what does it say that England won? And how is the Netherlands doing?

The English team with the European Cup.Image AFP

Yesterday England won 2-1 against Germany, England’s first football title in more than fifty years. Did the best team win this tournament?

‘At least the most convincing team. It may sound a bit vague, but the English radiated the determination that they would not let the title slip away. At the European Championships and the World Cup before that, they finished three times in the semi-finals and this team was like: we’re going to do it this time.

“But of course it starts with England having very good players. The English league is more competitive than most other national women’s leagues, which are often dominated by one or two clubs. So they are used to fighting for the points and that has helped them in this battle.”

Can the hand of national coach Sarina Wiegman, under whom the Netherlands also became European champion, be seen again?

‘I think so. In any case, the players say that about her and the English press is really lyrical. ‘In Sarina we trust’ has become something of a national motto for a reason. Everyone who has worked with Wiegman says she is very open, direct and straightforward.

“I think bringing clarity and a winning mentality is her main merit. That started back in the autumn, when England won twice 10–0 and Wiegman was dissatisfied that the players should have been more ruthless, especially in front of goal. At the same time, she gives players a lot of confidence. For example, she started all matches with the same basis and often applied the same substitutions, which invariably did what she hoped: to break open the match.’

England have been waiting for a major title for more than fifty years. Last year, the men’s team lost the European Championship final. What does this victory mean for the English?

‘It is well known that English football has been yearning for a title for decades. But I think it’s special that this has now been made up by the women’s team, and especially that a large audience experiences this. I think that ten years ago this title would not have been embraced as strongly as it is now, when women’s football was less than that. Many Englishmen will still hope that the men will win the title again, but this is not seen as a reserve prize.’

The Netherlands stranded in the quarterfinals. What impression did the team make on you?

‘Not the best. I think the Netherlands remained searching throughout the tournament. For years it has been said that the roster needs to be refreshed with new players. The criticism of Wiegman is also that she has done too little in her time. The current coach, Mark Parsons, has rejuvenated the selection, but still opted for the familiar faces in the starting lineup.

‘There seems, I say with a clap on the arm, that the stretch is a bit off. It’s time to throw relatively inexperienced new players to the wolves, but every coach faces the same problem: when? This tournament was actually forced to happen, partly because Lieke Martens and Sari van Veenendaal were injured. A bright spot is that some of the new players did an excellent job, such as Daphne van Domselaar, but I have not seen the basis of a new, cohesive team.

“I find the way players talk about their coach worrying. Jill Roord told me in an interview that players drop out of his lengthy discussions and don’t always agree with his tactical choices. After the last game, players said that the Netherlands had played too defensively. I asked how that is possible, because the national coach says that he wants to play attacking, to which Daniëlle van de Donk said: ‘Maybe Mark and I just have a different description of ‘attacking football’. It’s too easy to blame everything on the coach, but these are signs that players and coach are not quite on the same page.’

In your report of the final you wrote that the dominance of England, Germany, Spain and France seemed greater than ever in this tournament. What does that say?

‘An important development is that large clubs from men’s football are now investing heavily in women’s football. Think of Barcelona, ​​Paris Saint-Germain and actually all the big English clubs from the Premier League. The top talents become concentrated in a smaller number of clubs, making it more important than ever for high-level experience to play at those clubs or at least in those leagues. This is reflected in the growing dominance of those four countries.

‘The Netherlands does not have a top club that forms the engine for a national team, such as Germany, for example, where more than half of the basic players play at Wolfsburg and who therefore know each other well. The experienced players of the Netherlands are at top clubs, but not all of them will last for years. Daphne van Domselaar will probably play abroad in a while and Kerstin Casparij is now going to Manchester City, but it is important for the Dutch national team that a number of other talents also take that step. It is exciting whether this will succeed in the near future and whether they will also make it at that level.’

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