As the dust settles on a poor campaign at Euro 2025, the harsh truth is that the Dutch FA should have parted ways with head coach Andries Jonker sooner than they did.
It has been more than a week since the Dutch were defeated 5-2 by the French in their final group game at the Women’s EUROs 2025 in Switzerland, causing them to be out of the tournament. The dust has settled a bit and it’s time to make up the balance of what was a disappointing tournament for the Oranje Leeuwinnen.
The most important factor in this frustrating campaign was the decision by the KNVB (Dutch FA) to let head coach Andries Jonker know in January that his contract would not be extended after Euro 2025.
Jonker’s departure took far too long
A decision that, in my opinion, is an interesting one, to say the least. Jonker has openly stated that he did not agree with the decision at all. The KNVB did not want to come forward with their reasons to end the collaboration with Jonker, which led to even more questions in the general public and the media. Jonker himself would not be drawn on the reasons either, as he kept referring to the KNVB for more information. There was a lot of media silence on the topic, until Jonker decided to open up just days before the start of the tournament for the Leeuwinnen, in a podcast with Dutch broadcaster NOS.
He revealed that he had pondered leaving his job before Euro 2025. He told the reporters that his friends and family also told him to pull the plug, and to let the KNVB stew in their own juice. In the end he decided to leave it up to the players and staff if they wanted to go ahead with him in charge of this EUROs. They were asked to sign a Netherlands jersey if they felt like taking on the tournament with him. They all did. But, a pessimist is probably quick to think that any player would sign the jersey as the Euros is a very important tournament to many players and they would want to go.
The decision rightly caused a media storm in the Netherlands, during which Jonker also fell out with a reporter. A player group is not going to feel strong if they know their coach is not one hundred percent in it. His decision to do the podcast right before the first game of the tournament is a questionable one as well. It only caused a lot of noise in the media. Netherlands captain Sherida Spitse openly stated that she would not have done the podcast and said what he said if she were the coach. It distracted from the actual football at hand.
A poor campaign at Euro 2025 for the Netherlands
On the pitch, the Oranje Leeuwinnen looked like a shadow of themselves. The Netherlands lost 4-0 to Germany in the Nations League, and there were big defeats to England and France during the tournament. There have been many changes, especially in the defensive line. The Netherlands had a different starting lineup in 22 of their 25 games before Euro 2025.
That was definitely shown on the pitch as the defense was wide open at times and all across the team there were a lot of misplaced passes. Or, as Jonker said in his very Amsterdam accent, “the ball was played to players dressed in the other colour”.
Jonker changed his centre back pairing mid game against England as well, which was an interesting decision as a centre back pairing is the anchor of the team. In the context of a back line that has been frequently changed in recent months, it is even more interesting.
It was not just the lineups that were changed around a lot. The team played in many different systems in recent months. The constant changes drew lots of criticism from fans, the media but also from players. Lynn Wilms came forward after the final group game, saying: “To me, there was some noise or lack of clarity, because there were many changes in the line-up and system. This is my fourth major tournament, and I felt the team lacked stability. That might be why things didn’t quite go perfectly this tournament”.
Dutch players making their voices heard
Lynn Wilms was not the only player to criticise Jonker during or after the tournament. Sherida Spitse told the media that she felt that “maybe tactics weren’t clear enough” during the England game, which the Netherlands lost 4-0. Wieke Kaptein was quite open about her disappointment with Jonker’s decision to not let her start the game against France.
“I had no idea [about her role as a substitute] Kaptein says. “I only saw it suddenly during training when the shirts were being handed out. No one said anything to me. I think I played well in the last match against England. But in the end, it’s his decision and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Kaptein only found out about the line-up during the team meeting. “But he didn’t come to me, so I haven’t been given a reason,” said the midfielder, who didn’t approach Jonker himself to ask for one. “No, I show what I do on the field. If he wants to make a different choice, then that’s up to him.”
Players coming forward like this shows that Jonker had maybe lost the dressing room. One should never read too much into social media activity, but here’s an interesting observation: none of the players liked the KNVB goodbye message for Andries Jonker on their Instagram page. Some, however, did like the goodbye message for his staff, some of whom are leaving to join Sarina Wiegman in England. Could it be a sign that Jonker was not especially liked by the player group? Maybe.
I feel like the end of a major tournament is a natural moment to evaluate a coach’s performance. By deciding Jonker is not good enough going forward, but good enough to lead the team during the EUROs, the federation has undermined his position. Jonker seemingly lost the dressing room. It is hard to tell from the outside if that happened as a result of the KNVB’s decision, or if Jonker had already lost trust from the players.
Deciding to end Jonker’s contract sooner might have caused some issues finding a new suitable coach in time for Euro 2025 but right now the KNVB have gone for the easy way turning out to be the hard way. It was the wrong decision to make, jeopardising an important tournament.
You can read all of the latest news, analysis and opinion at Euro 2025 on The Halfway Line.
