Netherlands vs. Portugal
A highly anticipated rematch of a five-goal-thriller in the group stage encounter of last Summer’s Euros ended up being a low-scoring, yet eminently entertaining, affair. Andries Jonker’s new-look Dutch squad prevailed over Francisco Neto’s Portuguese women’s national team 1-0 in Dunedin. The Oranje Leeuwinnen exerted dominance for long stretches, but the fixture became more evenly balanced toward the end.
Group E remains highly following the result. Jonker’s squad will certainly fancy their chances as they travel to Wellington to take on the USWNT in a rematch of the 2019 Final. Neto’s A Selecção das Quinas, meanwhile, shall carry some confidence with them after standing firm against a very tough opponent. They too can dream of progressing.
Tactical Analysis: Netherlands
The manner in which new manager Andries Jonker has re-tooled this squad is most impressive. The well-travelled coach immediately disregarded the semi-sacred Dutch adherence to a 4-3-3 formation. Jonker also stacked the attack with seasoned veterans. Though the talented likes of youngsters Lynn Wilms, Aniek Nowen, Caitlin Dijkstra, Kerstin Casparij, and Damaris Egurrola certainly had their claims to starting places, Jonker learned from the mistakes of predecessor Mike Parsons and went for the strongest squad.
Lineup—Netherlands—Match One (3-1-4-2)
It’s practically criminal to label this a 3-1-4-2. It truth, it functions more like a 3-1-6 or a straight 3-7. The two young-guns Jonker retained for the squad – 19-year-old Esme Brugts and 24-year-old Victoria Pelova – possess enough pace to render the problematic area of space on can see on the graphic moot. Somehow, they make it work. Watching it in action is absolutely beautiful. One easily loses oneself when observing this shape. The tendency to track players in order to make absolutely sure that they’re not teleporting keeps one engaged.
The Dutch were knocking on the door before too long. Pelova and Brugts threatened to break through early. The superb defensive trio of Dominique Janssen, Stephanie van der Gragt, and Sherida Spitse also hit the forward axes with plenty of quality verticals and diagonals. A nice little bit of trademark magic from Lieke Martens, followed by a decent effort from Lineth Beerensteyn, led to the 12th-minute-corner off of which van der Gragt scored. From that point forward, the Leuwinnen confidently let the ball circulate through their ranks.
The Oranje possession game through-out the first-half definitely counted as the most optically pleasing the author has witnessed thus far in the tournament. The best chance to double the advantage during this time came off another Spitse-serviced set-piece in the 25th. Jill Roord just barely missed. Van de Gragt, Spitse, and Janssen continually frustrated the Portuguese attacking tandem of Jessica Silva and Diana Silva. Neto’s squad found themselves unable to synchronize and rotate on the charge. A few not-so-polite verbal exchanges commenced.
Dutch work from open play peaked near the end of the first half. Martens was in the mood and graced us with a few slick tricks. Spitse hit Beerensteyen with a beautiful ball that should have resulted in the 2-0. Daniëlle van de Donk then spurned a couple of great opportunities to net the second goal on both sides of the change-of-ends. The amount of space left uncovered by the Dutch formation finally became an issue a little after the hour-mark. Neto’s team got a few combos rolling on the right past and half-right when weariness settled into their opponents’ legs.
The final phase featured much more fluid movement from the Iberians. Diana Silva worked some impressive deep drops whilst Jessica Silva went on a few enterprising forward runs. Some of the centralized charges run by the subbed-on phenom Kika Nazareth showed promise. The Dutch defensive trio, especially van der Gragt with a pair of sliders, executed some monster tackles to snuff out the danger. Kika’s fellow young sub Telma Encarnação missed the best chance at an equalizer in the 82nd.
Top Performers, Netherlands
1) Stephanie van der Gragt
As if scoring the game-winning goal wasn’t enough, the 30-year-old skipper was rock-solid at the back all night long. The author honestly didn’t catch her losing a duel either in the air or on the ground. A true-captain’s performance from the mainstay that has assisted so greatly in placing this national team program on the map over the last eight years. A shame to learn that, at least according the German announcer on the call, she’ll be retiring from international duty after the tournament. That seems premature.
2) Sherida Spitse
The other stalwart presence at the back collected an assist with her corner delivery and nearly nabbed another with several solid dead-ball services. Two incredible sliding tackles. A very exciting run forward. Perfect in the air insofar as the author could tell. Another factoid presented on the German broadcast claimed that Spitse surpassed the legendary Anouk “Fortress” Dekker as the oldest Dutch women’s player to appear at a World Cup. Spitse, van der Gragt, and Janssen were all outstanding. It felt as if there were three Dekkers on the pitch today.
3) Lieke Martens
One cherished every moment spent with the “Female Messi”. The intelligent and graceful female footballing legend looks fit and full of ideas at the beginning of this competition. One could hardly hope to behold better news. Most of the Dutch scoring chances from open play ran through her. She racked up well over 60 touches from all angles outside the box and got off three efforts of her own. No sense in studying her heat map when it suffices to say that she was all over the place.
4) Lineth Beerensteyn
The author could scarcely believe his eyes. The 26-year-old long-time Bayern professional looks like a completely different player. Beerensteyn used to be about as classic a target forward as it gets. In this contest she was knocking down almost every blade of grass everywhere and often looking just as slick as Mertens with the ball at her feet. Wow. Someone’s been putting in some very hard work over at Juventus. This piece of wonderful news comes with a bittersweet tinge. She incurred injury late. A terrible shame it shall be if she can’t go against the States.
Tactical Analysis: Portugal
The team that captures so many hearts and minds at last Summer’s Euros appears poised to do the same here. Slight accents of what we can expect from this tightly knit group of (mostly) SL Benfica players remained apparent. They eventually overcome some of their internal frustration and banded together down the stretch. Neto’s 4-4-2 diamond holds plenty of promise.
Lineup—Portugal—Match One (4-4-2)
We obviously didn’t behold the best of the double-Silva striking tandem today. The Dutch defense made matters too hard. Fitness issues also precluded the silky-smooth Kika Nazareth from getting the start in the ten-slot and Tatiana Pinto had some problems breaking her lines. There’s still loads of talent here. The same crew from the Euros know full well that they can orchestrate a comeback in any match. They simply ran out of time in this one.
Top Performers, Portugal
1) Ana Borges
The 32-year-old did a marvelous job operating as a makeshift fullback. She was very often one step ahead of Brugts, van de Donk, and Martens on some potentially dangers Dutch sorties. The trained forward was probably also the best actor operating on deeper builds. Pinto got some joyful action up the right in large part thanks to her.
2) Kika Nazareth
Despite the fact that she only played 22 minutes, the 20-year-old closed in on 30 touches of the ball. She pounced on the leather every time she could. Such an exceptional player with magnificent drive, skill, and imagination. Some may say she tried to do too much. The author can only wholeheartedly disagree.