The Orange squad will immediately meet one of the top favorites for the overall victory at the European Championship, Sweden, at 9 p.m. in Sheffield tomorrow evening. It is still unclear whether Dominique Janssen and Lineth Beerensteyn are fit enough.
By Tim Reedijk
Janssen and Beerensteyn went out of the training early on Wednesday. Defender Janssen, a strong holder in an otherwise somewhat rickety defence, then let it be known that this was as a precaution. Today, Parsons confirmed that it is unclear whether both players will be able to attend, where he will have everyone else at his disposal. The pair did participate in the training after the press conference.
“I’m optimistic about both when I talk to them,” Parsons said. ,,But if it doesn’t work out, we have young players in the selection who have gained important experience. That experience, for example at the Tournoi de France last February, becomes even more valuable.”
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We have champions in all the top leagues in our roster, including Champions League winners.
Sweden was an Olympic finalist last year and has been performing very consistently for years. It is not for nothing that the country is number two in the FIFA world ranking, two places above the Orange Women. In addition, the Parsons team did not have a convincing last period, with the hard defeat against England by national coach Sarina Wiegman (5-1) striking. Recent (practice) matches against top countries such as France (3-1) and Spain (1-0) were also lost. The confrontation with Sweden, which cannot start with the not quite fit star player Stina Blackstenius, is therefore a direct test of how the Orange stands against a top country when it really matters.
At the same time, the Lionesses are reigning European champions and that experience will be taken into account in the selection, thinks Parsons. “When you have a history of losing, everything is more difficult. Look at Juventus against Tottenham Hotspur, a few years back, in men’s football. Juventus were behind, but they said to each other that Spurs have a history of not winning, where Juve often wins.
“The same in women’s football, in the Champions League final between Olympique Lyonnais and FC Barcelona. Lyon captain Wendie Renard wondered how many titles Barca have? A. And Lyon: much more. You have to have faith in what you’ve done before, but if you don’t have those experiences, it’s harder. We have experience as European Championship champions, World Cup finalists, at the Olympic Games. We have champions in all the top leagues in our roster, including Champions League winners. We are used to winning, to trophies, to big games, now also 90,000 at Camp Nou and 50,000 at Wembley.”
But, Parsons and captain Sari van Veenendaal also realize, the past is over. ,,We are the proud champions, but we are now in a different situation,” said Van Veenendaal. “We have celebrated enough. This is a new time.”
,,We don’t start this tournament as the best team, that’s logical,’ said Parsons. In general, England, Sweden and probably also Spain and France are bigger favorites than Orange. ,,The difference in quality of this European Championship compared to the Olympics, that is a difference between day and night’, says Parsons. ,,There are six favorites and every tournament has one or two surprises. Let’s see who that will be.”
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