Sweden misses the chance to make a Euro statement when the resilient Netherlands overcomes unfortunate damage
SHEFFIELD, England – The stage for Saturday’s European Heavyweight Championship 2022 between the reigning champions the Netherlands and Sweden could not have been better.
The Dutch had beaten the Swedes in both the quarterfinals in 2017 and the World Cup semifinals in 2019. But since their talismanic coach Sarina Wiegman went to England, there had been questions about whether Mark Parsons could attract the same smart match from his side that she had in 2017.
Sweden meanwhile had a point to prove not only against the Netherlands but against themselves when they look to finally win their first major medal since winning the opening European Championships.
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“For me it is a little extra fuel; I want a little revenge. I want a good result against the Netherlands for many different reasons, and it puts a little fuel on the fire”, said Sweden’s Magdalena Eriksson about the match before. the tournament started.
And while the match at Bramhall Lane ended in a 1-1 draw, Sweden came out clearer of the two sides in the first half. They did not exactly knock down the door to the Netherlands goal but they kept the ball well and pressed. A head-on collision in the penalty box around 20 minutes forced the Netherlands to an early change when Sari van Veenendaal a few moments later indicated that she could not continue.
The veteran goalkeeper was part of the 2017 tournament’s “Best XI” and won the tournament goalkeeper’s award at the World Cup. She has not had the best riders in this tournament but she is still the Netherlands’ most experienced alternative with her replacement Daphne Van Domselaar who only had one senior match before Saturday.
The Netherlands’ defensive problems were further exacerbated when Aniek Nouwen was forced out towards the end of the first half.
With Sweden already a goal for the better, it felt like Peter Gerhardsson’s team was ready to put pressure on. They still had star player Stina Blackstenius on the bench to bring if they needed to and young upstart Hanna Bennison as well. It was also ironic that with the firepower they have, it was hill Jonna Andersson who got the goal. Although it is not completely outside Sweden’s area of responsibility, contributed with five backs to 10 of its 40 goals in the qualifiers. They had managed to keep Vivianne Miedema – the Netherlands’ best goal scorer of all time – quiet and while the ball possession was evenly distributed between the two, it felt like Sweden did more with the ball.
But it was the same old story for Sweden in the second half. Although they had the upper hand and went into the match as the team on a better path, they lost. Miedema fell deeper and had great success on the left wing against Amanda Ilestadt. Purists often complain when Miedema loses back that way and prefers her in a more traditional attacking role, but she loves the space it gives her and it was clearly an area she worked out that she could focus on because it was one of those runs which set the Netherlands up for their equalizer.
Despite taking in Blackstenius and Bennison, Sweden seemed more shy than they had been in the first half. They bothered the Sweden goal but Van Domselaar made a fantastic performance for her second match ever, and denied the shots that came in her way with a confidence that contradicts her experience.
It was also clear after the match that the Netherlands knew they had turned things around while Sweden was disappointed. Parsons admitted that the first 20 minutes and losing such key players had taken their toll on them.
“First half, I think it was tough but we had some good moments when we played ball possession,” he said. “The spaces were too big, which meant that Viv and others had to run more.
“When you lose a captain and a midfielder, emotions can be everywhere but everyone kept calm.”
“Calm” is probably the perfect word to describe the Netherlands’ response to their early misfortune. Asked what he said to his players at half-time, Parsons jokingly said, “I just asked Viv about her thoughts and left.”
But it was Miedema – who took the captain’s armband from Van Veenendaal when she came off – who stepped up in the second half and led her team to the valuable point. Her performance gave her the players of the match and it was easy to see how vocal and instrumental she was for the team on the field.
“If you look at our first 15, 20 minutes, I think we can be extremely proud that we got a point,” she said after the match.
“[I’m] so happy. In the first half we had a lot of contact on the pitch. When you went into the break, there was a lot of emotion. You just meet. “
The relief that was evident on Parsons and Miedema was a direct comparison with Gerhardsson’s clear disappointment.
“I’m somewhere in between,” he said when asked if he felt his team had left a win on the pitch.
“Emotions are always disappointing when you do not win a match.
“You want to win a match because that’s what you’re preparing for.”
The Dutch team’s resilience had been questioned ahead of the tournament, especially after they conceded five against hosts England in a friendly just weeks after the competition, but this match against tournament favorites Sweden was a lesson in resilience and mental strength.
They threw away some of the demons who had persecuted them and showed that they can show up while Sweden is still wondering if they will stand with a loser medal – or less – again. If they want to get all the way, they will need to find more of the fire Eriksson talked about before the tournament and use it to catapult themselves in front of all their previous failures.