First news of the new year, the Olympic(?) year: two friendlies coming up in Februari against our neighbours Belgium and Germany (least amount of travel during this ongoing covid restricted period). Netherlands v Germany will be played down south near the German border in Venlo, the region where Lieke Martens grew up. Belgium v Netherlands to be played in Leuven near Brussels (and Germany v Belgium in Aachen, not far from Venlo and the Dutch border). Could have played in Liège you would think to complete the triangle but no the Belgians had to choose Leuven ... (). Probably not much travel difference for the Dutch if they base themselves in Venlo now that I look at the map but they probably will just stay at the federations HQ and training centre in Zeist and travel from there. 🔶 In februari spelen we twee oefeninterlands tegen onze buren!DO 18/02: BEL 🇧🇪 🆚 NED 🇳🇱WO 24/02: NED 🇳🇱 🆚 DUI 🇩🇪#ThreeNationsOneGoal pic.twitter.com/tzu9zoAEVW— OranjeLeeuwinnen (@oranjevrouwen) January 20, 2021 Useful links: https://www.onsoranje.nl/teams/207834/overzicht https://twitter.com/oranjevrouwen https://www.instagram.com/oranjeleeuwinnen/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpnmJcBhJqKIHFkKvgdkdMQ
here's this German woso website's market values of their top 30 players in England's WSL. Miedema won(though it does look like tie with Harder on $$$). Dutch players come in at #1, #12, #22
Yikes. That seems low considering here WWC results; although, I have not looked through the league stats of these players.
This list is more about ‘market value’ than current performance, otherwise can’t figure out why James(#7) is ranked so high even though she’s only the third string, central striker at Man U. But she’s only 19, plus her dribbling in tight quarters might make her more suited on another team; let’s say Lyon, who face ‘park the bus’ defense’s 90% of the time. Got to say I do like Jill Roord at #12; she’s been often mishandled by Wiegman & the Dutch NT. Then fellow Dutch not having that good of season this time at Arsenal(probably wouldn’t even start if that club wasn’t suffering so many injuries, so just an tad overrated at #22 Surprised that this German site wouldn’t rank Berger(Chelsea Gk) & low ranked Melly Leupolz(both looked brilliant in their win vs Man City the other night whereas #5 Erickson was simply terrible)
You can't say Roord has been "mishandled" by Wiegman when the Dutch--with VDD--won the Euro championship, came 2nd in the WC and have been a close to dominant team for 3+ years. The comment doesn't fly. Roord is talented, to be sure, and she scored a couple of hatties early on in the season against lesser competition--but since then Arsenal have been far worse than they've ever been with VDD as a regular. Arsenal fans are not happy at all with Montemurro, who seems to have lost the plot and doesn't seem to know what his best lineup is. DVD along with Nobbs have both spent quite a bit of time on the bench this seaon why Monteumurro's preferred midfield has struggled. Of course, it's been hard because Arsenal seem the most injury-plagued team in the women's game and never have a full and healthy roster.
Scoring consecutive hat-tricks does have a lot of staying power. I think Van de Donk could also compete with Foord for time on the flank as well. Regarding the midfield, Little and Walti look like dead on starters when healthy; so, the final spot is between Roord, Nobbs, and van de Donk. Interestingly, Roord and Noobs could also play on the flank instead of Foord.
VVD’s stats are way down this season; 1 goal, 1 assists in 485 minutes of playing time/only 5 starts in the 10 games so far. Then remember being called out for poor defensive work vs Man City in one game. Arsenal currently in 4th place right now but think it’s not necessarily do to injuries, just Chelsea & Man City/Man U had phenom recruiting seasons. At least Catlyn Foord proven herself; 7 goals, 5 assists. Lisa Evans lost out her starting spot because of it. There was some social media talk Viv was upset with her team mates lately, even lashing out on her Dutch compatriots. If Arsenal don’t make it again to the CL, mostly likely she’ll leave. Could still be a chance for Arsenal; lighter rest of the season schedule/Man U with its own injury problems as both Heath & Russo are out
Roord has played the role of the 6th player in the NBA for the Dutch NT but after the WC she has/is definitely staking her claim on a starting role. Don't know how many she played for Arsenal this season but surely she has missed at least half of the games due to injury? Hot of the press: the assistant coach will join Wiegman in England ( so that's one name of the list for new head coach). Na de Olympische Spelen zal assistent-coach @ArjanVeurink de KNVB verlaten voor de Engelse bond waar hij aan de slag zal gaan als assistent van Sarina Wiegman. Gefeliciteerd met deze stap Arjan! Laten we er samen een mooi laatste half jaar van maken 💪https://t.co/q7r7ZFx0m6— OranjeLeeuwinnen (@oranjevrouwen) January 26, 2021
Roord's missed 3 league games. Started in 7 of the 8 games she played this season. So far she's scored 7 goals & 1 assists. First time I've seen her she was only 18 years old in late 2015,. scored an fantastic goal to help FC Twente upset Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Here was the info on that game(look who was on Bayern's side?) Bayern München vs. Twente - 14 October 2015 - Women Soccerway yet Wiegmann would only give her 10 minutes of playing time at Euro 2017/153 minutes in 7 games coming in as a sub at 2019 WC some nice highlights of Jill can get very physical, maybe a little too much
You gotta do the work defensively as well. That's been an issue with Roord. She's got size and skills, no doubt--but if you've watch the Dutch NT you'll know that a big reason for its success is that Groenen and Van de Donk are all over the field, hounding the ball, winning the ball, making transition passes, etc. How much work are you putting in to win the ball back? That's a big part of soccer. Roord will get more playing time in the Olympics--if we have the Olympics--but I'm not convinced that she will start.
Yes, first action of the second half of the season: The Eredivisie Cup. A sort of League Cup played in a ladder competition format. First appearance for Spitse as well with Ajax in a loss against Twente: Ajax hoarding all the players of name vs the well coached Twente squad. I have yet to discover any structure in the Ajax play, almost weekly a different lineup and formation. The real Cup competition matches scheduled for next week and I presume the league will resume the week after.
Call-ups for the upcoming friendlies: returning are Dekker and Geurts. Missing are Dominique Jansen (back issues) and vd Sanden (father passed away apparently, will fly to Surinam for the funeral). 🔶 Deze 2⃣3⃣ spelers zijn opgeroepen voor de oefeninterlands tegen België en Duitsland 👇#ThreeNationsOneGoal #BELNED #NEDDUI pic.twitter.com/0zjjZYwOeq— OranjeLeeuwinnen (@oranjevrouwen) February 9, 2021 Almost forgot: vd Most is back from injury so a possible option at right back for the Olympics Welkom terug, Liza! 😍- 𝟭𝟰/𝟬𝟮/𝟮𝟬: ernstige knieblessure- 𝟬𝟱/𝟬𝟮/𝟮𝟭: officiële rentree #heeaja pic.twitter.com/0JXv4Htotg— Ajax Vrouwen (@AjaxVrouwen) February 6, 2021 Dutch Cup results from last week, no upsets here: 🏆 𝙎𝙀𝙈𝙄 𝙁𝙄𝙉𝘼𝙇𝙎, 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙨 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨! @PSV @ADODHVrouwen @FCTwenteVrouwen @AjaxVrouwen 👆🏼 zijn door naar de halve finale, binnenkort volgt de loting. Deze wedstrijden worden tussen 16 en 18 april gespeeld. #TOTOKNVBbeker pic.twitter.com/ly1yYuMwbS— Azerion Vrouwen Eredivisie (@VrEredivisie) February 5, 2021 Seems the majority of the clubs do have a livestream but no replay, they will usually post the link on their twitter accounts beforehand.
I saw the squad list earlier today and completely missed that Jansen and Van de Sanden were missing. I hope Jansen's back issues aren't too serious. She is vital to the Dutch defense.
I thought the Dutch played well--very well at times--against Germany, at least for the first 65-70 minutes. They certainly dominated the first half and were unfortunate to give up an equalizing goal late in the period. They started strongly in the second half as well, scored the go-ahead goal on a super play by Martens, who got the ball forward into space, which led to a Roord shot and then a rebound goal by Van de Donk. I thought most everyone was solid. There were two bad giveaways by the Dutch late in the game that gave Germany good chances to equalize--but Kop made a nice save on the first (with help from Nouen) and then the German forward futzed the second opportunity. I think Germany was missing at least two of its starters and better players, and The Netherlands was missing starter D. Jansen and Van de Sanden. Roord again started in Van de Sanden's spot at right wing and nearly had a couple of goals, but the finishing by the Dutch has been a touch off in these two friendlies. Martens had a couple of good chances that she couldn't finish--and Van de Donk, unmarked, missed an easy header minutes before redeeming herself with the winning goal. I don't think Miedema had a single quality chance in this game--and that is the way it's been going for her lately at both the club and NT level. She's getting a lot of defensive attention and just not finding the space or service that she was finding before. That said, she continues to play very hard and very well. She created the first goal with a beautiful pullback pass to Gronen in the box and generally worked her tail off all game--going wide to open space for others in the attacking third and coming back consistently to help defensively and provide an outlet target to relieve pressure by Germany. I thought she was very good, as was Martens and the midfield as a unit. I'm curious to know how Wiegman handles Roord in the Olympics: Will she start her in Van de Sanden's spot on the right? I think that's entirely possible. She doesn't have Van de Sanden's pace, and you don't get the wide, counter-attacking play and crosses with Roord that you get with Van de Sanden--which has been key to the Dutch attack for the last two/three years. However, Roord has a better all-around skill set. Roord, being naturally a midfielder with a scoring mentality, likes to come inside. I think that makes it a bit tougher for Miedema to find space with Roord often functioning as another midfielder. I can see Wiegman playing Roord in that right forward position, as she's become a valuable player and I don't see her taking a midfield starting job from anybody. But the team does lose that quick transition play on the right that Van de Sanden provided during the run to the Euro championship. This game was the first big test for three young players--Wilms at right back, Nouen at centerback and Kop as goalkeeper. I thought they all played well. Wilms looked better than she did against Belgium. She had some good moments, and is going to be a good player for the Dutch when she gets a big stronger and gains more international experience. And Nouen was very solid. She too has a bright future, it would seem. They each were involved in the late giveways that almost gave the win away, but I think one almost expects some mistakes given that this was the first time they'd started against a top international opponent. My last thought is that if I'm Wiegman and I'm trying to protect a one-goal lead with, say, 15 minutes to go, I'm taking out Spitse--the oldest starter--and not Van de Donk, as she did last night. The Olympics will be tough for all because I believe there is only a 3-day break between games. That, combined with the small squad size, is going to put a premium on fitness and durability.
Roord has a free role in possesion, only her defensive duties are in that spot. The way I see it she is practically guaranteed a starting spot, her play just oozes quality waiting to come to fruition. Wilms or Beerenstein will have to overlap a lot. vd Donk and Roord both explained her role in post-match interviews, she pretty much has the #10 position. vd Donk switches with Martens a lot, allowing for Martens to drift inside. I guess that explains why I remember her playing on the left wing position at Euro 2013, when it was in fact already Martens playing there back then. They all look good in practice . Finishing on goal you could be forgiven for thinking there were 15 Lewandowski's out there but when game time comes around they can't hit the target to save their lives. But yes in the first months of the season I thought she was the better keeper between her and Sari, she is also quite athletic but perhaps a bit on the short side (but fairly standard height for a women's goalie). The last couple of months she has made a lot of mistakes (last month for example https://eyecons.com/videos/eredivisie-cup-ajax-fc-twente-6813?utm_medium=share) and who can forget about the purple parrot (named after the yellow canarie) And yes it's easy to forget she still hasn't turned 21, feels like she has been around the NT for quite some time already. Still plenty of time to develop (or get surpassed by the next batch already).
Regarding Miedema, do you know how refreshing it is to see a ST be that supportive and creative? She was setting up everyone second half vs Belgium and first half vs Germany. That assist for Groenen is a completed pass she hasn’t received from any forward all season at United. James came closest for Groenen’s admittedly poor effort vs Birmingham, but even that was deflected to her rather than being a completed pass. Regarding Martens, finishing aside, just world class LW play across both matches. Concerning United/Press fans ripping into United’s midfield, the Dutch front three didn’t get the ball more than United’s front three did in recent losses; they just showed what in form forwards are capable of producing.
4th round of the league cup this weekend. As it is being played in a ladder format, today's matches were pretty much the semi-finals. Ajax beat Heerenveen (questionable goalkeeping on Heerenveen's part made thing easy for Ajax). Also managed to capture the livestream, something I will look into doing as much as possible from now. In the other match Twente defeated PSV after a penalty shootout (Twente goalie also prospective NT goalie, and actually made the only stop with no missed penalties otherwise). Having just watched the highlights, PSV only have themselves to blame for wasting countless of goal opportunities. Amazing how they can produce a highlights video yet can't be bothered to show a livestream anywhere .
Weekend results 🎰 Dit zijn alle uitslagen van speelronde 12 !#PureEnergieEV pic.twitter.com/TYCa6Yi0Z9— Azerion Vrouwen Eredivisie (@VrEredivisie) March 14, 2021 Standings (first time this season Ajax isn't ranked first , deservedly beaten this season. As mentioned before they have no clue what they are doing most of the time and don't know their best eleven. Purely leading so far due to individual talent) Dit is de nieuwe stand van de Pure Energie Eredivisie Vrouwen! Thoughts? 💭 #PureEnergieEV pic.twitter.com/HYE60V87XE— Azerion Vrouwen Eredivisie (@VrEredivisie) March 14, 2021 To be played midweek: Ajax @ PSV (postponed game from Februari 14th)
Don't think it's been mentioned: Outside back Lynn Wilms has been signed by Wolfsburg. She's been playing with FC Twente. It's a big move for the promising Dutch defender, who's been starting recently at right outside back for the national team. I'm not sure if the German league is all that much better than the Eredivisie once you get beyond Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, and I've no idea how much Wilms might play--but the switch should hasten her development, if only through her training with the talent-heavy German side. National team teammate Dominique Jansen is also on the Wolfsburg roster, and I'm sure she'll help Wilms with the transition to Germany.