July 10 – Dutch manager Andries Jonker brushed off his side’s historic 4-0 capitulation against England and vowed to prove they still belong amongst the elite.
It was a humiliating defeat for the Netherlands. The Dutch had never lost by a bigger margin at a European Championship or a World Cup, but Jonker insisted he “didn’t care about that” and instead promised that his team will get their act together against France on Sunday in Basel where they will need big win to survive in the tournament.
“The fact is that we have suffered a heavy defeat that we didn’t see coming,” explained Jonker. “We thought we could play toe-to-toe against England. We wanted to play for victory. We want to play to qualify for the quarter-finals. That this is the biggest defeat at a major finals? I don’t care.”
The disappointing Dutch conceded twice Lauren James with Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone also scoring, but at no point did the 2017 European champions mount any serious resistance.
“We have lost more often with this group in the past,” continued Jonker. “You need to regroup. You rely on hard work by the staff. You rely on the resilience of the players. There is burning ambition. We want to stay here. We don’t want to go home. If you want to stay here, you have to be successful against France, very successful.”
The task against France seems insurmountable with the Netherlands’ failing fortunes at the tournament prompting questions over the team’s place in the hierarchy in the global game. Ranked eleventh on the FIFA ranking, the Dutch exited the 2023 Women’s World Cup, their first tournament under Jonker, at the quarter-final stage.
“Potentially, we can be a part of the top, but what is the definition of the top?” said Jonker. “Spain, in my view, is the top. They are the very best, the number one. Eight, nine to ten countries follow and we can be a part of those, but not today.”
He admitted that too often the Netherlands didn’t get results against the top teams, arguing that “playing nicely is not enough.”
“At the moment that we play a first half against the US at home of which people say ‘this is the way’, then the feeling is good. So that oscillates. As a manager, I try to look at where we are from a structural point of view. Structurally, we are somewhere between second and twelfth. At some moments against the US, number two, but at other moments, against Germany and today, twelfth.”
France are ranked just one spot above the Netherlands on the FIFA ranking, but they impressed against England and defeated Wales 4-1 in their second group game. Jonker and the Dutch know what to do then to prove they still belong at this level – be at their very best.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1752172323labto1752172323ofdlr1752172323owedi1752172323sni@i1752172323tnuk.1752172323ardni1752172323mas1752172323