The Dutch handball players finished the group stage at the World Cup in Denmark with a first place. That was thanks to a 33-20 victory over the Czech Republic.
The Dutch players thus recorded their third victory in a row in the preliminary round. Previously, the women of national coach Per Johansson already won with large numbers and easily against Argentina and Congo. The Czech Republic, which, like the Netherlands, had already qualified for the main round before the group match, was estimated as a more difficult opponent than the previous two. That wasn’t too bad in the Frederikshavn playground.
After an even start, the Dutch team, with Lois Abbingh from Groningen in their ranks, started to destroy the Czechs more and more. Before halftime, this mainly happened from solid and good coverage. It is significant that at halftime the Netherlands, which scored fourteen times, had only allowed eight goals. And when the defense was passed, Yara ten Holte was often an excellent obstacle in the Dutch goal.
Tess Lieder banished to the stands
Johansson left Ten Holte standing for almost the entire match. The national coach, who took three goalkeepers with him to the World Cup in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, seems to have definitively chosen her as the first goalkeeper. Rinka Duijndam came on for Ten Holte in the final phase, while goalkeeper number three, Tess Lieder, was banished to the stands.
The absolute standout for the Dutch team was left corner player Bo van Wetering, who always finished fatally. She had seven shot attempts and threw them all behind the excellent Czech goalkeeper Petra Kudlackova, who prevented many Dutch goals. This to the frustration of, for example, Angela Malestein on the right corner. She clearly did not have her evening and missed many times. Although she did score twice.
The Netherlands destroys the Czech Republic
The Netherlands had a more difficult time in the first ten minutes of the second half. The Czech Republic managed to bypass the Dutch coverage a number of times and scored a few times in succession. However, at 20-16 the Czech fun was over. Under the leadership of director Abbingh, the Netherlands had their sights back on track and increased the pace. The Czech Republic was steadily destroyed by, among others, a good Laura van der Heijden. The one-sided game was over with a score of 33-20. The Dutch players were able to celebrate their traditional party while jumping and shouting.
By finishing first in group H, the Netherlands takes the maximum number of four points to the main round. Spain, Brazil and Ukraine, numbers 1, 2 and 3 respectively in group G, are the next opponents. The main round is divided into four groups. The first two of the groups qualify for the quarter-finals. The Dutch team won the world title in Japan in 2019. Spain was then the opponent in the final.
Yvette Broch scores twice
Lois Abbingh threw in the winning penalty in the World Cup final in the very last second. Circle runner Merel Freriks from Emmen also became world champion in Japan. She suffered a serious knee injury just before this World Cup and has been out of action for a long time. Her replacement, Yvette Broch, who returned after a long absence from the Dutch team, scored twice against the Czech Republic.