National coach Andries Jonker had a tough evening in Utrecht, where the Orange Lionesses only finished in minute 93 liberating 1-0 made against Iceland. ,,On the one hand, you get so many opportunities that you think: this has to work. On the other hand, we miss so many opportunities that you think: let’s go through the play-offs,” Jonker said afterwards, which thoughts he fluctuated throughout the evening.
,,I don’t think you can create more and better chances than tonight. You have to make one at some point, otherwise it will of course be difficult. This was the big challenge for me. This team really wanted to go to the World Cup. There is so much potential in this team. Those girls convinced me and themselves with this match. We can still do it, that’s clear now. You can have all the statistics in your favor, but in the end it’s all about that scoreboard. We managed to win with two late goals. We now know where we stand, which is very nice.”
Vivianne Miedema, who took over the captain’s armband from Sherida Spitse after an hour, was just as relieved afterwards. ,,Normally you win a game like this 6-0 when you get such opportunities. We hit the bar or post four or five times, that’s bizarre. We haven’t been working on those play-offs at all. We let it arrive at the last minute, but we knew we had enough quality. It’s on the other side of the world in two beautiful countries, so I think it’s going to be a nice World Cup.”
Stefanie van der Gragt seemed to extend Esmee Brugts’s turning cross with her head in the 93rd minute, but afterwards she actually had no idea whether she had hit the ball in front of the NOS camera. ,,It doesn’t really matter to me, we’re going to the World Cup and that’s what counted. Great, well deserved,” said the strong defender of Inter.
,,I think we were the better all game, but you have to make it. That it falls in the last second is amazing. We had eight, nine or ten chances in the first half. And they just have to go in. We were so dominant and just played really well in the first half. You know that a draw is enough for them, so you have to take advantage of the opportunities. But that’s for later concern, I’m just super happy now.”
Danielle van de Donk shot twice against the bar in the first half and was taken to the side after an hour of play. “Watching the last half hour was nerve-wracking. It took a long time, but I was confident that it would still work. I was very disappointed with the chances that I didn’t score. It’s a shame we missed so many chances in two games. I just wanted to set something straight. It wasn’t easy, but we made it.”
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