ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

This article covers the Dutch national women’s football team at the Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand. The Netherlands will take part in the final round for the third time and were able to qualify for the first time directly without the detour via play-off games. With the second place after final defeat against defending champion USA at the 2019 World Cup, the Dutch women achieved their best World Cup placement.

Qualification
Opponents in qualifying were Iceland, Czech Republic, Belarus and, for the first time, Cyprus. The group winner could qualify directly, the group second was qualified for the playoff games.

The Dutch women started in September 2021 under the new national coach Mark Parsons with a 1:1 against the Czech Republic and won four days later in Iceland with 2:0. After victories in Cyprus (8:0) and Belarus (2:0) in October, they reached only a 2:2 in the Czech Republic. This was followed by home wins against Cyprus (12:0) and Belarus (3:0) in April and June. But since the Icelanders had won all the other games apart from the match against the Dutch, they were one point ahead of the Dutch before the last meeting, so that a draw would have sufficed them for World Cup qualification. After finishing in the quarterfinals at the European Championship 2022, which was held one year later in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Andries Jonker took over the office of Bondscoach of Parsons. Four days before the group final, the team reached 2-1 in a test match against Scotland, with the victory goal only falling in the 89th minute. Against the Icelanders it stood until the 90. One minute in Utrecht 0-0, then succeeded in the 66. One minute changed Esmee Brugts with her second international goal in the third minute of the injury time of the victory goals for the Dutch women, who thus qualified for the World Cup.

In total, 29 players were used in the eight games, 15 of whom were used in at least half of the games. Only Jill Roord and record international Sherida Spitse were used in all eight games. Daniëlle van de Donk, Dominique Janssen, Stefanie van der Gragt, Jackie Groenen, record scorer Vivianne Miedema and goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal were missing. The previous captain van Veenendaal had contracted an injury in the first game of the European Championship final and after the tournament her resignation. For them in the further European Championship games and in the last qualification game after the European Championship Daphne van Domselaar in the goal. Their first international matches took place during the qualification Jill Baijings and Kerstin Casparij (at 8-0 against Cyprus) and Damaris Egurrola (at 12-0 record victory against Cyprus).

The best scorers were Vivianne Miedema with eight goals – six of which she scored in the 12-0 victory against Cyprus – and Jill Roord with seven goals. In total, twelve players scored 30 qualification goals. The Dutch also benefited from