The the Dutch Lionesses booked an effortless practice victory over Costa Rica on Friday evening. National coach Andries Jonker missed his star players Lieke Martens and Vivianne Miedema and used the game to test a new system with five defenders, just like Louis van Gaal lets the men’s team play. Goals from Daniëlle van de Donk, Dominique Janssen, Fenna Kalma and Esmee Brugts made it 4-0.
The Lionesses had to do without the slightly injured Martens on Friday evening. Jonker said in advance that the left winger of Paris Saint-Germain is expected back against Denmark on Tuesday. Miedema is not there this international period, because the the Dutch record top scorer gets rest. Partly due to the lack of the star players, Jonker, who worked for years as an assistant to Van Gaal, chose to deviate from the usual 4-3-3 system and play in a 5-3-2 formation.
The @orangevrouwen lead 4-0 at halftime against Costa Rica! ??
Daniëlle van de Donk, smallest player in the Dutch squad, opened the score with a header! ?? pic.twitter.com/y6UOrAHhv8
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) Nov 11, 2022
Costa Rica is number 37 in the FIFA ranking and was no match for the Netherlands, the number eight in the world. After fifteen minutes, Van de Donk broke the spell by heading in a corner: 1-0. The midfielder was poorly covered and even had to bend down to hit the ball with his head. It took until three minutes before the break before the second goal fell, again from a corner. This time Janssen was able to tap the ball in: 2-0.
It started to rain goals in Utrecht, where the the Dutch scored 3-0 in the 44th minute. Costa Rica defender Leoas Laranjas thought he could clear a low cross, but tapped the ball against Fenna Kalma, who walked in without intention: 3-0. In the injury time of the first half, Esmee Brugts made it 4-0 by picking up a rebound and hitting hard from about eleven meters. After the break, the Netherlands even created more chances than in the first half, but they always lacked the completion.