The Netherlands wants to win strongly against Vietnam to avoid Sweden

Losing Portugal 1-0 and drawing the US 1-1, the Netherlands ranked second in Group E. They both have four points but are behind the US in goal difference (+1 vs +3). In the last round on August 1, the US faced Portugal, while the Netherlands met Vietnam - a rookie team and was eliminated after two consecutive defeats.

According to coach Jonker, the goal set for the Netherlands in the upcoming match is not just three points. "Netherlands need to win to win tickets to continue. But that's not all. We need to do everything we can to win boldly and win the group," he shared on NOS (Netherlands). "The best runner-up goes on. But it's best to win the group. That's smarter. Let's see which team we might face in the round of 16, it's Sweden, Italy or South Africa. In theory Sweden is stronger so we want to avoid them."

According to the division, the winner of Group E will meet the second of Group G. In this group, Sweden is leading with two consecutive victories against South Africa (2-1) and Italy (5-0). The possibility of them winning the group is very large when the last game only has to meet Argentina - the team has been eliminated.

Sharing the same points with the coach, left winger Esmee Brugts also thinks that it is important to score a lot of goals against Vietnam. The player born in 2003 even stated that she would play better than the previous two matches, when facing Vietnam.

"Every game I play a little bit better," she said. "The match against Portugal, I had some pressure because it was my debut in the World Cup. But after that I took off the pressure and played well. In the second match, I also had pressure and tension when facing the US. , a big team. But I have the support of my teammates. I play safely. A 1-1 draw is very important. I hope the next game will be even better. I hope I can score." .

The Netherlands finished second at the 2019 World Cup. They are currently ranked 9th in the world, 21 places ahead of Vietnam.