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For the Orange Women, a new phase will begin on Tuesday with the training match against Norway (kick-off at 8 p.m.). After qualifying for the World Cup last month, national coach Andries Jonker wants to see if a new generation of players is ready for the big job. And all this in a different game system.
By Jeroen van BarneveldWhen the Orange Women competed for a ticket to the World Cup in the decisive match against Iceland last month, brand new national coach Jonker returned to a tried and true recipe. He drafted all the established names, restored the 4-3-3 system and played full on offense. With victory as the Holy Grail, the players had to stay as close to themselves as possible, Jonker believed.
The choice of the familiar went well, even if Jonker had the necessary chance. Thanks to a goal from Esmee Brugts in the last minute of added time, the Netherlands won 1-0 in Utrecht. Qualification for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand was therefore a fact.
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After the turbulent beginnings of Jonker, peace now reigns in Zeist. Ten months before the start of the World Cup, the national coach is seizing the period of international matches in progress to experiment. It started with the composition of the selection: he gave rest to Stefanie van der Gragt, Dominique Janssen and Lieke Martens and often called on young players in their place.
However, not everything went as planned. Vivianne Miedema (ill) and Lineth Beerensteyn (private reasons) withdrew and Thursday’s friendly match against Zambia was canceled as the Zambian team did not get the visas.
Nonetheless, Jonker said he was satisfied with the Orange Women’s first seven days of training. “We made the most of it,” he said during a digital press conference on Monday. “It’s like that.”
Jonker: “The others can now show themselves”
Despite the setbacks, Jonker has not changed his plans for this international match. He wants to see as many new names as possible in this test phase and gave the young players plenty of playing time in the substitute training matches against the women of ADO Den Haag (3-0 victory) and Feyenoord (0-0).
“An added benefit of everyone being out is that others can come forward,” Jonker said. He cited the Brugts revelation as an example. “She started once in the national team and came the other nine times. Then it’s time to show how good you are when it kicks off.”
On Tuesday many new names will debut in the friendly match against Norway, but most likely also in a different game system. The Netherlands played ADO and Feyenoord in a setup with three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards.
Jonker: “We want to look at a plan B. Maybe it’s a better alternative than 4-3-3. It’s hard to say now, because there are a lot of players missing. But it gives an impression. We have spent a lot of energy on it, I’m pretty happy with it so far.”
Experienced captain Sherida Spitse thinks it’s good that Orange are considering an alternative. “Then we will be a little less limited. We know very well how 4-3-3 works. It can only add something to our game. Is this system also suitable for our team? If not, we we won’t try something like that.”
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