Once again the Netherlands ponder what might have been at a Women's World Cup
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Netherland's peripatetic campaign at the Women's World Cup ended Friday with a 2-1 quarterfinal loss to Spain and the sting of bitterness and regret.
A 62nd-minute penalty awarded to the Netherlands after a push by Irene Paredes on Lineth Beerensteyn was scrubbed out after a VAR review.
What might have been a 1-0 lead became a 1-0 deficit when Mariona Caldente scored from the penalty spot from Spain after another review found defender Stefanie van der Gragt's hand had made contact with the ball near the edge of the area.
Just over 10 minutes later and near the end of stoppage time, van der Gragt pushed up in an attack role and broke free on Victoria Pelova's pass to calmly strike the ball past the Spanish goalkeeper, sending the match to extra time. There was a question of offside but this time the VAR found in favor of the Dutch.
But the win and semifinal place went to Spain with a goal to substitute Salma Paralluelo late in the second period of extra time. For the Netherlands there was only the sadness and reflection on what might have been.
Beaten 2-0 by the United States in the final of the 2019 World Cup, the Netherlands had positioned themselves well to reach the final again after the exit of the United States in the round of 16. It wasn't to be.
Coach Andries Jonker was blunt in his assessment that the VAR decision that cost the Netherlands so dearly was wrong.
"Well, look, I think the VAR didn’t do their work properly, but they deserved to win. It’s just that this decision was wrong. It was wrong,” he said. “The main thing is, this is the Netherlands, we can play football, and we can win against Spain.”
The Netherlands began the current tournament based in the northern North Island city of Tauranga. They traveled to Wellington to play, then to Dunedin on the South Island, to Australia for the round of 16 and back to Wellington for Friday's match.
They face one more trip now and the hardest of all. Home.
“We did our best," Jonker said. "We tried to camouflage our weaknesses and show out strengths, but there’s only one solution: you have you have to play forward, you have to get the ball, stay on the ball, make the game and step one was fantastic. What we showed during this tournament, sometimes it was fantastic, sometimes it was less than that.”
Beerensteyn had two chances in extra time, hit one wide, the other over the bar and Spain advanced.
“We’ve been convinced to make it through to the semifinals and make it to the finals,” Jonker said. "But we didn’t.
"On the other hand, very proud of this team, of the staff. Within one year we managed to get back in and this is a tough one to swallow. But we put ourselves on the map, again.”
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AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup
