The Orange women will gather in Zeist on Thursday for the European Championship in Switzerland next month. In sixteen days, coach Andries Jonker’s team will play their first European Championship match. Here’s what the preparation looks like.
The European Championship preparation starts on Thursday with a three-day training camp at the KNVB Campus in Zeist. 26 players have been invited for the camp. Three training sessions will be completed up to and including Sunday. Some players have media obligations on the program.
Sunday will be an exciting moment. Three players will be dropped, as Jonker can only take 23 players to Switzerland. The KNVB will probably announce who it concerns the same day. The European Championship selection is then final.
Midfielder Jill Baijings is probably one of the dropouts. A goalkeeper will also be dropped. Ajax goalkeeper Regina van Eijk is the expected victim. Furthermore, Shanice van de Sanden seems to have to fear. She returned to Orange in the previous international period after a year and a half, but did not play any minutes.
However, everything can change if Vivianne Miedema or Lineth Beerensteyn do not prove fit enough. Both top players are on their way back after weeks of injury. Coach Jonker recently told the NU.nl podcast Vrouwen 1 that he expects both players to reach the European Championship, but that is not certain.
Esmee Brugts will only join in Zeist after the training camp. The defender played the cup final with her club FC Barcelona on June 7 and is still on vacation.
Selection Orange Women for training camp
Goalkeepers: Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal), Regina van Eijk (Ajax), Daniëlle de Jong (FC Twente) and Lize Kop (Tottenham Hotspur).
Defenders: Veerle Buurman (PSV), Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City), Caitlin Dijkstra (VfL Wolfsburg), Merel van Dongen (CF Monterrey), Dominique Janssen (Manchester United), Sherida Spitse (Ajax), Lynn Wilms (VfL Wolfsburg) and Ilse van der Zanden (FC Utrecht).
Midfielders: Jill Baijings (Aston Villa), Daniëlle van de Donk (Olympique Lyonnais), Damaris Egurrola (Olympique Lyonnais), Jackie Groenen (Paris Saint-Germain), Wieke Kaptein (Chelsea), Victoria Pelova (Arsenal) and Jill Roord (Manchester City).
Attackers: Lineth Beerensteyn (VfL Wolfsburg), Chasity Grant (Aston Villa), Renate Jansen (PSV), Romée Leuchter (Paris Saint-Germain), Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City), Shanice van de Sanden (Toluca FC) and Katja Snoeijs (Everton).
Orange stays in Thun
Orange starts the official preparation for the tournament on Monday. For the 2023 World Cup, the Dutch national team went on a training camp in Horst in Limburg, but this time the team will stay in Zeist. Training takes place there daily.
On Thursday 26 June, there will be a trip to Leeuwarden, where Jonker’s team will play the so-called farewell match against Finland. Kick-off is at 8:00 PM in the Kooi Stadium of SC Cambuur. The farewell training is scheduled two days later.
On July 1, Orange will fly to Switzerland. The Orange base camp is in Thun, a town on the lake of the same name, Lake Thun. From Thun, Orange travels to the relevant host city for each match, where they stay for two nights each time.
Four days after arrival, Jonker’s team starts the European Championship with a match against Wales in Lucerne. Kick-off is at 6:00 PM. This is followed on July 9 at the same time by a match against Sarina Wiegman’s England in Zurich. Orange concludes the group stage on July 13 with a match against France in Basel (kick-off: 9:00 PM).
If Orange reaches the knockout phase, a match awaits in the quarter-finals against the number one or two from group C. Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Poland will compete against each other in that pool.