Daniëlle van der Donk scored the winning goal as the defending Dutch champions secured their first European Championship win with a team that had eased illness and injury, beating Portugal 3-2 on Wednesday. Private.
After the opening draw with Sweden, the Netherlands were without Vivianne Miedema after the star striker tested positive for coronavirus. Three other players are either isolated or injured.
Early in the game against Portugal, that didn’t seem to matter.
The Netherlands took a 2-0 lead within 16 minutes thanks to headers from Damaris Egurrola and Stefanie van der Gragt, both of whom scored from corners as Portugal failed to deal with the Netherlands. in battles. Van der Gragt paid for her goal when she was hit in the face by an opponent’s shoe as she dived to head it.
Portugal found play again when Dutch defender Dominique Janssen tripped over Diana Silva and gave Carole Costa a penalty after 38 minutes. It was Silva’s turn to score a second minute after the break. with a close-range header.
The Netherlands had a third Jill Roord goal shortly after but it was ruled out after a few minutes of video playback, only for van der Donk to restore the lead to the Netherlands with a strike. Shot to the top right corner.
There were signs of relief when the win helped the Netherlands to rank above Sweden with 4 points at the top of Group C with one match left. However, the Netherlands were widely expected to win more convincingly against Portugal, the second lowest ranked team in the tournament, who are playing as a substitute for the suspended Russia.
Earlier, Sweden also claimed their first win when Hanna Bennison came on from the bench to score with a thunderous shot in a 2-1 win over a Swiss team also affected by illness. .
Switzerland’s determined and well-organized defense kept Sweden through until the 52nd minute, when Fridolina Rolfö finished off a deft Swedish move into the centre. Switzerland responded immediately with a save from Ramona Bachmann to equalize after Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl let the ball touch his hand.
Bennison scored the decisive goal in the 79th minute with a powerful shot from outside the box. Sweden twice put the ball into the net late but both times were offside.
Switzerland’s preparations for the match were disrupted as eight players and 11 staff members had to be isolated from the rest of the team on Sunday night and early Monday morning when a gastrointestinal illness swept through the camp. of the team.
Monday’s training session was canceled but coach Nils Nielsen was still able to field an almost unchanged squad, with only one player affected, defender Rahel Kiwic, having to move on the bench. bag.
