Arsenal Women on Twitter Full-time: Arsenal 6-0 Reading We've extended our lead at the top of the @FAWSL table thanks to a @VivianneMiedema hat-trick and strikes from @JordanNobbs8, @bmeado9 and @DanielleDonk #WeAreTheArsenal 3d hattrick Miedema.
Yes Anna ( her real first name is on fire and has got away from all the niggling injuries from last season)
UEFA playoff final Fri 9 Nov - Netherlands v Switzerland - 1st leg - (19:00 GMT / 20:00 CET) Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht Tue 13 Nov - Switzerland v Netherlands - 2nd leg - (18:00 GMT / 19:00 CET) Lipo Park, Schaffhausen Galgenwaard Stadium, which hosted the Euro 2017 opening match (pic: Thomas van de Weerd, cc-by) It does feel like a missed opportunity, the Dutch team's really popular right now. Apparently Amsterdam ArenA wasn't sold-out for some men's World Cup qualifiers, so maybe that knocked the KNVB's confidence. There's probably more that they could do – I remember BBC's Jonathan Pearce was unimpressed with the lack of advertising in host cities at the Euros in 2017.
What's Wiegman going to do against Switzerland? Play Miedema at CF and maybe bring Beerenstyn off the bench in the second half--for Miedema or someone else? Start Beerenstyn, who is very good, and leave Miedema on the bench as she did against Denmark? I think Miedema is the best finisher in the game right now. What about the idea of giving Beerenstyn some training work as an attacking midfielder, so that if you need a goal in the second half you have her playing in behind Miedema as the 10? I think Beerenstyn has the qualities to do it. Or she could replace one of the wingers in the last 20 minutes perhaps. It's a nice problem to have, I suppose.
Martens has apparently been injured--has not played in recent Barcelona games. Anybody heard what the knock is?
Beerenstyn has been starting as a winger over at Bayern Munich, though she hasn't been scoring, she's a good at taking on defenders 1v1. Miedema is breaking scoring records over in England(11 goals so far in 6 games), several of them by headers, it don't make sense why Wiegmann wouldn't want to start her at central striker, especially since the Swiss will most likely bunker(though if Martens is out, guess Beerenstyn will take her place at left/wing) why again do the Swiss get the home advantage in the 2nd game(with the possibility of OT/PK's) if the Dutch are ranked higher?
Remember how we were talking about how the groups were created using UEFA's internal coefficient system and not the FIFA rankings? I think the same thing is playing out here. In the rankings that were originally used to create the groups, SUI was #7 (36,629) and NED was #9 (34,642). So, according to UEFA, SUI are "rightfully" getting the second-leg home advantage. Even though those rankings haven't been updated since before the EUROs. =EDIT= Actually scratch all of that, I just looked it up and it was a random draw to decide the order of the legs. So 50/50 chance. (Because NED also had the first leg in the draw against DEN, which doesn't make sense by any ranking system. Plus the UEFA rankings were updated before the playoffs to decide which two of the four teams were "seeded".)
Orange lionesses selection: De selectie Keepers: Loes Geurts (Göteborg FC), Lize Kop (Ajax), Sari van Veenendaal (Arsenal). Verdediging: Dominique Bloodworth (Arsenal), Anouk Dekker (Montpellier HSC), Merel van Dongen (Real Betis), Kika van Es (Ajax), Stefanie van der Gragt (FC Barcelona). Middenveld: Danique Kerkdijk (Bristol City), Desiree van Lunteren (SC Freiburg), Liza van der Most (Ajax), Siri Worm (Everton), Daniëlle van de Donk (Arsenal), Jackie Groenen (FFC Frankfurt), Inessa Kaagman (Everton), Jill Roord (Bayern München). Aanvallers: Sherida Spitse (Valerenga), Lineth Beerensteyn (Bayern München), Ellen Jansen (Ajax), Renate Jansen (FC Twente), Lieke Martens (FC Barcelona), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) en Shanice van de Sanden (Olympique Lyon).
Swiss TV coverage will be live on SRF 2 here. The show is starting 20 minutes before the kickoff. In the Netherlands it's on Veronica TV, but no stream afaik. (veronicatv.nl)
Walti set on box-to-box, Aigbogun to harass van de Donk, Crnogorcevic to stop Martens. Maritz, Bernauer and Tschopp will try to pester link-up play of Groenen and van de Sanden. Reuteler moved upfront for that one golden pass to Lehmann. Overall defensive setup with aim for counters and diagonal ball routine. Question, will van Es move to support Martens raids? cuz I don't see van Lunteren crossing half-line to often...
No Van Veenendaal in goal for The Netherlands? I thought she was healthy? She started for Arsenal less than 2 weeks ago. Odd. Their number 2 is short! I hope she is good. I know she played last game against Denmark and did well.
The Dutch dominating possession and heaping on the pressure---have come close twice in the last couple of minutes. Van de Donk would have scored but a Swiss defender got her foot in to block her shot in the box at the last moment. Later, Van de Donk with a nifty flick to Groenen in the box but she missed the shot wide. Some good play from the Netherlands against a Swiss team that's sitting back. The Swiss keeper has been warned for time wasting as she wants to take 2 minutes to kick the ball. The Dutch must remain patient.
Dutch have been the most threatening but the final pass and/or shot have been poor. If they get a goal that should put a lot of pressure on the Swiss and maybe open the match. I think Switzerland will be happy with a 0-0 result.
Yeah, Swiss got only one good chance but their counters are dangerous. That Walti pass to Reuteler inside pk box was only half a pound heavy...and a goal scored away...
I struggle to understand MVT’s decisions during this match Yes the Dutch are better but the 2nd half from Switzerland hasn’t looked good at all if you ask me
Too much quality in the 2nd half and the Swiss just could not generate anything in the Dutch half. Can't see the return match being any different.
The Netherlands completely bossed this game from beginning to end. The Dutch must have had 85 percent possession--and once Spitze whelped that free kick in the Swiss goal in the second half the home side was in good shape. The Swiss defended well in the first half, had one dangerous counter opportunity that almost had a forward in on the Dutch keeper, and they had one half-chance early in the second half, but otherwise they spent about 90 percent of the game chasing the Dutch around the pitch. The Swiss had no attack because they could not get or keep the ball. The Netherlands smartly pressed every time they lost the ball and would get it quickly back and then knock it around looking for opportunities, and eventually got them, with their front-line stars taking over late. Switzerland will now have to play more openly and aggressively in the 2nd leg, which will leave them vulnerable to a very good counter-attacking Dutch side. Great win for Oranje.
Switzerland are severely weakened without experienced players like Dickenmann and Bachmann. Netherlands won't waste a three goal lead in the return leg.
Just go ahead and pencil in Argentina and the Netherlands at this point. It's over for Panama and Switzerland.