ANPAndries Jonker explains to his players during the training of the Dutch football women
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 10:01
Smiling faces, a stadium full of cheering Orange supporters, playing football without pressure and a 5-0 win. The last time the Dutch football players played against Belgium was the farewell match for the World Cup, it was one big party.
The stakes are higher tonight. The Netherlands wants to take the first steps towards the Olympic Games.
The very first edition of the Nations League for women starts in Leuven. A new tournament in which the finalists can also earn tickets for the Games in Paris. An event that the Orange Women would obviously like to attend.
‘Flyn by’
The previous tournament, the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, was not that long ago. Just over a month to be precise, the quarter-finals were the end point. “It went very quickly. It is good to be with the group again. The four weeks have flown by,” says Jackie Groenen in the run-up to the match against the Belgians.
Groenen gets wet during interview: ‘You promised I would be dry’
In the meantime, there has been little time to think about the World Cup, says Groenen. “We have a packed schedule. We are playing a lot of games at the moment.”
The midfielder played another match with Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday evening, together with Lieke Martens. The women won 3-0 against Girondins Bordeaux and had to go straight to the Orange training camp on Monday, where they arrived with a delay.
“Unfortunately we didn’t have much control over that, but I think we missed a meeting or two. It won’t make much difference.”
Personnel changes
Groenen will play the next match on Friday. With the Dutch team against Belgium, before England awaits on Tuesday. The last time the Netherlands played against their southern neighbors, the result and the game played mainly brought energy to the players.
But this time the fans should not assume that things will be that easy again, say Jackie Groenen and Andries Jonker in the pouring rain in Leuven.
Watch how the Nations League works in the explanation video below.
This is how the Nations League works for female footballers and this is what is at stake
Feyenoord goalkeeper Jacintha Weimar is therefore playing for the Netherlands for the first time and two other goalkeepers, Daniëlle de Jong of FC Twente and Barbara Lorsheyd of ADO Den Haag, have been added to the group. It is Groenen’s job, as a routine, to take the goalkeepers in tow.
“They train really hard, but in a match it’s all different. We just have to get them involved in the beginning. Then everything will be fine.”
3-5-2 of 4-3-3?
The big question is how the Dutch team will fight the Belgians. At the World Cup, the Netherlands played in a 3-5-2 formation. There is a chance that the Netherlands will use this again, says Jonker, who first used a 4-3-3 system.
“3-5-2 has gradually come to dominate, because the players felt comfortable with it. But I have to make a decision with the wishes of the players and the opponent in mind. We will see on Friday.”
Belgium-Netherlands and Netherlands-England at NOS
The Netherlands opens the Nations League tonight with an away match against Belgium. The match can be followed live on NOS from 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on NPO 3, NOS.nl and the NOS app. There is also a live report on NPO Radio 1.
England is the opponent on Tuesday, September 26. That match can also be seen live on NPO 3, NOS.nl, the NOS app and can be followed via NPO Radio 1.
2023-09-22 08:01:37
#Dutch #start #route #Games #Belgium #means #anymore
