Euro 2022: A guide to the Netherlands team
- Published
Euro 2022 is taking place at 10 venues across England between 6-31 July. The Netherlands are in Group C, along with Sweden, Switzerland & Portugal. Tim Reedijk, a football journalist at Dutch daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, assesses their chances this summer.
How will the Netherlands do?
As the 2017 champions, the expectations are very high - although everybody knows that women's football has developed a lot all over Europe.
Countries like Spain, England and France have become much stronger and are probably stronger than the Netherlands right now. Ever since Englishman Mark Parsons took over, the results have been up and down. However, because of injuries and Covid he has not had the chance to play with his strongest 11 in all those months.
The quarter-finals or semi-finals seem more realistic to me than the final or winning the Euros again, but with stars like Lieke Martens and Vivianne Miedema, you never know...
Who is the manager?
Mark Parsons has made an uncertain start for the Netherlands, with patchy results while he combined his job as national team coach with his position at NWSL side Portland Thorns, which he left at the end of the 2021 season.
He once missed his flight, so he arrived too late for the Dutch training camp - even former manager Sarina Wiegman criticised him and the Dutch FA over this. As a result, along with the results and the team's performances on the field, many people doubt him.
However, Parsons has been very successful in his career and this national team likes his dedication, hard work and coaching skills. To me he seems to be a very intelligent, tactically strong, caring and dedicated man. But in football only your results count.
Who is the star player?
Without any doubt, Miedema - and I don't think I have to explain why! She's a great football player and the country's all-time top scorer, and she's known to WSL fans through her exploits at Arsenal.
She's the most important player on the team, even more so than Martens, who has been very important at Barcelona this season but is still struggling with injuries. My money is on Miedema being the Dutch star this summer.
Who is the rising star?
Damaris Egurrola represented Spain at youth level but switched to the Netherlands in March
For me, it's 22-year-old Damaris Egurrola - in club football she is, of course, already well known for her performances at Lyon. She could have played for the Spanish, American or Dutch national team, but she chose the Netherlands.
She's a talented midfielder and scored twice in a friendly against South Africa in April. She could be an upgrade for the Dutch midfield.
Euros record | |
|---|---|
Previous tournaments | Three |
Best result | Winners (2017) |
Squad list
Goalkeepers: Daphne van Domselaar (FC Twente), Barbara Lorsheyd (ADO Den Haag), Sari van Veenendaal (PSV).
Defenders: Kerstin Casparij (Twente), Caitlin Dijkstra (Twente), Merel van Dongen (Atletico Madrid), Stefanie van der Gragt (Ajax), Dominique Janssen (Wolfsburg), Aniek Nouwen (Chelsea), Marisa Olislagers (Twente), Lynn Wilms (Wolfsburg).
Midfielders: Danielle van de Donk (Lyon), Damaris Egurrola (Lyon), Jackie Groenen (Manchester United), Victoria Pelova (Ajax), Jill Roord (Wolfsburg), Sherida Spitse (Ajax).
Strikers: Lineth Beerensteyn (Bayern Munich), Esmee Brugts (PSV), Renate Jansen (FC Twente), Romee Leuchter (Ajax), Lieke Martens (Barcelona), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal).