With the Women’s World Cup coming to a thrilling climax this weekend, as the USA triumphed over Japan 5-2 after a Carli Lloyd hat-trick, now is the right time to assess The Netherlands’ performance in what was their debut outing on the World’s biggest stage.
The Oranje qualified for their first ever World Cup after a thrilling 3-2 aggregate win over Italy in the quaifying play-offs, meaning they’d be on the plane to Canada for the 2015 tournament. Their participation at the World Cup may not have been possible if it wasn’t for 18 year old striker Vivianne Miedema. The Bayern Munich striker scored 16 goals in 13 appearances and finished as top scorer of the qualifying phase.
Well-Equipped Squad
The Netherlands were well-equipped squad wise, with Loes Geurts in goal with over a century of caps. Captain Mandy Van Den Berg was the sturdy rock in the Leeuwinnen defence, along with Stefanie Van Der Gragt and Desiree Van Lunteren, the Dutch looked a strong unit in terms of defence. The good thing about the Dutch is that goals can come from anywhere, especially the midfield talents that are Lieke Martens, Danielle Van De Donk and Sherida Spitse.
The Netherlands posed a real goalscoring threat, with top duo Miedema and Manon Melis. With Kirsten Van De Ven off the bench to provide what they needed to progress. Miedema was also mentioned in The Guardian’s ‘players to watch’ before the tournament began. Up first was a meeting with New Zealand, who were looking to win their first World Cup game after going two former tournaments without a win.
The game in whole was a cagey affair with one piece of pure magic from Martens, as she stood 25 yards out from goal and curled an effort into the top corner. The goal was shortlisted for the BBC’s goal of the tournament contest, and created history as the Leeuwinnen’s first ever World Cup goal. This goal turned out to be the difference between the sides, despite New Zealand having a penalty shout turned down late on after Hannah Wilkinson went over in the area, only for the referee to wave away her claims.