By Samindra Kunti
August 7 – Hosts the Netherlands provided their perfect ending to Euro 2017 defeating Denmark 4-2 in the final on Sunday to be crowned European champions for the first time. Star striker Vivianne Miedema scored twice.
The Netherlands had never reached the final of a major women’s tournament before, but there was no stopping the hosts and their attacking brand of football at Euro 2017. In the semi-finals they eliminated England and in a thrilling final they were too strong for the valiant Danish, who, together with Austria, were the surprise package at this tournament.
France and Germany were the favourites going into the tournament, but the Orange Lionesses built momentum with the help of their vociferous fans. In the final in Enschede they were backed by a sell-out crowd of 28,182. The average attendance during Euro 2017 was 7,969.
The Dutch fell behind to an early penalty from Nadia Nadim’s, but they staged a professional comeback under the watchful eyes of Dutch football legends Marco van Basten and Louis van Gaal to win 4-2 and spark Dutch delirium in the stands.
“It was an open match,” said Netherlands coach Sarina Wiegman. “There were two teams who really wanted to play football.
“A match with six goals, that’s very important for women’s football as well.”
The Netherlands are only the fourth different nation to win the women’s European Championship since its inception in 1984 with Germany’s 22-year reign ending.
Barcelona winger Lieke Martens was presented with the official Player of the Tournament award for her excellent displays on the left flank. England’s Jodie Taylor won the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer with five goals.
Holland’s win capped a successful staging of the tournament, a bumper edition with 16 participants for the first time and plenty of media coverage. Leading Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf headlined with ‘Golden Girls’. It had been an overwhelming success for the Dutch on all counts and had captivated the Dutch nation as well as breaking media records around Europe. It proved the commercial opportunity of the fast growing women’s game in Europe. Last Thursday four million viewers watched the semi-final between England and the Netherlands on Channel 4 in the UK.
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