SWNT v Netherlands Preview | Two Sides with Down Under on Their Minds
Tonight Scotland face Netherlands in what will be viewed as a tune up for next month’s World Cup playoffs ahead of a final Group B qualifying trip to face the Faroe Islands in Tórshavn next week. A tough test awaits against a wounded Dutch side who’s defence of their European Championship crown this summer was more meek than maverick. So how are both side’s looking ahead of the friendly in Zwolle.
A Euros to Forget for the Dutch
For all the fervancy and colour their fans brought this summer The Netherlands were never able to get going in England, culminating in what would be a disappointing title defence as all too rare flickers of quality struggled to mask an undercurrent of discontent. English coach Mark Parsons was brought in with a remit of ensuring a robust defence of the crown they won on home soil in 2017 but his methods proved to be the oil to the water of a Dutch squad who had previously thrived under the guidance of England’s tournament winning boss Sarina Wiegman. Players were unafraid to show their unease, midfielder Jill Roord was sent to the substitutes bench for the quarter final defeat to France after publicly criticising her coach pre-match. Roord would later state that the comments were sarcastic, but the seed had been planted. She would come on at half-time but the Dutch would spend more time digging in than they would on the front foot and their defence came to an end in extra time.
The end for Mark Parsons and Jonkers appointment
Parsons, whose success in the NWSL with Portland Thorns brought him to the Oranje Leeuwinnen, will have felt he had to exert some authority but in the post-tournament analysis the feeling of styles at conflict started to come further to the fore. In the opening game against Sweden Vivianne Miedema, who had spent 45 minutes as an isolated figure, was rumoured to have taken her game-changing positional switch against Sweden into her own hands, albeit with Parsons’ consultation. That collaboration wasn’t enough and during a frank post-elimination autopsy of her nation’s performance Lyon midfielder Danielle van de Donk opined, “We don’t play the beautiful football that we can and are proud of. Maybe Mark and I have different definitions of attacking football.” His departure in August came with a sense of inevitability attached.
His replacement, Andríes Jonker’s first job will be ensure that the Dutch qualify for next summer’s World Cup Down Under. The 2019 finalists face Iceland in a winner takes all home qualifying clash in Utrecht next week and as much as Scotland will be looking ahead to the playoffs, the Dutch will expect to avoid that extra hurdle. Iceland, as shown this summer, will be no pushovers though.
Compared with Parsons Jonker’s exposure to the women’s game appears limited. He had a brief interim run in charge of the national side in 2001 but his appointment comes after a spell with second tier side SC Telstar having finished 19th in the 20-team Eerste Divise last season. A former assistant to Louis van Gaal at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, there will be no easing into the role for the 59-year-old. World Cup qualification is near mandatory for a talented Dutch squad, one that, despite this summer’s woes, has been slowly transfused with a rush of exciting new blood.
A new generation of Dutch talent emerges
Perhaps the biggest revelation was the impromptu emergence of goalkeeper Daphne van Doomselaar. Having replaced an injured Sari van Veenendaal in the opening game the 22-year-old’s form would see her earn rave reviews, both for her penalty box presence and shotstopping. van Veenendaal has since announced her retirement from the game and the Twente keeper seems locked in as her country’s new number one.
van Doomselaar wasn’t the only youngster to impress. Victoria Pelova, Romée Leuchter and Esmee Brugts all added a much needed freshness to an attack that at times laboured. The trio’s cameo in the final group game goal chase against Switzerland a tantalising look into the future.
Of course there is still an abundance of established talent already in place at Jonker’s disposal. Vivianne Miedema’s performances at the Euros were hampered by the effects of covid but she remains one of the world’s very best. A lethal combination of predatory poacher and hyper-intelligent playmaker blessed with a level of skill, touch and vision that had me swooning in the stands of Bramall Lane as she instigated their equaliser against Sweden in their tournament opener.
On her day Jill Roord is a dominant box-to-box midfield presence and Danielle van de Donk still has the guile to unpick a defence. It is perhaps in defence where Scotland will see the biggest weaknesses to exploit. A one women brick wall showing by Stefanie van der Gragt against France aside, the Dutch rearguard never seemed settled and it was only van der Gragt’s determination coupled with French wastefulness in front of goal that prevented the scoreline from being much heavier and both the Portuguese and Swiss exploited a soft orange core. The prospect of Martha Thomas taking on the Dutch back line is one to look forward to.
Scotland’s full back boost
Not that Scotland haven’t shown their own vulnerabilites during qualifying, the performance away to Ukraine was the most impressive of the campaign but things could have been very different if Nicole Kozlova had shown more composure than to blaze over the bar when clean through in the early stages. She didn’t though and moments later Scotland would seize control of the game from the penalty spot.
Sophie Howard and Rachel Corsie now seem to be Martinéz Losa’s preferred centre back pairing as Scotland secured only their second clean sheet of qualifying against the Ukranians but one area where the Spaniard’s squads has looked particularly light recently has been at full back. Nicola Docherty has almost exclusively held down the role as the position’s sole representative and so the returns of Rachel McLauchlan and Emma Mitchell are timely with a big autumn ahead. McLauchlan missed Rangers’ maiden SWPL title run-in last term through injury but she has returned in swashbuckling form, highlighted by her long range strike against Hamilton Accies last weekend. Domestically she plays on the front foot but how she fares against the Dutch attack on Friday night will be at the forefront of her manager’s mind with the play-offs on the horizon.
The returning Emma Mitchell is a player the Spaniard already knows well and the Reading full back has got married and become a mother since her last appearance in Scottish blue. The call-up will be a first chance for her new national team boss to see her up close since they last worked together during his spell in charge of Arsenal between 2014–2017.
However, with the WSL season not due to commence until after the international break this camp may be more about re-integrating her into the group and working towards match sharpness. With Rachael Boyle now on maternity leave and repurposed winger Lisa Evans having to withdraw through injury having a renewed variety in a role increasingly significant in the moderngame is a boost.
The return of Fiona Brown bolsters attacking options
While Mitchell will be a familiar face one player that Martinéz Losa won’t have had much time with is FC Rosengård’s Fiona Brown, the forward returning to the national team squad after recovering from yet another serious knee injury. Brown’s resilience is to be admired and her return to the squad comes at a time when forward options feel at their most competitive, particularly when reflecting on those absent this time round.
Christy Grimshaw misses out as she works her way back to full fitness as does Jane Ross after picking up a season ending ACL injury. Lizzie Arnot, Kirsty Hanson and Lauren Davidson (now called up to replace the injured Evans) are also readied on the fringes.
Brown has been eased back into competitive football in the Damallsvenskan this summer making four substitute appearances for the defending Swedish champions, and with Lana Clelland, Abi Harrison and Angel City’s newest vibe merchant Claire Emslie well established in the rotation it could be minutes from the bench that Martinéz Losa uses to bring Brown back into the international fold.
Will Caroline Weir’s move to Real Madrid see her kick on in dark blue.
If Scotland are to make it to the World Cup next summer then getting the best out of Caroline Weir will be key to play-off hopes. She put in her best performance under Martinéz Losa against Ukraine and while Erin Cuthbert’s all action talents has been easier for the Spaniard to accommodate, fine tuning how to accentuate Weir’s on-field elegance will be an important part of Friday night’s contest.
Her transfer to Real Madrid this summer was not only a childhood dream come true for the midfielder but it also captured the imagination of even the most casual of women’s football fans in Scotland. Weir’s signing was a statement of intent by the Spanish side, one not to make up the numbers but to help take her new side to the next level. The verve with which she celebrated her winning goal against former club Manchester City in the Champions League showed the hallmarks of a player not only loving her football but loving the new life that surrounds her.
The challenge of matching up to the likes of Jill Roord, Jackie Groenen and Damaris Egurrola should be one that Weir will thrive on as she looks to take on the creative mantle for her national side. Too often in recent times she has slipped back towards her own defence, she is a highly capable deep lying playmaker, but as evidenced by that Champions League winner the further up the park Scotland can get Weir’s talents the more damage she has the potential to do.
Friday’s friendly is just that, a friendly, but it is also an important marker for the realities of the progress made under Pedro Martinéz Losa against a side the calibre of which Scotland may have to beat if we are to make it to Australia and New Zealand next summer. A positive result and performance, followed by a strong showing in the Faroes will set the table for what has the potential to be an exhlirating autumn.
Scotland face Netherlands in Zwolle, Friday 2nd Sepetember. The game kicks off at 7pm and is live on BBC Alba.