Jonker: duel with Portugal is the most important tournament during the Women's World Cup

The first group match at the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia on Sunday will also be the most important for the Dutch footballers, says national coach Andries Jonker. He said this on the eve of the match against Portugal. Due to problems with the field where Oranje trains, the coach could not see the desired 11-on-11 game. Therefore, it was decided to train on a smaller field with nine against nine players.

Furthermore, Jonker was also not about to mince words about the problems Oranje had in the New Zealand coastal city of Tauranga. "We're looking forward to the game now," the coach said. Sherida Spitse said at the press conference that the problems with the field had not particularly affected the group. "We are flexible," the captain said.

Jonker is aware of the quality of the Portuguese. "I watched the game a couple of times last summer, of course," the national coach said, referring to the 3-2 victory the Dutch claimed against the southern European country at the time. The world No. 21 played out another draw (0-0) in a practice match against European champions England earlier this month. "Portugal couldn't have given us a bigger warning," Jonker said.

According to Spitse, the Oranje have become much fitter over the past year, playing better football and also getting their defense in order. She didn't want to say much about the latter just yet. "We will show it on the field," she stressed.

After the press conference and an inspection of the indoor stadium Forsyth Barr, where the Oranje will face Portugal on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. (Dutch time), the entire team began final training ahead of the World Cup match. This took place on a football field next to the stadium. Jonker still said that eleven against eleven could be played here. Portugal already trained on the field in the evening. In general, all Dutch players were fit to play, a KNVB spokeswoman said.