Beerensteyn and Egurrola replace Miedema and Groenen in battered Orange | NOW

Lineth Beerensteyn and Damaris Egurolla will replace the corona-infected Vivianne Miedema and Jackie Groenen at the battered Orange Women on Wednesday. The kick-off of the European Championship match with Portugal is at 9 p.m. With a win in Leigh, the defending champion is almost certain of a place in the quarter-finals.

Beerensteyn relieves Miedema in the rush hour, who tested positive for the corona virus on Tuesday afternoon and has been in isolation ever since. Egurolla takes the place of Greens as a controlling midfielder. Groenen has been living in seclusion since Sunday morning after a positive corona test. Egurrola, who is a daughter of a Spanish father and Dutch mother, has been racing for the Netherlands since April.

National coach Mark Parsons had quite a few headaches after all the disaster in the Netherlands: Miedema, Groenen, Aniek Nouwen (ankle injury) and captain Sari van Veenendaal (shoulder injury) all dropped out in less than three days. Van Veenendaal is no longer in action at this European Championship.

As expected, Daphne van Domselaar takes Van Veenendaal’s place under the bar. The captain left the training camp on Monday with a shoulder injury, which she sustained in a collision with Stefanie van der Gragt and Lynn Wilms in the first European Championship match against Sweden (1-1). For Van Domselaar, who left a good impression as a replacement for Van Veenendaal against Sweden, this is only her third international match.

Marisa Olislagers replaces Nouwen, who also fell out against Sweden and is currently sidelined with an ankle injury. Just like against Sweden, 21-year-old Olislagers plays as a left back and Dominique Janssen moves from the left to the heart of the defence. It is only her ninth international match for Olislagers.

Stefanie van der Gragt can ‘just’ play after the match against Sweden left her with pain in her ribs and stomach. The 29-year-old Van der Gragt seemed to have to give up the fight after the collision with Van Veenendaal, but still completed the ninety minutes and is fit enough to start.

Roord in midfield, Striker new captain

It is also striking that Daniëlle van de Donk is set up as a right winger and Jill Roord as an attacking midfielder. Roord started against Sweden much to her own dismay as a right winger. After she switched positions with Van de Donk, the Netherlands went a lot better and Roord scored the 1-1.

The 25-year-old Beerensteyn is originally a right winger, but due to a lack of good alternatives in the striker, Parsons has placed her at the point of the attack. The national coach only has a striker in the match selection with 21-year-old Romée Leuchter. The attacker of Ajax starts on the bench. Beerensteyn played only twelve minutes against Sweden, replacing Roord.

Sherida Spitse takes over the captaincy from Miedema. After the departure of Van Veenendaal, Miedema became the new captain of the Orange Women, but after her corona infection, Parsons had to appoint a captain again. Spitse already wore the band during the European Championship in 2017. Later she lost it to Van Veenendaal.

The Netherlands-Portugal starts on Wednesday at 9 p.m. (Dutch time) in the Leigh Sports Village in Leigh and is led by the Croatian referee Ivana Martincic. The Manchester United women’s home can accommodate eight thousand spectators. More than a thousand Dutch supporters have traveled to Leigh.

With a win over Portugal, Parsons’ team is almost certain of a place in the quarter-finals. The Netherlands is dependent on the other group match between Sweden and Switzerland, which started at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. After the first round, all countries in the group of Orange are on one point. Portugal got stuck in the first game in a 2-2 draw against Switzerland.