A draw in the first match against Sweden
The defending champion Netherlands saves the start of the European Championship
09/07/2022, 11:19 pm
Olympic runner-up vs. the defending champion: Sweden vs. the Netherlands is the biggest match the preliminary round of the European Championship has to offer. The duel often keeps what was promised, and in the end there is a draw, which is somewhat fun for the European champion.
Defending champions Netherlands started the European Women’s Football Championship with a draw. Thanks to Wolfsburg’s Gil Rudd, the European champions pulled off a 1-1 (0-1) draw against Sweden in Sheffield in what may be the highest level of duel in the preliminary round. The midfielder scored the equalizer in the 52nd minute to save a point for the Netherlands against the silver medalists at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the opening game of Group C. In front of around 21,300 spectators, Jona Anderson (36) gave the Scandinavians the lead. .
After Sweden were clearly the better team in the first half, both teams confirmed their status as joint favorites for the title in the second half. Holland played around superstar Vivien Miedema much better, particularly offensively, and Rurd’s quick equalizer from Wolfsburg was the deserved reward.
The defending champion had to accept the first setback after 22 minutes: during a defensive procedure, three players from “Fruewenleftal” collided with each other and had to be treated – Len Willems and Stephanie van der Gragt managed to continue playing, for goalkeeper and captain Sari van Veenendaal the match was over A few minutes after the collision.
Daphne van Domselaer then moved between the columns, with the 22-year-old completing only her second international match. She was powerless to concede a goal soon after coming on as a substitute, but later made some strong saves and eventually saved her team with a point after game with many chances at both ends.
Switzerland had previously given up a potential win over Portugal. After early goals from Kumba Su, (2) and Rachel Kejic (5), the Swiss were already 2-0 up in Li, but had to go 2-2 (2-0) up at the end. Diana Gomez (58) and Jesica Silva (65) scored to give Portugal a point.