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European champions the Netherlands scored an injury-time winner to break New Zealand’s resistance in their opening Women’s World Cup match in Le Havre.
Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema could have had a hat-trick as the Dutch dominated possession in front of their noisy fans, who made up the majority of the 10,654 crowd.
But it was New Zealand, seeking a first World Cup win in their fifth tournament appearance, who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Olivia Chance struck the bar early in the first half.
Tom Sermanni’s side – ranked 19th in the world, 11 places beneath the Netherlands – defended stoutly and looked set for a point before substitute Jill Roord headed in from close range.
Roord sends Dutch crowd wild
Roord, who has joined Women’s Super League champions Arsenal from Bayern Munich, sent the Dutch crowd wild but it was heartbreak for New Zealand, who beat England 1-0 in their final warm-up game.
Up until that point they rode their luck as Sarina Wiegman’s side showed technical superiority but wasted a succession of chances, including from Arsenal defender Dominique Bloodworth, who skewed wide from four yards.
Miedema, who finished as the WSL’s top scorer, also headed over, shot inches wide and drew a fine save from Erin Nayler in the Kiwi goal.
But the Kiwis were unfortunate to lose so late in the game, having impressed by creating several good opportunities and nullifying the Dutch attacking trio of Miedema, Barcelona’s Lieke Martens and Lyon’s Shanice van de Sanden.
The Netherlands, who have never been past the last 16 of a World Cup having made their debut in 2015, beat New Zealand by the same scoreline in the same fixture four years ago.
They join Canada at the top of Group E after the Canadians beat Cameroon 1-0 on Monday night.
‘It is a bit heartbreaking’ – what they said
New Zealand boss Tom Sermanni: “I am happy with the performance throughout the game. We were courageous, battled hard and were unbelievably disciplined. We gave everything we could give and tactically spot on. It is a bit heartbreaking but that is football.
“We have to take the great things we did and do it against Canada. We came up against one of the best teams in the world and went shoulder to shoulder with them.
“They [the Netherlands] were very concerned, you could tells things were not going their way. They knew they were in for a battle but would have felt confident coming in to the tournament.”
New Zealand’s winless run continues – the stats
- Both of the Netherlands’ victories at the Women’s World Cup have come against New Zealand in their opening match, also beating them 1-0 in 2015.
- New Zealand have now lost all five of their opening games in Women’s World Cup matches (also 1991, 2007, 2011 and 2015), scoring just once and conceding 12 times in those games.
- This defeat means that New Zealand extended their record of playing the most matches in Women’s World Cup history without earning a win (13 – W0 D3 L10).
- Jill Roord’s winner for the Netherlands was only her fourth goal for the national side, and her first since she scored a brace against Romania in January 2017, 872 days ago.
- With an average age of 27 years, 282 days, New Zealand’s starting XI against the Netherlands was the oldest they have ever named for a Women’s World Cup match, in what was their 13th outing in the tournament.
What’s next?
The Netherlands face Cameroon in Group E on Saturday, 15 June (14:00 BST) at the Stade du Hainaut in Valenciennes. New Zealand take on Canada on the same day (20:00) at the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble.
Line-ups
New Zealand
Substitutes
Netherlands
Substitutes
Match Stats
Live Text
Match ends, New Zealand 0, Netherlands 1.
Full Time
Second Half ends, New Zealand 0, Netherlands 1.
Goal!
Goal! New Zealand 0, Netherlands 1. Jill Roord (Netherlands) header from very close range to the centre of the goal.
Attempt blocked. Lineth Beerensteyn (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Merel van Dongen with a cross.
Attempt missed. Merel van Dongen (Netherlands) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Sherida Spitse.
Foul by Jill Roord (Netherlands).
Ria Percival (New Zealand) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Netherlands. Lineth Beerensteyn replaces Shanice van de Sanden.
Sherida Spitse (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Hannah Wilkinson (New Zealand).
Attempt blocked. Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lieke Martens.
Attempt blocked. Sherida Spitse (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Rebekah Stott.
Attempt missed. Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Sherida Spitse with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Abby Erceg.
Attempt blocked. Daniëlle van de Donk (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Merel van Dongen with a cross.
Substitution
Substitution, Netherlands. Jill Roord replaces Jackie Groenen.
Substitution
Substitution, New Zealand. Paige Satchell replaces Sarah Gregorius.
Substitution
Substitution, New Zealand. Hannah Wilkinson replaces Rosie White.
Substitution
Substitution, Netherlands. Merel van Dongen replaces Kika van Es.
Offside, Netherlands. Vivianne Miedema tries a through ball, but Jackie Groenen is caught offside.
Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Catherine Bott.
Attempt missed. Desiree van Lunteren (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Daniëlle van de Donk following a corner.
Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Catherine Bott.
Substitution
Substitution, New Zealand. Annalie Longo replaces Betsy Hassett.
Attempt saved. Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Desiree van Lunteren.
Foul by Jackie Groenen (Netherlands).
Ria Percival (New Zealand) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, New Zealand. Catherine Bott tries a through ball, but Rosie White is caught offside.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match because of an injury Stefanie van der Gragt (Netherlands).
Attempt missed. Lieke Martens (Netherlands) left footed shot from the left side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Vivianne Miedema.
Kika van Es (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Rosie White (New Zealand).
Attempt saved. Sarah Gregorius (New Zealand) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Betsy Hassett.
Attempt blocked. Ria Percival (New Zealand) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Stefanie van der Gragt (Netherlands).
Sarah Gregorius (New Zealand) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Second Half
Second Half begins New Zealand 0, Netherlands 0.
Half Time
First Half ends, New Zealand 0, Netherlands 0.
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