The Oranje Leeuwinnen are heading into their fifth European Championships this summer as the Netherlands gears up for Euro 2025.
What are their chances? The Halfway Line looks back at the qualifiers, recent form, players to watch and looks ahead to the group stage matches.
Netherlands history at the Euros
2009 marked the year of the first ever European Championships for the Netherlands women’s national team, and it was not a bad debut at all. They were stranded in the semi-finals after a 2-1 loss against England, with Jill Scott and Kelly Smith scoring for the English. They went again in 2013 but that was a significantly worse campaign. With just one point gained, the Leeuwinnen became fourth in their group after Norway, Germany and Iceland. They left the tournament goalless.
They only went on and won the tournament in 2017, in their home country. The semi-final was the ultimate revenge for that loss in 2009, with the Netherlands beating England 3-0 this time round. A final against Denmark followed, and the Dutch beat the Danes 4-2 in what was a very thrilling match. What was a nation that was skeptical towards women’s football, became a nation that was proud of the achievements of their women’s team.
Mark Parsons was let go as the national team’s head coach after the disappointing 2022 Euros campaign, in which the Leeuwinnen lost 1-0 in the quarter finals against France. It was the tournament of the rise of Daphne van Domselaar, who replaced an injured Sari van Veenendaal mid-match against Sweden. It was that same van Domselaar who kept them in the match for a long time against the French, taking it to extra time.
The road to Euro 2025 for Oranje Leeuwinnen
The Euros qualifiers weren’t easy for the Dutch, coming just about second in their group and therefore qualifying directly. They had to play Norway, Italy and Finland. The Leeuwinnen lost 2-0 to Italy, won 1-0 to Norway and Finland, drew 0-0 to Italy and 1-1 to Finland.
These results meant that to qualify on the last day, the Dutch needed a draw against the Norwegians away in Norway. It seemed like a tough task ahead, especially when Caroline Graham Hansen bagged the 1-0 for Norway in the 61st minute. But who scored the equalizer for the Netherlands in the 80th minute? One guess. Yup, Vivianne Miedema. Who else. It was her first Oranje goal since her ACL injury, and what an important one. It earned her country a spot in Switzerland, leaving the Norwegians in tears and destined for qualification playoffs.
Netherlands recent form
Let’s be Dutch and therefore blunt right away: “We are running after the facts”, is what van Gaal once said. What? Translation: We are not really on top of things. The team conceded a whopping 4 goals against Germany in the Nations League recently, without scoring any themselves. A 1-1 draw against Scotland followed, and the Scots almost won, were it not for Daphne van Domselaar’s athletic antics in goal.
In the past year, a lot of changes have been made to the team. Players were injured or rested and Jonker experimented with a multitude of systems. As a result, the Dutch lose the ball too easily and are vulnerable on the counter attack. We dove into the recent form in depth in this article.
There is a glimmer of hope though. The Netherlands played Olympic champions United States in a friendly in November and especially the first half of that match was very strong. They could have won the match if they had capitalized on their chances. And they held strong Euros favourites Germany to a 2-2 draw earlier this year.
Jonker will have to work with the players on positional awareness and structure before the Euros. He will also hope that Vivianne Miedema and Lineth Beerensteyn can make their return from injury in time. Romée Leuchter got the nod ahead of Katja Snoeijs in the absence of Miedema and Beerensteyn, but was unable to produce much in front of goal.
Euro 2025 group opponents
Lucerne is the stage of the opening match for the Dutch on the 5th of July. They play Wales in what will be a very tough match. The last time these two nations met was for a friendly in 2017, just before the Euros. The Netherlands won that match 5-0. A lot has changed ever since though, with Wales bolstering a number of talents (Ffion Morgan, Carrie Jones) and seasoned veterans (think Sophie Ingle, Jess Fishlock). Most Dutch people expect the team to beat Wales comfortably, but I think they will prove to be a good test.
After, England awaits for the Sarina Wiegman derby on the 9th in Zurich. Saucy detail: the Netherlands are playing the team of their new head coach after the Euros, currently assistant coach in the English camp, Arjan Veurink. The sides last met in the 2023 Nations League and had a win each. This match could really go either way.
Last up in the group stage, it’s France on the 13th in Basel. Having won all their matches in the recent Nations League campaign, France are a scary opponent. I think this is going to be the toughest match of the group for the Netherlands. France pose a lot of threat in their offensive play, with players like Baltimore, Diani and Katoto. With the defensive difficulties the Netherlands have had recently, it should be an interesting match to say the least.
Netherlands players to watch at Euro 2025
Not really someone who has gone under the radar or is an up and coming talent, not at all really: Vivianne Miedema is still worth mentioning here. She has had a lot of injuries recently, and at the moment of writing this piece still has to play competitive minutes after a hamstring injury that has kept her out since April. The weight of the world is on her shoulders as the Dutch fans are really counting on her to make this Euros one to remember. It will be interesting to see if Miedema is still that clutch player she always has been, especially before that devastating ACL injury.
Let’s move on to actual up and coming talents you should really keep an eye on. At just 17 years old, Wieke Kaptein made her World Cup debut 2 years ago and her career has skyrocketed ever since. If you follow English football, you’ve probably seen Kaptein play an integral part in Chelsea’s midfield this past season. So much so, she has been shortlisted for the PFA Young Player of the Year. Kaptein plays with a lot of energy and does not shy away from a physical battle. She is excellent at winning possession, which the Dutch will need, given the high quality of opponents they are facing.
Another one for the future is 18-year-old Veerle Buurman. She went from playing with an amateur boys team to signing for English giants Chelsea within 18 months. She signed for PSV in the summer of 2023 and made her debut for the PSV senior team in January 2024. Chelsea came knocking at her door last September. A central defender by trade, Buurman stood out in her second match for the Leeuwinnen, starting against no other team than the United States. It is unknown if Buurman will play in Switzerland, as it is still unknown (to the public) who are going to be the starting central defenders. It could be either two or three (depending on the system) of Spitse, Dijkstra, Janssen, Buurman, van de Zanden or Casparij. We will just have to wait and see.
Going back to van Gaal: Let’s hope the girls can go and overtake the facts. Jonker has openly said he has hopes of (sorry English people) it coming home this summer. He has always said that “we can beat anyone”. There is work to do and there are uncertainties, but it seems that if the Leeuwinnen can come out of the group stage, they can get quite far.
