Netherlands Should Be Proud

T. James

Tweet

Coming into the France 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup as European champions, the Netherlands women’s national team had their sights set on adding a World Cup trophy to their collection.

The Netherlands women then went on their World Cup campaign, marching through the group and knock-out stages with 5 successive victories and eventually featuring in the final game of the World Cup against the mighty United States women’s national team. In that final game, the Netherlands women put in a valiant effort, but they were outmatched by the relentless United States women.

As disappointing the final game loss must have been for the Netherlands women – to have been so close to claiming their first World Cup trophy – the fact remains the Netherlands women have everything to be proud of. The team has risen in status dramatically in recent years, joining the ranks of elite women’s national teams in a relatively short period of time.

Based on the Netherlands recent form, many would be surprised to learn that the France 2019 World Cup was only the team’s second appearance at a FIFA Women’s World Cup. Their only other appearance was at the prior edition in Canada (2015), where they put in a decent showing, making it to the Round of 16 before eventually losing 2-1 to eventual finalists, Japan. And only two years before the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Netherlands went winless and scoreless at the 2013 UEFA Women’s Championships, exiting at the Group Stage.

Following up on their 2015 World Cup showing, the Netherlands women narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics after finishing second to Sweden at the 2016 UEFA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The Netherlands then solidified their transition into a team to be wary of when they won the 2017 UEFA Women’s Championships. At that tournament, the Oranje won all six of their games, securing victories over household names such as Norway, Sweden, and England in their march to glory.

By the time the 2019 World Cup came around, the Netherlands women’s national team had become a force to be reckoned with. And they lived up to the hype by making it to the final game, defeating last edition’s finalists, Japan, on their way, before losing to the last edition’s other finalist, United States. To put things in perspective, it is worth noting that the United States women have won 12 FIFA World Cup games in a row dating back to the 2015 edition in Canada.

The Netherlands women are undoubtedly currently amongst the best in the women’s and we should expect to see them continue their ascent over the near term at the very least.

Tweet