, that is your opinion. Who thought Netherlands were contenders for the Euro? A few to be sure (home field advantage might have convinced a few - remember Norway beat them 4-1, I think, on Dutch home soil trying to qualify for the last Olympics?) but most folks were looking at Norway winning their group anyway but Norway bombed out. All I am saying is do not so quickly throw Norway or Denmark under the WWC bus, please. Oh, also, lets' see what happens in September when the Netherlands comes to Norway to see who wins the group - or do you already know the Netherlands will win?
anything can happen, Norway will have to beat the Nederlands in that home game ,but the Dutch have proven to be an excellent counter attacking team, while racking up more goals in away games than at home(so definitely see them holding back & counter attacking(remember it was van de Sanden that blew the Champions League final, wide open with her fast breaks) while Norway looks good against weaker teams, they've struggled against stronger ones. They can thank their lucky stars that Ireland was without their two most well known players due to ACL injuries in their last two games. Otherwise they've flopped in the Algarve Cup. I used to rate Caro as one of the 2-3 best players in the world. But she's very injury prone & at while watching about s dozen Wolfsburg games over the last couple of years, seem to be taking way too many missed shots(rather than setting up other players)/ The Norway is missing Ada. but I remember one poll last year that had more Norwegians listed in their 100 top player picks than even the US, so they do have a lot of talent to work with. I was predicting that Thorisdottir would become one of the world;s top players. it hasn't happened so far, but than I think she's been misused as a CB. Remember Thorness has shown signs of becoming an elite fwd, but there again too, the Norway coach insists on using her for other purposes. I agree with you on Denmark, I think they got the edge over Sweden(who they play at home) Their up on them on goal difference, despite forfeiting that 0-3 game(when they were out on strike). But the FIFA yokels seem to use a different pattern to pick the winner of the group(in case the leaders friendlies might not be Wiegmann's forte as her whole starting lineup is spread over several various leagues/countries. Now even the Ajax player. van Lunterin is moving over to Freiburg, Germany to play next season.. . Compare this to Spain(who they lost in a friendly) who come in with 11 Barca as well as 6 Athletico players, and their chemistry is all ready build in. This is why France also tends to be a strong 'friendly' team as well(usually 6-8 Lyon players in their starting lineup). But both keep flopping in major tournaments. Thus then this would be(or at least we're hoping) be the Dutch strong suit; jelling together as a team from couple of months of practicing with one another. Despite loosing several pre tourney friendlies, Iv'e rarely seen such a magnificent display of soccer, men or women, as their journey through last year's Euro's as they seemingly became stronger & stronger after every game. Whether they can bring back that same magic remains to be seen(fingers crossed though!)
Denmark and Norway are good teams, but they probably aren't going to win the WC, if they qualify. My point was simply that the Dutch might want to get a better sense of how they match up with the top-of-table teams who will be contenders for the WC--USA, Australia, Canada, France, Germany. As you suggest, friendlies aren't always a great predictor of future results in tournaments, when everyone is playing their best lineups, etc., but they do give you a sense of how your individual players/units match up, tactical ideas, etc. I watched some of The Netherland's game against Australia, which I think was in early 207, and Australia contained Van de Sanden pretty well--they had a couple of defenders who played well--though Van de Sanden did come on in the last 20 minutes and helped the Dutch rally from a 0-3 deficit. (The Netherlands rallied to 2-3 and nearly tied it late, but that was the final score).
here's a nice vid of Lieke Martens & all her touches in the Slovakian game. You can see how she's taking command late in the game, as she's vying to get the game winner
Interesting, Van der Gragt moves from Ajax to FC Barcelona, and Roddik Hansen moves from FC Barcelona to Ajax. Roddik Hansen used to be an exciting prospect, but has not played all games in recent years. I think this swap is an interesting one, and Ajax should be very happy! http://www.voetbalzone.nl/doc.asp?uid=332281
Just finished watching last October's WC qualifying match between The Netherlands and Norway. Whew--that was a dreary game. Holland was not very good--must have had /at least/ 75 percent possession, maybe more, but could not create quality chances against a Norway team that was content to sit back. Not much combination play or creativity by the Dutch. The outside backs did not even attempt to get into the attack in a meaningful way; the midfield did little--and so it was left to Martens, Van de Sanden and Miedema to try and make something happen, but they were always out-numbered. It took a fairly lucky play one minute from the end of the match for the Dutch to get the win. It will be interesting to see how the September game goes. Norway will need to win and will probably play more aggressively, which could open play up and work in favor of The Netherlands. Then again, I'm not sure how aggressive the Dutch will be as a tie wins the group and gets them in the World Cup. I hope The Netherlands just play their game as they are not a team that is accustomed to sitting back.
And yet it surprised me how cautiously they played in that Norway game, with the outside backs always hanging back and doing little, the midfield not very aggressive or creative--and so they were basically left with three/four attackers trying to beat 8 defenders, and they could do little. Going forward, I think the Dutch midfield is going to have to show more in attack. Good teams will focus on bottling up Van de Sanden and Martens, and the midfield will have to play a bit more aggressively and creatively in the attacking they third. They also need to drive toward goal when they have the space to do so instead of always laying the ball off for the wingers. Yes, you want to get the ball outside, but the Dutch mids are very predictable in that way: Sometimes they will have space to drive forward toward the box and yet still pass (prematurely) to one of the wingers. Also, who other than Miedema can get a good header on goal /in run of play?/ Against opponents that sit back, your best chance of scoring is often a header off of a cross into the box or a set piece--but in the Norway game there was often nobody but Miedema in the box. The three mids were really good in Euro17, they are quick and have good ball skills, but I feel they may struggle against top teams with good, physical midfielders. I don't mean to be too negative: I love the Dutch and they've played very well over the last year; it was fantastic to see them win the European championship, and I'd love to see them make a serious run at the World Cup. It will be interesting to see if they can--but first they must beat Norway again! I also feel like they need to play a friendly or two against some of the top teams, who are demonstrably better than, say, Norway and Denmark. The WC will be a tougher go than Euro17, and I want The Netherlands to be ready!
Netherlands, consider yourself lucky Ada is not playing for Norway (the team L'orange considers inferior, posted on more than one occasion). You beat Norway with Ada 1-0 at Euro, beat Norway 1-0 without Ada in WWC quallie (in added time), and you lost 4-1(?) in OLY playoff with Ada playing. Not your fault Ada is not playing, granted, but it is to your advantage, indeed. I am still convinced though that Norway can win the Sept. game with their talented squad. May the best time ON THAT DAY win.
Please: I didn't say Norway was bad; I said Norway (and Denmark) were not as good as the top teams in the world--USA, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, etc., which of course is absolutely true. They are not. I'm sure you'd agree with that. I just watched the WC qualifying game against The Netherlands and Norway did little in attack all game. They had a couple of good header chances off of corners--which were not defended well at all by the Netherlands--but otherwise Norway sat back all game and didn't really want to play.
the Dutch are the higher ranked team/Ada flubbed at last year's Euros, scoring ZERO goals. the editor of the womensunited website had 11 Norwegians in her '100 best players' blog. So you know they got massive talent. just think their coach is way too techno minded(not an expert on broso, but it seems to me the more techno techno squads, Germany, Spain, Brazil, all flopped in comparison to the more athletic, more physical, more direct style of Croatia & France, at current men's WC) so why does the coach insist om slowing the style of play down? Then he's got the physical/attacking type players like Thorsnes, Mjelde & Thorisdottir, all on defense? Or are they suppose to move up on the attack eventually? my dad was Dutch, feel part Dutch(can't understand why rice taffle/satay are not more popular dishes in the world). They've proven to be the best woso fans in the world. I'll be cheering for them. But tell you what; if the Norwegians can get into their stadium more than the 33K plus that showed up for the Dutch home game, than I'll cheer for them as well!
If you call recording the sound by hanging a mike between the wheels of a speeding subway carriage music it is a type of music
Going back briefly to the Erediviisie V., are there any changes in it for the upcoming season? New teams? Teams not coming back?
Holland's u19 NT has just upset Germany in group play at the Euro u19 championships. Can't find more info or highlights other than this https://us.women.soccerway.com/matc...etherlands-under-19/germany-under-19/2788286/ The Dutch also earned a spot at next month's u20 World Cup. Not sure if their both the same squad or if there's some kind of UEFA ruling that says a player can't compete in both tourney's, but it goes to show just how much upcoming talent the Dutch have. Found this full length game, Neth. vs N Ireland, albeit not the best video quality. The Dutch need to work on getting higher percentage shot's(compared to some of the wild ones).Some worry? on their upcoming game with Norway. Most Dutch are on their summer break while the Norwegian League is in full swing/in season right now here's a replay of the first encounter with Norway from fall of last year
First match they beat Italy 3-1 https://www.onsoranje.nl/nieuws/jeu...rouwen-onder-19-verrast-met-klinkende-ek-zege Second match they beat Germany https://www.onsoranje.nl/nieuws/jeu...uwen-onder-19-boekt-op-ek-historische-zege-op They arenot in their strongest formation as some players are preparing for the U20 WC that starts August the 5th.
Thanks for the tape of the No. Ireland match. I got a kick out of hearing both the No. Ireland and Dutch announcers--and a British announcer as well for a couple of seconds! The Dutch were a bit lackluster in the first half but seemed to wear down their opponent and put the game away in the second half. I was amazed at how much The Netherlands played through the middle of the pitch, against a team parking the bus, compared to their usual wide game. Nice goals from Beerensteyn and Van de Sanden, but can't make much of a game in which the opponent never has the ball. Beerensteyn has a chance to be a good player--good body for soccer, is athletic and her ball skills are pretty strong. Think D. Janssen could make a good centerback. She is versatile, having played outside back for the Dutch and is a midfielder for Arsenal. Dekker and Van der Gragt are a nice pair at centerback--tall and strong, but neither is terribly fast; that's a bit of a worry. D. Jannsen does have more pace--and nice size as well. Hard to know what to make of Worm and Jansen at outside back. They didn't do a whole lot--not many overlapping runs, not much chemistry with Martens and Van der Sanden. Their play was conservative and not all that impressive--as it was (with Van der Most and D. Janssen) in the Norway match. Worm's first touch seemed shaky, and Jansen seemed a bit diffident, but maybe I'm wrong. She has a good left foot. Didn't think van der Most was very good against Norway. I'd say that outside back is a position that could use some beefing up. Thanks again.
here is the full Netherlands/Slovakia game, albeit, the first one from way back in Nov. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- btw......I got to watch in person Lieke Martens play. Unfortunately she wasn't all that good; She started for her Barca squad vs an WPSL squad called SoCal, She played the first half; while her unique dribbling skills were apparent, she had a hard time beating her defender & looked even worse trying to beat the 4-back, high line, where she looked a bit slow. van de Sanden had a bad game as well for her Lyon squad as the club Euro champs went down to defeat to the undermanned NC Courage squad So hopefully Wiegmann will try to spend a little extra time whipping the NT into shape , otherwise it be tough going vs a Norwegian team that's league is currently in season
All the Dutch players should be in club training now, yes, with games to start soon if they haven't started already, so that will help. The Netherlands need to beat Norway, and if they can do that then schedule at least two friendlies against top 5 Fifa teams in the next months to get a better sense of how they match up against top teams. I think they played Australia early last year and lost 3-2 in what was a crazy game in very windy conditions. I believe Australia scored three goals in the first half on set-piece strikes that, with the help of the wind, went into the net. The Netherlands then scored two goals late, also going with the wind, to make the game interesting. They also lost to France 2-1--a game //I would love to watch if you've seen it anywhere.// The Dutch gave up an own goal and then another before scoring late to make ti close. They nearly had the equalizer on a beautiful set-piece strike into the box in stoppage time but Miedema could not get her foot on the ball; had she, it would have been a tying goal. I think the big thing for Wiegmann and the coaching staff to work on is building quality depth. They don't really have it now. After the first maybe 15 players, the talent falls off pretty noticeably IMO.
Thanks for the Slovakia qualifier video. Good game for the Dutch. Van der Gragt had a good game with two goals off of set pieces--she is a nice player. Wiegmann had her playing up front in the last 10 minutes of the game, which was surprising. Van der Donk was very good--very active; all the mids were solid. I think the coaches have to get more interplay between the outside backs and the forwards. The outside backs--Van Lunteran and Janssen were solid--but they don't do much in attack but send the ball forward to Martens and Van der Sanden and then watch. I thought Martens had a meh game by her standards--she made two trademark dashes toward goal in the first half and missed the net on both shot attempts. She beat her mark to the byline a few times but just can't do much with her left foot--rarely gets a good cross or centering pass in the box when she gets deep. She's got to learn to chip the ball back across her body to the edge of the six-yard box; maybe she can do that--but I've never seen her do it. It might help to move her around a bit more. It's funny--Van der Sanden is really focused on, and good at, getting the ball in the box, often to Meidema, but doesn't really shoot or score much, and Martens can be counted on to make runs and shoot but needs, I think, to improve her service into the box. The Slovakians were game--played hard defensively all night, to their credit--but I don't think they got the ball over the halfway line more than four times all game.
I remembering that i really liked the French style of attack, attack, attack! But then their coach went conservative a few months later at the Euros