Oranje Leeuwinnen knocked out of Euro 2025 in the group stage after loss vs France
The Netherlands’ women’s football team has been knocked out of the European Championship at the group stage after a 5-2 loss to France on Sunday. The team, led by departing manager Andries Jonker, had to win by three goals to advance to the knockout stage. It was looking hopeful at halftime when Oranje led 2-1, but France proved too good in the second half.
The heavily rotated Oranje side started the game strongly. Led by Victoria Pelova and the returning Danielle van de Donk, Jonker’s team recaptured the ball quickly and was creating plenty of chances.
A crowd with 34,000 Dutch fans in the St. Jakob Park in Basel also helped the team's cause as the fans in orange and blue did their best to push the team on.
Pelova had the first shot on target after two minutes, something which took a lot longer to achieve against the English. France was looking to counterattack and became increasingly dangerous after the first 15 minutes, which were dominated by the Netherlands.
This led to the 1-0 in the 22nd minute. French captain Sadie Toletti was left unmarked at the edge of the area, and she defeated the Oranje keeper Daphne van Domselaar with a placed effort.
Jonker’s side bounced back from the setback quickly through Pelova. The midfielder hit a hard shot into the far corner after a shot by Chastity Grant had been deflected.
The Netherlands were still the more dangerous side after the goal. This led to the 2-1 two minutes before halftime, which was scored via an own goal by Selma Bacha after an attack over the left flank via Kerstin Casperij and Pelova.
Oranje did not show much of the vibrant attacking play that they had showcased in the first half after halftime. France was winning the battles and was profiting from a lot of losses of possession from the 2017 European Champions.
Dominique Janssen lost the ball just after the hour mark, and the completely unmarked Marie-Antoinette Katoto took advantage. The relief from the French was clear after Delphine Cascarino had made it 3-2 with a sublime shot from distance, which went into the top corner. Cascarino scored again to make it 4-2.
Jonker gave Renate Jansen her first minutes on the pitch at the Euros in the closing stages. The 72-year-old international is quitting international duty. Sakina Karchaoui made it 5-2 with a penalty.
