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Van Veenendaal helps Netherlands down Denmark

KNVB Media
KNVB Media
21 July 2017, 7:00

The Orange Lionesses celebrate Sherida Spitse's penalty conversion - Foto: KNVB Media

The Netherlands have won their second Women's Euro 2017 Group A match by beating Denmark 1-0 in Rotterdam. It was a hard-fought victory with the Danes keeping the Dutch hosts under considerable pressure, particularly during the second half. 

Much of the credit goes to goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal who made a number of superb saves to deny Denmark the equalizer after Sherida Spitse converted a first-half penalty, given after Danielle van de Donk was tripped in the box.

Van Veenendaal was at the centre of Dutch celeebrations after the match. She received praise for an excellent save to deny Denmark's Pernille Harder from close range and for choosing the right spot when another Danish star, Nadia Nadim, headed straight at the goalkeeper with only a few minutes to go before the final whistle.

Solid game plan

Van Veenendaal was pleased with her performance: "What it boils down to is that you develop a game plan that suits you best. When Harder came charging towards me,  I tried to wait as long as possible and then react. In the second half, I was just trying to clear every danger. I thought: now the team really needs me. We did it together."

The Netherlands now need just one point in their final group game against Belgium on Monday to go through to the WEURO 2017 knockout stages. It will be another tough game, with the Belgians hitting form on Thursday night to beat Norway 2-0.

UEFA Women's EURO 2017

More about UEFA Women's EURO 2017, held in the Netherlands from 16 July to 6 August 2017.

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