Renate Jansen’s 90th-minute winner saw the Netherlands beat England 2-1 in the Nations League, with the Lionesses losing only their third match under Sarina Wiegman.
Andries Jonker’s side were looking to make up for their shock defeat to Belgium in Friday’s opening match and did just that with a brilliant first-half performance. Lieke Martens’ beautiful curling finish in the 34th minute gave the hosts a deserved lead at half-time – although replays show there was offside in the build-up.
England struggled for much of the opening 45 minutes, outgunned and outplayed in almost every area. However, a tactical adjustment during half-time by Wiegman, who was playing on Dutch soil for the first time in her home country, ensured that the Lionesses improved.
They also made it count when Russo – who had been rested after the win against Scotland – scored the equalizer in the 64th minute to score her 15th goal in 30 international matches.
But the Lionesses were sloppy throughout and a poor pass from Alex Greenwood was gobbled up by Jansen, who sent a 90th-minute rocket past Mary Earps to secure the Netherlands’ first win of the Nations League campaign.
How England was defeated in Utrecht
The Netherlands were the much better team in the first half, but did not make the goalkeeper work as much as they would have liked in the beginning. However, Jill Roord’s attempt from distance was saved by the Earps in the 21st minute.
Not long after an angular effort from Caitlin Dijkstra forced another excellent save from Earps, the Netherlands deservedly took the lead.
Mistakes from Millie Bright and Georgia Stanway allowed Danielle van de Donk to play the ball into Martens’ feet, with her fine curling beating both Earps and Bright. Replays showed that Van de Donk was offside, but without VAR the goal stood.
England finally came alive in the final five minutes of the half. It started after Rachel Daly tapped an effort onto the post from almost nothing, with both Lauren Hemp and Lucy Bronze forcing spectacular saves from Daphne van Domselaar.
Immediately afterwards, the Netherlands could have doubled their lead. However, Lineth Beerensteyn could only lift her own effort onto the top of the bar in a flurry of late activity.
England reverted to a back four in the second half, with Chloe replacing Kelly Daly. It saw Lauren Hemp move to the left wing, where she was much more effective. Just before the hour mark she forced a sensational point-blank stop from Van Domselaar at the back post as Hemp headed home.
The pressure from England continued to grow and they equalized shortly afterwards. Stanway’s cross into the area pinged off a Dutch defender and into Russo’s path. She then reached out a foot to expertly scoop the ball into the top corner.
The game then started for both sides as they worked the respective goalkeepers, and it looked to be heading towards a draw until the 90th minute.
An unconvincing pass from Greenwood allowed Jansen to strike. She then drove into the area and hammered a brilliant finish past a leaping Earps, securing a deserved win for the Netherlands.
What’s next?
Most of the England contingent will now return to their respective WSL clubs – Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway aside – to kick off the domestic campaign on October 1.
The Lionesses are back in action at the end of October in a Belgian double-header, starting at the King Power Stadium on October 27 and ending with a trip to the Den Dreef Stadium in Leuven on October 31.