FC Twente play Spanish side Levante and Ajax take on Dinamo-BSUSP from Belarus for spots in this season's Champions League. Dinamo won their opening match 9-0 against a team from Moldova but I have no clue what that means.
Ajax go through to the CL qualification stage, defeating Dinamo BSUPC from Belarus 3-0. A brace from Leuchter and a penalty from Spitse as Ajax out shot the opponents, 21-4. I didn't see Isa Kardinaal on the team sheet and wonder if she if injured again.
FC Twente defeat Levante 3-2 after going down by two goals in the first 12 minutes. They also move to the CL qualification stage. Dutch really need to have both Ajax and Twente make it into the CL and get coefficient points this season!!!
De 'wijffies' van FC Utrecht zijn terug met klinkende zege op Feyenoord: 'Dit had ik niet durven dromen' AD|2 hours ago Het werd een gedroomde terugkeer in het vrouwenvoetbal voor FC Utrecht. Onder toeziend oog van ruim 14.000 toeschouwers won Utrecht met 4-2 van Feyenoord. The 'wijffies' of FC Utrecht are back with a resounding victory over Feyenoord: 'I wouldn't have dared to dream this' AD|2 hours ago It was a dream return to women's football for FC Utrecht. Under the watchful eye of more than 14,000 spectators, Utrecht won 4-2 against Feyenoord. Wow, that's a very good fanload in the stands!
Have you seen Twente's first goal? That was awful from Levante. I guess there was some confusion following a Twente player going down.
I believe Levante have submitted an official protest to UEFA for breach of fair play. I had a look at the regulations, UEFA will never overturn the result on fair play basis. They might ban the player for one game but nothing more, but I am not sure her behaviour will be even be examined by UEFA as the draw is on Friday.
Ajax draw FC Zurich and FC Twente draw BK Hacken (SWE) in the play off round to qualify for the CL group stage. I don't now anything about either opponent.
Groenen and Martens will go up against Manchester United to get into the UWCL group stages. Not that confident, especially with Katoto not back yet, but it would be hilarious if Groenen managed to score in the United home match.
Goalkeepers Daphne van Domselaar and Lize Kop will miss the Dutch national team's Nations League game with Belgium on Friday. The pair are not fit and will be replaced in the squad by Daniëlle de Jong and Barbara Lorsheyd. The KNVB does not disclose what Kop and Van Domselaar are suffering from. On Saturday, the goalkeepers rejoin the group. They may be in the following Nations League match, from Tuesday against England, be available again. Jacintha Weimar was already part of the Orange squad as the third goalkeeper and seems to be able to count on a starting place for the duel with Belgium.
Very interested to see if Jonker sticks with the 3-back system. I don't see how he can given that 1) Van der Graght is gone now and her replacement, whoever it is, will be relatively inexperienced and not at her level; and 2) Spitse is simply not a centerback solution going forward. The Dutch got by with her at the World Cup, for the most part, but she and others got exposed by Spain and were a bit lucky not to get beaten for goals on her side by the underachieving U.S. side. The Dutch need more athleticism in the back. What's more, Nouen has been dropped by the squad, I read! Jonker told her that her level recently hasn't been good enough. That's somewhat surprising given the sketchy centerback situation. Jonker added that he thinks Nouen can be a very good CB but must work on some things. He didn't specify what those things were. I also read that Damaris could play centerback. That actually might not be a bad idea. She's not going to start in the midfield, but with experience she could perhaps become a decent or better CB. It might be a way for her to get on the field. I suspect Dijkstra will get first crack at Van der Gragt's spot--but we'll see. I'd like to see the Dutch switch to a 4-4-2 with Wilms and Casparij at the outside back spots, Pelova in the middle, and Martens and Brughts up top. More defensive solidity, I think. It could be a pretty strong lineup.
I think Jonker's spot on regarding Nouwen; the thing is that her level hasn't been consistently good since the summer of 2021. She's going to need to get consistent minutes for the improvement Jonker wants and for him to actually see her improving; I don't know if she's going to get that at Chelsea. Honestly, I think Damaris could be better as a CB. She played there at Everton before her move to Lyon, and I think her long passing is better suited deeper at CB. Agreed on Dijkstra. If they go with a traditional 4-4-2, I'd imagine Brugts or Martens would be the LM. I think Olislagers is back in this camp; I previously wanted to see her get an extended run in the team at LB, but that never happened. She would offer some extra creativity from the full back position.
https://www.ad.nl/nederlands-voetba...stuk-zijn-wat-jaren-verloren-gegaan~aa224263/ Article on Feyenoord's goalie, who'se going to play against Belgium. The Feyenoord goalkeeper will therefore play her first international Orange match at the age of 25. How Weimar compares to Van Domselaar, nominated for the Ballon d'Or, and Kop, according to Jonker? "She has a remarkable career. She is in her mid-twenties and has spent four years in Munich (with Bayern Munich, ed.) without playing. Those have been fantastic years for her, but in the sporting development some years have been lost. She's catching up like a madman now. At Feyenoord, unlike Daphne and Lize last year at FC Twente and Ajax, she gets a lot of work to do. You can see that Jacintha develops quickly and is often in the picture." Yeah, Feyenoord vrouwen arenot at their best atm, so Weimar has a busy match each time Feyenoord plays
NOS Football• yesterday, 11:04 Goalkeeper Kop drops out of the Dutch team in the run-up to a game against England Lize Kop will also be absent from the Orange women's squad next Tuesday against England. The Leicester City goalkeeper left training camp on Sunday. The KNVB reports that she is not fit enough. Edit: van Domselaar trained and most likely will be available against Engeland
Theoretically they played a 4-3-3 today with Dijkstra partnering Janssen against England. However, Spitse pretty much stayed deep when on defense. Both Janssen and Dijkstra had outstanding games and Spitse was more than decent.
If anybody has a replay, I'd love to see it. Sounds like it was a cracking good match--and a huge win for the home side! Happy for Jansen. I thought Jonker would drop her from the squad given that she's a 30+-year-old veteran who has played very little and with the team transitioning to some younger players, but he kept her on and she proved it a wise decision today.
This group has a tendency of scoring last gasp goals. Belgium vs the Netherlands, Netherlands vs England, Scotland vs Belgium. If this continues, we can't let our eyes of the match before the final whstle is blown. Renate Jansen was goud waard voor de Oranje Leeuwinnen. In de absolute slotfase van de wedstrijd knalde ze de 2-1 tegen de touwen bezorgde ze Nederland de overwinning. © Pro Shots / Remko Kool
I've seen extended highlights. Looked an exciting match--good chances for both sides. Am I wrong or did the left side of the Dutch defense got exposed pretty badly by England over a 15-20 minute stretch earlyish in the second half---maybe 50' to 65' or so? England seemed to have a lot of joy, as they say, on their right side and created some good chances. Van Domselaar was super good today--amazing save on the Kemp shot. She is athletic and got across her goal so quickly to get a hand on that shot--very impressive. Interesting that DVD didn't take a shot on the first Dutch goal but instead dropped it off for Martens. A wise decision, in the end. Very nice to see Martens back in fine form.