Dutch delight: how a Netherlands won Women’s EURO
The Netherlands are usually a fourth opposite republic to bind a UEFA Women’s EURO title, violence Denmark 4-2 in Enschede to finish an considerable home delight in that they won all 6 games. We take a closer demeanour during how they did it.
NETHERLANDS: run to victory
Group stage
1-0 Norway, 1-0 Denmark, 2-1 Belgium (1st in Group A)
Quarter-finals
2-0 Sweden
Semi-finals
3-0 England
Final
4-2 Denmark
Previous best: Semi-finals 2009
Reaction:
Sarina Wiegman, coach
“It was a good final, with dual teams that unequivocally wanted to play football, and unequivocally wanted to win. Both teams played aggressive football and 6 goals in an sparkling compare is a good advert for a women’s game. we suspicion we deserved it, though Denmark showed they deserved to be here too.”
Sari outpost Veenendaal, Netherlands goalkeeper
“When we looked around, everybody was orange and everybody was screaming and ancillary us. This is my second home here in Enschede; we played here for 5 years and it’s unbelievable. I’m so happy!”
- How did they do it?
A change during a top
After blank out behind Sweden when hosting Olympic subordinate in Mar 2016, a Netherlands’ form looked worrying during their 16-month run of friendlies. A 1-0 home better by England in Nov brought a fifth in a final 8 games, and a preference was done to reinstate manager Arjan outpost der Laan with partner Sarina Wiegman, aided by a gifted Foppe de Haan.
Also operative with Sparta Rotterdam’s masculine lady team, Wiegman won 8 of a Netherlands’ 11 2017 friendlies, losing usually narrowly to Australia, France and Japan, and restoring certainty forward of a finals.
Start as we meant to go on
The Netherlands forged out a good possibility in a early moments of their opener opposite Norway, and a wing play of Shanice outpost de Sanden and Lieke Martens ensured a Dutch women’s record throng of 21,732 in Utrecht gay in a 1-0 win (earned by internal lady Van de Sanden).
The 2013 runners-up were never means to recover, while a Netherlands went on to hard-fought victories opposite Denmark and Belgium (aided any time by Sherida Spitse penalties) to tip Group A.
Heavyweight knockouts
Sweden were approaching to be a step adult in a quarter-finals, though a Dutch claimed a entirely deserved 2-0 win pleasantness of a Martens free-kick and a initial idea of a contest for Vivianne Miedema. “It’s like we’re personification with 12 players with all a fans ancillary us,” pronounced Jackie Groenen. “It’s extraordinary carrying them behind us.”
They hosts were afterwards corroborated by a semi-final record 27,093 throng in Enschede as they met new contest favourites England, who had seen off France in a quarter-final turn that also brought a startle win for Denmark opposite Germany. This time it was not a peppery wing play of a Netherlands that was wilful though their midfield dominance, pleasantness of Danielle outpost de Donk, Groenen and Spitse. Miedema and Van de Donk both scored, while their Arsenal co-worker Jodie Taylor was kept out by a fourth Gunner, Sari outpost Veenendaal.
Final achievement
They incited on a aggressive motion nonetheless again in a breathless final as Miedema got dual some-more goals to take her knockout total to four. Meanwhile, Martens underlined her standing as actor of a contest and Twente’s Spitse, in her home stadium, converted a free-kick for a lead a hosts never lost.
Once again, a players engrossed a support of a throng and converted it into effect and a integrity to win, earning them a deserved crown.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
- First hosts to win a contest given Germany in 2001
- All 6 Netherlands games sole out for an total assemblage of 110,897, a record for a singular republic during a UEFA Women’s EURO
- Only a fourth republic to win a pretension and a initial new champions given (West) Germany in 1989
- Only a second republic to have been both men’s and women’s European champions after Germany