The Dutch hockey team defeated England 7-0 on Thursday. With the win in the semi-finals, not only the European championship, but also a direct qualification for the Olympic Games is within reach. Because although a European championship is nice, the top favorite tournament win in Mönchengladbach certainly also sees it as a ticket to the Games in Paris.
They had to get in there. No goals were scored in the first two quarters of an hour, but with a penalty corner from Yibbi Jansen in the 33rd minute, the gate was over. Then the points came only a few minutes apart. Against an exhausted England, the Dutch team managed to score two more goals in the last two minutes.
“I think we put pressure on England in the first half, but we had to keep believing that he would eventually fall,” Jansen told NOS after the game. “At a certain point we kept the pace so high that England could no longer keep up.” Jansen scored twice after her penalty corner and with that hat trick is the current top scorer of the championship. Pien Dicke, Frédérique Matla and Marijn Veen also scored points.
The Netherlands will play against Germany or Belgium in the final on Saturday. Later on Thursday it will be clear which of the two it will be. If the Netherlands does not win the final, the team must play two more qualifying tournaments in China and Spain to reach Paris. For Paul van Ass, national coach of the hockey women, a direct placement for the Games is therefore “ultimately the goal”, he said. against NOS. “That’s the ultimate sporting event.”
Correction: An earlier version of this post stated that the final is Sunday. That had to be Saturday. That has been corrected above.