The Netherlands 2020

That was the year the Aussies beat the USWNT for the first time months later.

 

Former Orange captain Liesbeth Migchelsen, and former Orange team mate of coach Wiegman, died at the age of 49.

 

1 - On this day in 1934, the Netherlands played the first of their 50 World Cup games (2-3 v Switzerland); only Brazil (67%) & Germany (61%) have a higher win ratio in the tournament than Oranje (54%, level with Italy). Beginnings. pic.twitter.com/LULsBQQyHR

— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) May 27, 2020

Wonder what the ratio for our lionesses is.

 

Definitely not a perfect match, but I thought Groenen and Middag looked like a solid midfield base here. Beerensteyn had a big miss, but she was dangerous in the second half and won the penalty. Some shaky moments defensively in possession for both sides.

 

That may be the most flattering 3-0 lead I've seen. The first goal should have been saved, the second goal was largely luck and could have been saved in my opinion, and the third goal came from a free kick that I think was pretty questionable since Raso was fouling in equal measure. The lines official also bailed Australia out with a questionable offside call on van de Sanden in the 8th minute.

Australia created much better in the second half, but they failed to score due to finishing issues and a good save from Geurts. Like in the first half, Martens failed to score on a quality chance for someone of her ability in the second half, and Spitse came off the bench to make a big impact. Glad the Netherlands scored a couple of goals since a 3-2 final scoreline was definitely a better representation of the match than a 3-0 scoreline would have been in my opinion.

 

For all their attractive play, I don't think Japan really created that much when it came to clear cut chances apart from Yokoyama's missed sitter. However, they did create a number of half chances that they didn't take well apart from Yokoyama's goal. The Dutch struggled at times with Japan's crossing as van den Bulk had a mishit clearance for her own goal, and van der Gragt very nearly scored an own goal in the first half as well.

The second Dutch goal was great and involved quality play from each of the front 3. Good skill and perseverance from Miedema on the winning goal, but Japan was a bit unlucky to lose the match in that fashion. I thought the second yellow given to van den Berg was quite harsh; there may have been some contact, but it looked largely like simulation to me.

 

Mandy van den Berg moves from Valencia to PSV.
Is PSV trying to build a really strong team?

 

Thought both teams struggled with their final passes/shots. France got lucky with Dekker's unforced own goal, and then, Le Sommer provided either a lucky moment or a moment of brilliance. Martens' goal was quality. The Dutch formation with van de Donk on the left and Martens in the middle was interesting. Van de Donk couldn't match Martens' dribbling and creative impact from out wide, but I liked the idea of Martens central and thought it worked out to an extent.

 

Here is the teamsheet from the game, it is the place of the infamous off the record quote in the mixed zone from the France coach about certain players being a bit big headed and unfocused.

Le Sommer said in an interview that she did try to score but it was a bit lucky that it went in.

 

Another well-worked goal for the Dutch to go along with a set piece goal and two scrappy/lucky goals. Middag was a consistent presence in these games/highlights up to Iceland. Terrible luck with ACL injuries.

 

Stefanie van der Gragt (27) returns to Ajax.

 

When healthy and fit she's a very good player--big and strong and imposing, defensively, and an excellent header. She had a very good World Cup. Unfortunately, she has had difficulty staying healthy. She seemed to have one injury after another during her time with Barcelona--including at least one major knee injury. She carries a lot of weight on her 5/10' frame--I just saw her weight listed as 163--and I'd bet that has contributed to some of her leg and knee issues, I don't know how many starts she had for Barcelona but I don't think it was many as she was on the shelf a lot. Wishing her good health going forward!

 

Maybe it was Austria stepping up for the big occasion, but I think a similar result would have happened at the Euros if Austria and the Netherlands had met up again. When the Dutch are in the mood (as they were throughout Euro 2017 apart from the second half of the Denmark group phase match), they can tear teams apart quickly, which is what happened in this match.

 

Has anyone ever seen a replay of The Netherlands v. England semi at Euro17? I'd love to watch it but have never spotted the game online.

 

https://www.npostart.nl/nos-ek-vrouwenvoetbal-voorbeschouwing-en-1ste-helft/03-08-2017/POW_03563683

https://www.npostart.nl/nos-ek-vrouwenvoetbal-2de-helft-en-nabeschouwing/03-08-2017/POW_03563685

 

Many thanks for the England game, Ethan! I should have asked sooner. I've been wanting to watch a replay for two years--kept thinking it would one day appear on You Tube but don't think it ever has.

This was obviously one of THE big wins for the Dutch NT in the last three years. Great team effort. The Dutch made it difficult for a good England team all match. Gave up a few chances/half chances but were strong defensively throughout in what was a very tough, competitive game. I thought the centerbacks played really well--completely dominated the air in our defensive third and in our box. Van der Gragt, in particular, was in beast mode. They each had one mistake that could have been costly--Van der Gragt tried to clear a ball in the box and ended up kicking off the legs of Ellen White, but Van Veenendaal was alert and grabbed the ball that could have gone in our net. Then Deeker got beat to a long ball by Taylor, who got off a decent shot but Van Veenendaal was there for the save. Groenen was strong, and Van de Sanden as good; she didn't contribute to any goals but she was very active, saw a lot of the ball and kept the English defense busy for most of the game. Van Lunteren and Van Es were solid. Van de Donk did her thing and provided the cushion when she bounced on the miscue by Williams.

England definitely missed Scott in this game, who was hurt, I believe, and I'm not sure why Parris didn't play, but they would have made England even stronger. Sampson played Ellen White on the wing--good player but she's a center forward and not a winger. I thought for sure Spitse fouled Bronze in the box in the 2nd half but then the replay showed that in slipping between Van Es and other Dutch player in the box, Bronze actually flopped before Spitse clattered into her.

I've pretty much gone through all replays the I've wanted to see now. It's time for some live matches!

 

Indeed as she showed at the World Cup in France. Groenen got the better of her on a number of occasions, and White may not have faced up against Groenen that often if she had played at center forward.

Yeah, it looked like an obvious penalty live, but the replay clearly showed a dive from Bronze. Great call, but I also thought Bronze should have seen a yellow. The dive really was ridiculous; it looks like she easily would have won the penalty if she had just stayed up.

Those two were big issues for England's defense throughout the match. This match is a prime example for me of the issue with focusing so much on pass completion rate. If you did that, you'd think Groenen didn't have a good match. Apart from not being great on a couple of occasions when the ball was in the air, I thought Groenen was very good, and her match remains one of my favorite box to box performances. Despite the stick she gets nowadays, van de Sanden really did have a great Euro 2017, and she stood out more vs England than Martens did. (Martens was still good though; the pass out to Groenen for Miedema's goal was very good.)