Bondscoach Sarina Wiegman makes no worries about how England should stop Oranjespits Lineth Beerensteyn on Wednesday evening. However, the former coach of the Dutch national team is full of praise for her former pupil.
Beerensteyn is returning from an injury and made her first minutes since April as a substitute against Wales (3-0 victory) on Saturday. The striker may get more playing time in the match against England on Wednesday.
Without Beerensteyn, Oranje is considerably less dangerous on paper. But Wiegman still wants her former pupil at Oranje and ADO Den Haag to participate against England.
“Before the tournament, it is good if the best players are on the field,” Wiegman said on Tuesday at a press conference in Zurich. “That is nice for the tournament and fun to play against.”
Wiegman worked with Beerensteyn for years in the Dutch national team. Before that, she already had the native of The Hague under her wing at ADO Den Haag. At that club, she turned Beerensteyn from right back into an attacker.
Wiegman thus knows what the VfL Wolfsburg striker can bring offensively and that the English should be on their guard. “We all know how fast Lineth is. That is her greatest strength.”
‘Starting? Then you look at it from a rose-colored cloud’
The question is how big the impact of Beerensteyn can be against England. National coach Andries Jonker could not say at the press conference on Tuesday how long the attacker would play.
She will in any case not start. “Then you are looking at it very much from a rose-colored cloud,” said Jonker. Presumably Victoria Pelova will be in the right-wing position again.
The match between England and the Netherlands starts on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and will be played at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich.