The fact that the Red Flames participated until the final match day for a group win in a group with the two former European champions England and the Netherlands is in itself an unexpected achievement.
But that was briefly overshadowed tonight by a hopeless 4-0 loss against our northern neighbors.
“It’s a sad end to a beautiful course,” said a clearly disappointed Kassandra Missipo after the race.
You can already hear it: the Red Flames have gradually raised the bar for themselves – with stunt victories against the same Netherlands and England – very high.
“What have we learned from this campaign?”, national coach Ives Serneels made the analysis. “That this team has not yet been able to close the gap with the top teams, but we have already taken steps in the right direction. I also told them that in the dressing room.”
The disappointment of the evening itself also gave way to some general pride. “We may still be disappointed today, but we must leave this campaign with our heads held high,” Missipo said.
“Indeed, it’s a shame that our eight unexpected points only resulted in third place, but we still showed what we are worth,” Janice Cayman also agreed.
The anticlimax came tonight because the Netherlands – chased by an English monster score – absolutely had to go to the extreme against our fellow countrymen. This was the only way it could become a group winner.
“We felt that,” Missipo and Cayman testified about the thrilling finale. “We heard the score from England and felt the English curse and immediately push through.”
“Well, we lost control of the game in the end due to the Dutch power play,” Ives Serneels also noted.
The Flames remained third in their group and they still have to complete a jump-off match in February to stay in the top division of the Nations League.
“That preservation is very important to us,” Serneels was clear. “It will be exciting again and we will start these matches with a different status, but we will also go all out again,” Cayman finally concluded combatively.
2023-12-05 23:22:40
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