Miedema recreates the new Arsenal role to help the Netherlands deny Blackstenius and Sweden
Already in January, Arsenal recruited Stina Blackstenius. It was obviously a fantastic signing, but it raised two big questions.
First, could she and Viv Miedema play together in the same team?
Secondly, did it mean that Miedema was free in the summer?
The answer to the first question was yes – Blackstenius led the line and Miedema became more of a No. 10, who took the ball to his feet.
The answer to the second question was no – Miedema signed an extension of his contract with Arsenal, perhaps partly because she actually enjoyed her new role.
All this felt relevant here, in a clash between Blackstenius Sweden and Miedema’s Netherlands.
Blackstenius was actually not well enough trained to start this match, but it made it a little easier for Sweden coach Peter Gehardsson. He has used both a back four and a back three over the past year, but the problem with the latter system is who to leave out. You simply can not leave out Fridolino Rolfo. Kosovar Asllani is one of Gehardsson’s favorites. Lina Hurtig deserves a place too. And Blackstenius is of course responsible for the goals. “It’s hypothetical,” he said when asked if he would have played the same system if Blackstenius had been ready to play 90 minutes. “But it could have been different if all the players had been available.”
But without Blackstenius, Gehardsson would not have had that dilemma about who he would leave out. He played the other three and used 3-4-3, where Hanna Glas and Jonna Andersson pressed high on the edges. Hurtig led the line and did not offer much speed behind – Rolfo twice refused the opportunity to slide the ball through the defense, without thinking that Hurtig would win a foot race – but she was a big air threat.
And, as Holland’s manager Mark Parsons admitted afterwards, Sweden’s formation surprised the Dutch. “We were very confident that they would play as they did [in a recent friendly win] against Brazil, he said.
Although Sweden could not always get its front three to combine, it was sometimes one of those classic games where a back four simply could not cope with the opposition pushing itself forward to form a front five. And so it turned out for Sweden’s premiere. Högerbacken Glas pushed forward and pulled Dominique Janssen into the field. Asllani, in the inside-right channel, hit Aniek Nouwen and then played a low ball over the box. She might not have aimed at left-back Andersson, all alone at the far post, but she was completely unmarked to turn the ball home. Textbook stuff.
At the other end, the Netherlands did not create any chances. Miedema, while leading the line, came deeper and deeper – as Parsons explained afterwards, as Sweden’s defense sat down instead of following her around, the space was between the rows rather than in the middle. In the first half, she touched the ball more than the three attacking midfielders in Parsons 4-2-3-1. But the problem was that when she got deep, no one was really driving in the opposite direction.
And so at halftime, Parsons changed things. He replaced Jill Roord, a bit isolated on the right in the first half, with Danielle van de Donk, his No. 10. “We wanted to get Jill closer to the penalty box,” he said. Roord has excelled since moving to Wolfsburg by breaking into the box – something she occasionally did well at Arsenal and played out Miedema.
In the second half, the Netherlands were more fluid. Miedema still came deep, but Roord ran away from her. The goal, even if it was a bit rough and happy, showed it well – Miedema accelerated the attack with a lovely turn past Amanda Ilestadt, while Roord was in the right place at the right time to shoot home a loose ball. The job is done.
At the score 1-1, the team could have settled for a draw. But they did not – both got an extra striker in the initial stage when they chased a win. And in a way, both sides did the same thing – they hired Blackstenius.
Sweden did it literally, with a triple change, which meant that they switched to more of a 4-2-3-1. Blackstenius sprinted directly in behind twice, and offered another dimension to Sweden’s attack.
The Netherlands did it figuratively. Parsons also switched to a 4-2-3-1 and introduced the fast Lineth Beerensteyn at the front. And what this meant, of course, was that Miedema could fall into the role she has become accustomed to at Arsenal, as No. 10, the role Blackstenius’ presence has enabled her to play at club level.
“I ran a lot during the first half,” she explained afterwards. “I had to sink deep to get the ball and cover a lot of distance myself. But when Lineth and Vickly (Pelova, right) go in behind, I know I can drop deep and create chances. But I can do both. And I will do what Mark tells me to do. ”
There were no winners in the evening. But Sweden and the Netherlands were both impressive here: not necessarily with their technical or physical skills, but with their adaptability, their versatility and by showcasing their tactical alternatives. Group C’s first match day ends with all four sides on a single point, but there is no doubt that it is these two sides to beat.
(Photo: Alex Livesey – UEFA / UEFA via Getty Images)