“It is not a problem for me”

During a training camp in Mannheim, the players and staff of the orange team followed the draw for the World Cup next summer in Amstelveen and Terrassa. The Orange Ladies saw on the iPad that they were tied with Germany, Ireland and Chile in the group stage. “It’s a very good group for us with good opponents and good matches,” concludes national coach Jamilon Mülders.

Of course, the confrontation with Germany, number two in the last European Championship, is immediately obvious. This is a special duel for Mülders. The German was national coach of Die Danas between 2012 and 2017. At that time, the Germans often dared for Orange, but the last German victory dates back to 2011.

“It is of course curious that we are related to each other,” says Mülders. “On the other hand, I’ve been away from Germany for so long. As China’s national coach, I have already played against Germany. The fact that as coach of the Netherlands I will play against Germany at the World Cup is therefore not a problem for me.

As Germany’s national coach, Jamilon Mülders hugs Hannah Krüger and Nike Lorenz during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Photo: Koen Suyk

Familiar faces

Either way, Mülders will meet a number of familiar faces in the German squad. The team doctor he worked with at Die Danas is still with the team and his 2013 European Championship golden assistant Valentin Altenburg is now the women’s national coach. “And of course I still know girls like Cécile Pieper, Selin Oruz, Anna Schröder and Nike Lorenz. It’s good that we play against each other, but it’s not something that concerns me.

Mülder thinks his opponent Chile is more special, making his debut at a world final tournament. The South American country surprisingly qualified for the World Cup by reaching the final of the Pan American Games, in which it lost to Argentina (4-2).

Chile is therefore the most “unknown” opponent in the Orange group, although Mülders knows the South Americans’ final position well. “Goalkeeper Claudia Schüler played in Germany (Der Club an der Alster, editor’s note) and did very well during the Pan American Games during the penalty shootout in the semi-final against the United States. She’s a very good goalkeeper. Chile may be less well known, but we have plenty of time to prepare for our opponents and when the World Cup starts everyone knows everything about each other.

Ireland

We know more in advance about the third opponent of the group stage: Ireland. “This country performed well at the last World Cup and has developed well in recent years,” says Mülders. The duel with the Irish will be a replay of the World Cup final in 2018. In the battle for gold, the London Orange proved to be far too strong. It became 6-0. Money was a motivation for the Irish, who went on to join the European under-top with a fifth (2019) and sixth place (2021) in the European Championship. Ireland also qualified for the Olympics for the first time in history. Last summer, the team finished tenth in Tokyo.

National coach Jamilon Mülders of Orange Women during a training session in Valencia in preparation for the Pro League game against Spain. Photo: David Aliaga

Mülders is in any case looking forward to the next World Cup. “I think we will have a good tournament and we can expect great games. I think Group B is a tough group with England, New Zealand and India. Group D is also tough, with Belgium strong and Australia and Japan very evenly matched.

Gold as a player and as a coach?

This year marks twenty years since Mülders won the world title as a player for Germany. Next summer, like his predecessor at Orange Women, Alyson Annan, after winning gold as a player, he can also become world champion as a coach. ‘No, it’s not something that lives with me. It is true that it was twenty years ago, but I was a player then. Now I am a coach. It’s different. It’s not a theme for me.

The Orange Ladies celebrate a goal against Spain in the Pro League in Valencia. Photo: David Aliaga