July 14 – Departing Dutch manager Andries Jonker admitted that the Netherlands were “not good enough” after his side’s second consecutive drubbing – a 5-2 defeat against France – prompted Oranje’s first-round exit from Euro 2025.
On a night of despair and disappointment, Jonker was left to spell out the obvious after his pre-tournament claims that the Netherlands could win the European title had fallen flat: the Dutch had simply not been good enough. England waltzed past his side 4-0 and France inflicted a three-goal defeat on Oranje, the result the Dutch had needed to progress from the group. “Do I still think we’re world-class? No, we’re not, because we lost 4-0 to Germany, 4-0 to England, and now 5-2 to France. That’s not good enough. Period,” said Jonker.
“The potential of this group is enormous, but at the moment we’re falling short. But then again, should we be promoting the Olympic spirit? That it’s great to participate, that we have a wonderful trip to Switzerland with a hotel where we can play fun games? I’m an ambitious coach with excellent players.”
The draw had always been tough on the Dutch with both France and England ranked in the top ten of the world, but Jonker’s departure, confirmed before the tournament, cast a shadow over the team. His relationship with the Dutch FA deteriorated and with the exception of their win against Wales, the Netherlands were never competitive, floored by better teams.
“I couldn’t manipulate the draw, even though I would have liked to,” reflected Jonker. “That draw was incredibly frustrating. You know you’re going to play two potential semi-finals against England and France. You have to be absolutely top-notch to survive that. We weren’t at our best against England, and against France, we were only at our best for 45 minutes.
“Against England was painful, today wasn’t. I told them: you have a stubborn manager, one of the most stubborn in the world, but I’m right about one thing: you’re incredibly good. They gave it their all.”
That may not be the view at home. The Dutch won Euro 2017 on home soil and reached the final of the 2019 Women’s World Cup, but since Jonker’s arrival three years ago, the team has stagnated and missed out on qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The Dutch manager did throw the dice in the final group game by dropping all-time top scorer Vivianne Miedema. “It’s my job to assess each match to see who we have the best chance of winning with. I shouldn’t look at age, status, or past performance. I looked at: what do we need against France? It was clear we had to push through a wall.”
Jonker will depart for Manchester City in the Women’s Super League and will be succeeded by Arjan Veurink.
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