The KNVB and national coach Mark Parsons are separating, the football association reports. The 36-year-old Englishman had only been active as elector of the Orange Women for a year.
The Orange squad was eliminated as defending champions in the quarterfinals at the European Championship last month. France turned out to be much too strong, although it needed an extension (1-0). The Netherlands had taken seven of the maximum nine points in the group stage, but the game was also disappointing in those matches.
The KNVB reports that an evaluation has taken place with various parties after the European Championship. “This showed that there is too little confidence that the ambitions will be realized under the current leadership.”
Parsons succeeded the extremely successful Sarina Wiegman in 2021. Under Wiegman, the Netherlands became European champion in 2017 in their own country. In 2019, the Netherlands lost the World Cup final to the United States.
‘Bar is high for Orange’
Parsons played his first international match on September 17, 2021, a World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic (1-1). Initially, he combined his work for the KNVB with the trainership of the American Portland Thorns. In October he missed his flight from the United States, which meant that he only joined the Orange selection later.
The Orange performs erratically in the current World Cup preliminary round and the European Championship was therefore completely disappointing. “In the run-up to and at the European Championship, both the game shown and the results were disappointing and we cannot afford that,” says KNVB director Jan Dirk van der Zee.
“The bar is set high. The Netherlands was the defending champion and also a finalist at the last World Cup, we want to participate for the prizes. With a view to the current World Cup qualifying series, it has been decided that someone else will be at the helm in the very short term. It’s not a nice decision, but that’s part of top football.”
There was criticism from the player group that Parsons did not always rely on his own strength. “We do not play the beautiful football that we can play and that we were so proud of”, was the harsh judgment of midfielder Daniëlle van de Donk during the European Championship. “Maybe Mark and I just have a different definition of attacking football.”
Orange awaits crucial duel
The Orange squad will play a crucial World Cup qualifier against Iceland on September 6, which currently has fewer loss points than the Netherlands.
Only the group winners qualify directly for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Mark Parsons during the European Championship match against France, which Orange lost 1-0.
Mark Parsons during the European Championship match against France, which Orange lost 1-0. Photo: Getty Images