Jill Roord sees her goal against Sweden as proof for national coach Mark Parsons that she can play better behind the striker. The VfL Wolfsburg player started as a right winger, but after a substitution in the half, she scored as an attacking midfielder and helped the Orange Women to a point in the first European Championship match: 1-1.
Roord does not want to lie about it an hour after the game against Sweden. “I’d rather play on ten,” she says plainly. “I’m also very honest about that and the coach knows that too. That’s my position, I always play there. I can play right winger, but it’s an uncomfortable position for me. I’m glad I was allowed to go in, too although I feel valued under this coach.”
Due to the return of the recovered midfielder Daniëlle van de Donk, Roord was drafted as a right winger by national coach Parsons in recent weeks. That also happened against Sweden on Saturday, but that choice turned out badly. The Netherlands was powerless offensively in the first half and Roord also played unhappily.
“We have to make sure that the right people get the ball. We couldn’t really reach Vivianne Miedema, Lieke Martens, Daniëlle and me and that’s why we didn’t get into our game,” said Roord, who was visibly irritated. “I had to walk a lot and got relatively few balls. That’s not fun. Sometimes we shot the ball and lost control.”
At halftime, Parsons Van de Donk and Roord turned around. That intervention worked out well: the Netherlands got more time to attack and that resulted in Roord’s opening goal in the 51st minute. She scored at Bramall Lane with a nice shot from the turn. “He fell in between and it is my quality to often be in the right place.”
Standings in group C
- 1. Portugal 1-1 (0)
- 2. Switzerland 1-1 (0)
- 3. Netherlands 1-1 (0)
- 4. Sweden 1-1 (0)
The Orange Women are now unbeaten in five consecutive duels with Sweden.
The Orange Women are now unbeaten in five consecutive duels with Sweden. Photo: Getty Images
‘Two players dropping out didn’t help’
The 25-year-old Roord said that the Orange Women started the game so badly because they were surprised by Sweden’s different tactics. Instead of four defenders, the losing finalist of the Tokyo Olympics played with three defenders and two up-and-coming fullbacks.
“Playing against Sweden is pretty stiff anyway. It’s a lot of violence, a lot of power. It’s not easy. We definitely had to get used to that in the beginning. And two people drop out, that doesn’t help at all.”
After the injured captain Sari van Veenendaal and Aniek Nouwen, the Netherlands turned everything around at half time. “We said to each other: we have to get into football, otherwise we will go along with their game. In the second half we had the ball for longer phases and we had more control. Then they have to walk. It became uncomfortable for them.”
After the creditable 1-1 against Sweden, Roord hopes that Van Veenendaal’s shoulder injury is not too bad. As captain, the keeper is an important link in the team of national coach Parsons. “She’s a leader and it would be really sad if she wasn’t around.”