The Orange Women will play with Vivianne Miedema on Saturday in the quarterfinals against France at the European Championship in England. The star player of the Netherlands is fit enough to start again after her corona infection. Remarkably enough, Jill Roord has passed.
Lineup Orange
- Van Domselaar; Wilms, Van der Gragt, Janssen, Casparij; Greens, Van de Donk, Spitse; Beerensteyn, Miedema, Pelova.
France setup
- Peyraud-Magnin; Perisset, Mbock, Renard, Karchaoui; Toletti, Bilbault, Georo; Diani, Mallard, Cascarino.
National coach Mark Parsons was unable to say at his press conference on Friday whether Miedema would start against France. He first wanted to wait for the final training in the New York Stadium in Rotherham before making a decision about the all-time top scorer in the Netherlands. Only the warm-up was shown to the press.
Miedema returned to the training field on Wednesday after being in isolation in the players’ hotel in Worsley for eight days due to a corona infection. As a result, the 26-year-old striker missed the group matches against Portugal (3-2) and Switzerland (4-1), both of which the Dutch struggled to win.
Unlike Jackie Groenen, who also contracted corona earlier in the tournament and returned to Orange against Switzerland, Miedema struggled with corona complaints for a long time. The question is therefore how long the star player can play against France. In any case, she takes over the captaincy from Sherida Spitse.
Remarkably enough, Miedema is flanked on the right by Lineth Beerensteyn and not by Roord. The player of VfL Wolfsburg, who was critical of the working method of national coach Parsons earlier this tournament, starts on the bench. In the opening match against Sweden (1-1), she scored the only goal for the Netherlands.
On the left side of the attack is Victoria Pelova, who takes over the position of the fallen Lieke Martens. Martens left the selection on Tuesday due to a foot injury, which she had sustained from the game against Switzerland. Parsons could also have chosen eighteen-year-old Esmee Brugts. She came in twice well during this European Championship.
Remarkably enough, Jill Roord has passed at Orange.
Remarkably enough, Jill Roord has passed at Orange.
Photo: ANP
Nouwen passed, Casparij as left back
Aniek Nouwen has also been passed by Parsons. Her role in the center of the defense will be taken over by Dominique Janssen, who previously played this tournament as a left back. Kerstin Casparij is now the new left back. The 21-year-old FC Twente player came in as a substitute against Portugal and Switzerland. It will be her thirteenth international match for her.
With France, the Netherlands will meet a tough opponent in the quarterfinals. The French women have one of the best squads at this European Championship and are favorites for the European title. However, in the last six major tournaments (European Championships, World Cups and Olympic Games), they were always eliminated in the quarter-finals.
In France, left winger Delphine Cascarino, captain Wendie Renard and striker Melvine Malard are the big names. Cascarino and Malard were accurate once this European Championship. Midfielder Grace Geyoro is France’s top scorer with three goals.
France-Netherlands starts on Saturday at 9 p.m. (Dutch time) in the New York Stadium in Rotherham. The match is led by the Croatian referee Ivana Martincic, who also whistled the Orange duel with Portugal. The winner will face Germany in the semi-finals, which dealt with Austria (2-0) on Thursday.
