Spain vs. Netherlands
Two of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup’s most exciting and explosive teams collide on Friday in the first quarterfinal matchup of the current competition. The Dutch emerged undefeated from a very tough group that included the United States, then topped Desiree Ellis’ determined South African side in their Round-of-16 encounter. The 2017 European Champions and 2019 WWC runners-up seek to punch through to the semis again. Andries Jonker’s Leuwinnen have outscored their opponents by an 11-1 margin.
Spain’s tournament thus far has been much more uneven. The Spaniard’s appeared unstoppable after pummeling Costa Rica and Zambia in their first two group stage encounters, yet were still humbled by Japan via a 0-4 defeat on the final day of play in Group C. The Iberians recovered to beat the Swiss in their first knockout encounter. Now topping over their opponents by a collective 13-5 scoreline, Spain have reached the WWC quarters for the very first time. They also earned their first knockout-stage win under their current head-coach.
Team Tactical Updates
Spain
Jorge Vilda’s La Roja Femenina are back on track after rolling over opponents Switzerland 5-1 in the most lopsided result of the Round-of-16 encounters. The Spanish manager once again showcased his tactical acumen in setting the team up nearly perfectly to rebound from the embarrassing group stage defeat to the Japanese. As predicted, Alba Redondo, Esther Gonzalez, and Laia Codina were among the new introductions. Vilda still had additional surprises for us.
Alexia Putellas actually began the game on the bench with Jenni Hermoso moving back to take her slot. Twenty-two-year-old keeper Cata Coll earned her very first senior team international cap with a start between the sticks. Ona Batlle moved over to the left whilst Oihane Hernandez took over at right-back. A fairly wide and ambitious 4-3-3 crystallized quickly on the overhead. One can’t really argue with the results. True, Codina and Coll conceded a slapstick own-goal early. It mattered not. Codina put the game to bed with the 4-1 tally just before the end of the first-half.
Lineup—Spain—Match Four (4-3-3)
Thankfully, Aitana Bonmati reclaimed her silky smooth form in the most recent match. The Barça gem registered a scorer’s brace and collected a pair of assists as well. The release of the team-sheets suggested that Vilda may have engaged in way too many risky decisions. The wide nature of the shape also served as cause for initial concern. All of this quickly evaporated as the Spaniards got off to a pacey and confident start. They honestly looked like World Champions on Saturday.
Vilda also opted to give young midfielder Maria Perez some minutes off the bench. The Spanish gaffer has now used all 23 of his players in this tournament. Forecasting his next lineup proves tricky indeed. The success of the above constellation might again relegate Putellas to the bench. Bonmati – counterintuitively enough – seems a bit more in control without one of the world’s best female footballers working alongside her. Codina and Coll might also retain their positions.
Netherlands
Dutch trainer Jonker’s has kept the highly effective 3-1-4-2 he used in his side’s tournament opener in place throughout the course of this competition. Twenty-six-year-old Everton forward Katja Snoeijs deputized for the injured Lineth Beerensteyn alongside Lieke Martens on the top axis during the second and third group-stage fixtures. Beerensteyn returned to take over for Snoeijs in the Round-of-16 victory over South Africa. Apart from this, all of the original personnel have retained their initial assignments.
Jonker’s only modified the shape slightly in the second group stage fixture against the United States. In the interest of according some extra protection at the back, Jackie Groenen slid ahead of a much flatter back-three to function as a sweeper. Dominique Janssen, Stephanie van de Gragt, and Sherida Spitse kept a tighter horizontal chain in order to frustrate the U.S. attack. The resultant 4-4-2 held for a good portion of the match before re-aligning into the more offensive-minded formation.
One still might wish to keep an eye out for this:
Lineup—Netherlands—Match Two (4-4-2)
It’s entirely possible that Jonkers may play a more conservative hand at the start. With Daniëlle van de Donk missing due to an accumulated yellow-card suspension, the Dutch gaffer may even attempt something novel. Projected replacement Damaris Egurrola usually works a more defensive-minded role, though the highly-talented Basque-heritage player certainly proved that she can work farther up in last Summer’s Euros. We’ll have some more thoughts on that below.
Projected Lineups
Spain
The central question for Vilda revolves around whether or not to start Putellas. It seems as if there should be room for her given that Jenni can move back up to take Salma Paralluelo’s spot on the left-hand-side of the attacking trident. Putellas and Bonmati may have contrasting styles of play, but there should be no reason why a more technical player (Putellas) can’t share space with an improv artist in scintillating form. Surely, there’s been work put in on the training pitch to get these two sinking.
The back-four and the new keeper functioned well enough. One nevertheless conjectures that Batlle (potentially moved over to the left for the sake of winning a positional duel against the Swiss) will return to the right. Olga Carmona can reprise her role at left-back following a short break. The 4-3-3 remains in place with Teresa Abelleira hanging further back to facilitate better controlled possession out of the back and the strikers operating farther apart to maximize presence on the flanks.
Lineup—Spain—Match Five (Projected) (4-3-3)
Vilda plays it a little safer this time.
Netherlands
With Damaris the projected replacement for van de Donk, a 3-4-3 that reintroduces Snoeijs at the expense of Groenen appears a tad radical. It still seems as a component means of building a slightly more unpredictable attack that could bring out the best in the “Brilliant Oranje”. Beerensteyn’s impressively refined game manifested itself yet again in the most recent match. Using her as a centrally-slanted target forward nevertheless makes sense with van de Donk as a buttressing support actor.
Lineup—Netherlands—Match Five (Projected) (3-4-3)
Plenty of potential here.
Key Duels and Trends
All things Damaris Egurrola
It isn’t exactly easy to pinpoint why the 23-year-old counts as such an intriguing player to observe. As a best effort, the author can only say that she has a means of placing her imperious stamp on a game whenever she participates. Damaris earned “Women-of-the-match” honors in her group-stage0-start last Summer after driving the link-up-play every bit as skillfully as Pedri does for the men’s side. There’s a big storyline brewing here too as – long before Vilda’s famous player mutiny – Damaris defected from the Spanish side out of protest against Vilda and joined Holland. She has a score to settle here.
The Dutch back-three
When it comes to heavy possession-based football, one’s mind always tends to the Spanish “Tiki-Taka” system first. An interesting matter here concerns the fact that Dominque Janssen, Stephanie van de Gragt, and Sherida Spitse have been running their own fine version of the Spanish game since this tournament’s inception. Simply marvelous play from this trio throughout. Now they face a huge test against a team that both runs a similar game and features a venomous press. Jonker’s vets must establish their presence early out of the back.
Cata Coll
There’s a great deal of pressure on the 23-year-old net-minder in just her second international cap. Spain earned their first-ever win in a World Cup knockout phase with a rookie keeper in goal. Coll isn’t even a starter for her club. She currently works behind long-time national team #1 Sandra Panos at Barcelona. In the Sweden vs. USA Round-of-16 encounter, we’ve already seen a relative unknown keeper thrust her way into the limelight. Another youngster seeks to make a splash here.
The Tip: Spain 2, Netherlands 2
Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but a draw appears a realistic possibility in what shapes up to be a heard-fought and evenly-balanced affair. The two teams will likely neutralize one another for long stretches, but the surfeit of talent on either side should find the right spaces eventually. Here’s hoping for an instant classic that all will recall for years to come. No sense in predicting who wins the penalty lottery. That’s a total toss-up.