European Championship qualification
The heavy 0-7 defeat against world champion Spain has provided a reality check for the Red Flames. Interim coach Kris Van der Haegen indicated before the trip to Denmark that the Flames still need ten years to be top themselves.
The Belgian Football Association wants to take the Red Flames to the top eight in Europe and the top twelve in the world in five years. Today our national football women are eighteenth in the FIFA rankings. “But in women’s football, the difference between number 18 and number 1 is much greater than in men’s football,” says interim coach Kris Van der Haegen, who replaces national coach Ives Serneels, who was struck by long Covid. “We need ten years to bridge the gap.”
According to Van der Haegen, also head of the trainer training in Belgium, at the age of 18, Belgian girls are not much inferior to their peers from stronger football countries. “The difference arises afterwards,” says Van der Haegen. “I’m not just talking about the speed, intensity and technique, but about tactics and game intelligence. The Spanish players read the game much better than the Belgian ones.”
Direct concurrent
In Denmark, number thirteen in the world, the Red Flames are trying to keep their European Championship chances intact. “We know it is a very important match,” captain Tessa Wullaert looked ahead. “It’s probably our direct competitor for second place. The two teams have approximately the same quality. We will try to keep a clean sheet and maybe we can make a difference at a standstill.”
Midfielder Justine Vanhaevermaet plays at Everton together with two players from the Danish selection. “It is a strong collective,” she indicated. “They won against Germany in the Nations League. They are a physically strong team, but they are also good at football. We will have to be at our best to get a result here.”
Compared to the match against Spain, Van der Haegen should in principle be able to call on defender Janice Cayman again.
