Netherlands vs Switzerland: Match Report

Despite an outstanding Swiss effort, a late Dutch comeback secures the quarter-final spot for the defending champions. The Netherlands will face France on 23 July in Rotherham.

17 July 2022, Bramall Lane, Sheffield, Matchday 3 in Group C saw a neck-to-neck game between Netherlands and Switzerland. One of the best performances by the Swiss as both teams fought for a spot in the quarter-finals. The Dutch sighed a breath of relief as Jackie Groenen and Aniek Nouwen returned after recovering from Covid-19.

Netherlands vs Switzerland, UEFA Women’s EURO. Photo by James Whitehead

Outstanding Swiss Performance, Relief for the Dutch in the end

In order to make it to the quarter-finals, a victory was essential for Switzerland. The Swiss were off to a strong start with Ramona Bachmann setting up Sandy Maendly with a long-range curling shot that forced a save from the young Dutch goalkeeper, Daphne van Domselaar.

The Netherlands soon responded with a low freekick from Sherida Spitse, played back to Jackie Groenen, and forced a save from the Swiss goalkeeper Gaëlle Thalmann. Reuteler met a cross from Bachmann on the other end of the pitch, but Van Domselaar dived to stop the header. At halftime, the score was still 0-0, and the Swiss knew that a win would be enough to reach the quarter-finals, achievable at the point in the game.

A deep Spitse corner was met by Stefanie van der Gragt just four minutes into the second half, and Ana-Maria Crnogorčević, who was diving to block, could do nothing but head the ball into the goal. However, Bachmann broke through on the left and cut back for Reuteler to tuck in the equaliser four minutes later. Soon after, a brilliant run by Bachmann brought up an opportunity for Coumba Sow through Reuteler, which Van Domselaar miraculously blocked with her face before putting a follow-up on to the post.

At this point in the game, the score was still 1-1; however, the substitution of Lia Walti for the Swiss and the new substitutes Victoria Pelova and Esmee Brugts changed the game in its dying minutes. With seven minutes remaining, Leuchter climbed high to loop in a header from Lynn Wilms’ cross after Pelova forced Thalmann to work. Esmee Brugts somehow missed the inside of the post when she was well positioned to win the game, but the Dutch scored two more goals in extra time. After a Switzerland defender’s errant back-header, Pelova rose to nod in, and Leuchter calmly finished.

Post Match Reaction

Sherida Spitse won the Visa Player of the Match for her leadership skills and creative passing.

The Netherlands were relieved in the end with a short burst of incoming goals. The scoreline seemed rather harsh to the Swiss. One of the best Swiss performances in the group stages, the scoreline does not depict the game’s true nature. However, they failed to take advantage of any of their countless further opportunities. And the Netherlands prevailed after scoring three goals in injury time.

“It was a hectic game in which we scored a few at the end. At some point, we were even going for the first spot in the group, but we didn’t manage it. Nonetheless, we’re delighted to be in the quarter-finals. We heard that Sweden was winning 4-0, so towards the end, I went up front to see if that would help us get a couple more goals. We’re proud to have reached the quarter-finals, and we’ll give everything we have on Saturday.” – Stefanie van der Gragt.

“I’mnot feeling good – we lost, we are out. We’re all disappointed about the result, about not reaching the quarter-finals. The performance was good, but not good enough. I’m quite proud of the team about the reaction we had after the first game. The mentality, the mindset was good; that’s how we have to play every time. If we do that, we have a really bright future.” – Gaëlle Thalmann.