New coaches and revenge:
The Netherlands had a mixed 2024. Key injuries to players like Vivianne Miedema, Jill Roord and Danielle van de Donk meant that head coach Andries Jonker had to rely on young players like Wieke Kaptein. Injured players began to return towards the end of the year, and Oranje pulled out a spectacular first half performance against Emma Hayes’ USA. A sense of excitement has been building around the Leeuwinnen, and heading into the new Nations
League campaign, hopes are high.
Last time Oranje faced Germany, the Germans were victorious, claiming a 2-0 victory and ensuring the Leeuwinnen would not appear at that summer’s Olympics. Members of the Dutch team spoke of revenge; as Lineth Beerensteyn put it, “the knives are sharpened, absolutely”. Since that 2-0 German win, Deutsche have appointed a new head coach in
Christian Wuck, and players like Alex Popp have retired from international football.
The most interesting part of the pre-game story, however, comes from Oranje. The Dutch FA
(the KNVB) recently announced that it would not continue with Jonker as head coach following the European Championships this summer. The team hosted a media day before the match against Germany, and every player was asked for their thoughts about their head coach’s departure. For his part, Jonker has remained quiet on the subject, although rumours abound that he wanted to continue as head coach.
It has also been rumoured that the KNVB would prefer a woman to replace him, perhaps thinking back to their most successful era, when Sarina Wiegman was at the helm of a World Cup final appearance and a Euros win.
The timing of the announcement was the main point of contention for the media, as many feared that focus on the head coach would divert concentration from the Nations League and Euros.
Personnel:
Jonker will have won plaudits from fans for his decision to drop Oranje captain Sherida Spitse in favour of youngster Veele Buurman. Buurman impressed against the USA in December, scoring a goal against Alyssa Naeher in her last international outing before retirement.
It was a strong lineup from the Leeuwinnen, with a front three of Beerensteyn, Miedema and Roord, with van de Donk and Kaptein in midfield.
The Germans opted for a relatively known starting eleven that included Lea Schuller up top, with Klara Buhl, Laura Freigang and Jule Brand behind her. Sjoke Nusken of Chelsea played a major role in midfield, and Manchester City’s Knaak started in defence alongside captain Gulia Gwinn.
A strong start for Oranje:
Oranje started the game strongly, with Lineth Beerensteyn’s opening goal coming within the
opening 15 minutes. For the first half hour, Germany struggled to hold on to the ball and created little, with no shots and very little possession.
Towards the end of the first half, Germany found their footing and dominated the remaining minutes. They were further emboldened by an injury to Danielle van de Donk, who was substituted due to injury in the 43rd minute. The equaliser came in the last minute of the half, with Lea Schuller striking past Arsenal’s van Domselaar.
Beerensteyn at the double:
Germany struck again within the opening minutes of the second half, through Sjoke Nusken. The second half was relatively even in terms of dominance, with both teams having periods of momentum. Lineth Beerensteyn scored her second of the evening to restore parity, and the game ebbed out towards the latter stages with few clear cut chances for either side.
Group standings:
The Oranje Leeuwinnen travel to Scotland midweek and will fancy their chances against a Scotland team that is still without a permanent head coach. The injury to van de Donk will be a major concern, however, and they will be hoping her injury is not as bad as it first appeared.
Germany face Austria and will be expecting to win. If the midweek fixtures pan out as they should, it is possible that the battle for top spot in the group will come down to the reverse of this fixture, when the Netherlands visit Germany in May.
TEAMS:
NETHERLANDS: van Domselaar, Casparij, Dijkstra, Buurman, Brugts, Kaptein, van de Donk, Groenen, Beerensteyn, Miedema, Roord.
Substitutes: Grant (for van de Donk 43’), Janssen (for Buurman 71’), Spitse (for Dijkstra 71’), Snoejs (for Miedema 71’), Jansen (for Kaptein 81’), Kop, de Jong, van der Zanden, Wilms, van Dongen, Ripa, Baijings.
Scorers: Lineth Beerensteyn 13’, 66’
GERMANY: Berger, Gwinn, Minge, Knaak, Linder, Nusken, SenB, Brand, Freigang, Buhl,
Schuller.
Substitutes: Dallmann (for Freigang 64’), Endemann (for Brand 77’), Cerci (for Buhl 77’), Rauch (for Linder 88’), Johannes, Winkler, Wolter, Kleinherne, Dabritz, Grawe, Hoffmann.
Scorers: Schuller 45’+1, Nusken 50’
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