Everything must be fine for the Orange Lionesses against Iceland

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After the disappointing European Championship under Jonker’s predecessor, Mark Parsons, there is quite a bit of pressure on this progression, as much hinges on the game against Iceland. After seven games, the Orange side sit second in the group, behind Iceland by one point, who beat Belarus by a wide margin on Friday. (6-0). The Netherlands must win to finish first in the group and thus impose their qualification for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next summer. Number two gets a second chance in the play-offs.

In a final test before the crucial game against Iceland, the Orange narrowly beat world number 23 Scotland on Friday. The Netherlands were considerably stronger, but mishandled the many chances: 2-1. Vivianne Miedema scored the first goal in the tenth minute, from a pass from Daniëlle van de Donk, but the equalizer followed two minutes later. Substitute Fenna Kalma scored the winning goal in the finals.

Jonker spoke after a “lovely evening”. According to him, there was “a lot of energy and power” in the team. “We just forgot to express all that in the score. It should have been just 6-1. However, he acknowledged that the defense was vulnerable at times. “But it also takes time. I can jump off the stadium with joy now. If you had seen us in training on Wednesday: everything went wrong.

Van Gaal clarity

Parsons’ departure must have been a relief for many players. Because even though everyone tried to avoid the P-word during the first week of training – “I don’t feel like dragging the old cows out of the ditch,” Spitse said – it became clear between the lines what was missing. And it’s not just the Briton’s verbosity, which striker Jill Roord criticized during the European Championship.

It is also the lack of physical capacity on the international scene. “As fit as England, Germany, Spain and France are,” Spitse said, “we have to put in a few percent to catch up.” If the team is in better shape, it doesn’t matter what the opponent’s ball percentage is, she said, because then you can counterbalance a lot with stamina. “And Andries asks a lot of the team in that respect.”

Not only in the Dutch national team, but also in their clubs, according to Spitse, players have to work on their physical condition. “They have to take responsibility for it. Am I where I want to be? Am I satisfied or do I want more? Everyone should ask themselves these questions every day.

But football players have fallen behind in the past year due to more things. Parsons may be “a beautiful person,” said Shanice van de Sanden, but Van Gaal clarity is “really needed” right now. The Dutch are very direct, she says, and Jonker is – unlike Parsons – “a real Dutchman”.

Van de Sanden, who was ruled out under Parsons after two World Cups, a European Championship and the Olympics, feels “very happy” since being added to the squad by Jonker. She wasn’t mad that Parsons kept her out of the European Championship team, but she was disappointed. “You shouldn’t stay disappointed for too long,” she said. “Be sad for a day or two, then the head must be lifted again.”

pick up the pace

At the moment, Jonker seems like a good choice for the Dutch national team in this phase. He is demanding, direct, but also approachable and witty. “Players can say and ask anything,” he said indirectly, referring to Roord’s criticism of his predecessor, but “in the end, I decide.” Athletes’ input is important, especially in a country like the Netherlands where “everyone has an opinion on everything”, but “someone will have to decide”.

During a training session last week, Jonker was talking relaxed with Roord, a smile on his face. But when things aren’t moving fast enough for him bouncing back, he steps up. “Get a beat, Jill, get a beat. It must be perfect. It’s still not perfect!

When he first met the team a week ago he had two important messages, he told the assembled press last week. The first was that players “must act as a group at all times”. The individualists should have chosen tennis better. Then you can do your own thing. In football, you constantly have to think about your teammates.

The second message was that you can only succeed in high performance sport if you do everything you can for it. Past performance is not indicative of the future. “If we realize that, the talent will automatically surface.”