Netherlands Advances to Quarterfinals in Women’s World Cup Despite Yellow Card for Star Midfielder
SYDNEY— In a thrilling match at the Sydney Football Stadium, Netherlands secured their spot in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup with a 2-0 victory over South Africa. However, star midfielder Danielle van de Donk’s yellow card in the second half means she will serve a one-match suspension. This prompted tears from van de Donk, as she may have played her last match in the tournament if the Dutch lose to Spain in the quarterfinals.
Despite the setback, Netherlands coach Andries Jonker remained optimistic, stating, “We’ve come with the conviction that we can beat everybody. And if you say we can beat everybody, it includes all teams, South Africa, but also Spain. So it means it’s not the last game for Danielle. We want to beat Spain, then she can come back into the tournament.”
After losing to the United States in the World Cup final four years ago, the Dutch team has shown their strength in this tournament. Finishing above the Americans in Group E, they overcame South Africa with goals from Jill Roord in the first half and Lineth Beerensteyn in the second.
Their upcoming quarterfinal match against Spain will prove to be a challenging one, as Spain is among the tournament favorites. Spain demonstrated their prowess in the round of 16 with a dominant 5-1 win over Switzerland.
Netherlands had to fight hard for their place in the quarterfinals, with goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar delivering an outstanding performance, making several crucial saves to keep South Africa at bay. Her heroic efforts were recognized by her teammates, who rushed to embrace her after the final whistle.
South Africa, on the other hand, had already exceeded expectations by reaching the knockout stage for the first time in their history, following a dramatic 3-2 victory over Italy in their final group game. Despite their loss to Netherlands, South Africa’s coach Desiree Ellis was proud of her team’s performance, stating, “We felt we could have won this game and if I look back, we should have with the opportunities that we had, but we didn’t take them. If you look at their goalkeeper getting the player of the match, it tells you how well we played.”
Netherlands will now turn their focus to the highly anticipated match against Spain in Wellington, New Zealand on Friday. The team is confident in their abilities and sees this match as a potential spot in the tournament’s final. “It’s a massive game and I’m really excited about it because Spain, it’s a really strong team,” said Lineth Beerensteyn. “But I also know that we are a strong team, so it will be like a real final actually.”
South Africa exits the tournament after making a remarkable impression. In a tournament which saw traditional favorites like Canada, Germany, and Brazil eliminated in the group stage, South Africa held their heads high. “Very proud,” said coach Desiree Ellis, “I think as a team we need to hold our heads very high.”
