Captain full of World Cup optimism: ‘Does a dream come true’

Wieke Kaptein has been included in the Orange Lionesses squad ahead of the World Cup. The 17-year-old is making history, as she is the youngest player to compete at the World Cup in the Netherlands. Besides Kaptein, Van Domselaar, Dijkstra and Renate Jansen are also part of the selection. Surprisingly, top scorer Fenna Kalma is not part of the selection.

Kaptein shared on Instagram that it’s a dream come true to be selected. “Words cannot describe how I feel now. Playing on the pitch as a little girl to now represent my country at the World Cup. It’s a dream come true.”

Kaptein heads to the World Cup full of optimism on Friday, July 7. The Orange Lionesses will start the World Cup on July 23 in Dunedin, New Zealand against Portugal. They then play against the United States on July 27 and close out the group with the game against Vietnam on August 1.

Surprisingly, national coach Andries Jonker didn’t include the Eredivisie last season’s top scorer. Fenna Kalma recently announced that she will move to Germany’s VFL Wolfsburg. After years of wearing the red jersey of FC Twente, she will now wear the green jersey of the top European club.