The Orange Lionesses have qualified for the European Championship in 2021 in England, which will only be completed in the summer of 2022. Thanks to a 7-0 victory over Estonia, the team of outgoing national coach Sarina Wiegman with two games to go in the qualifying cycle can no longer be traced back to close pursuer Russia, which won 1-0 against Slovenia earlier in the day and nine points less has. After host country England and Germany, the Netherlands is the third country that has assured itself of participation in the tournament that is scheduled for a year and a half and in which it is the defending champion.

The European Championship qualifying cycle runs extremely smoothly for the Oranje Leeuwinnen. All matches have been won so far, with a positive goal difference of no fewer than 33 hits. Yet in theory Russia can still figure out the Netherlands, if the remaining three games are won by the Russians and Wiegman’s team loses the last two duels with Kosovo and a difference in 22 goals is made up. However, the Orange Lionesses won twice against Russia and are thus already assured of the first place in Group A on the basis of the mutual result.

The Netherlands also had an extremely simple evening against Estonia. Already after seven minutes of play, the home team took the lead in the Capital Hitachi Mobility Stadium in Groningen, when Daniëlle van de Donk was able to head in a cross from Dominique Janssen outright. It took only nine minutes for the margin to be doubled. After a bet by Jackie Groenen was turned by the Estonian goalkeeper Karina Kork, Van de Donk tapped her second goal of the evening against the ropes from the rebound.

After fumbling in the Estonian defense and a goal from Greens, the Orange Lionesses ran to 3-0 within half an hour. After base debutant Katja Snoeijs had hit the post, Sherida Spitse even raised the margin to four before half time. The captain of the Netherlands was allowed to moor from the dot after a handball in the penalty area. The 5-0 then took a while, partly because the post stood in the way of a hat-trick by Van de Donk. With 65 minutes on the clock, Greens increased the score with her second goal of the evening by taking advantage of Kork’s poor goalkeeping work.

In the last fifteen minutes, the Orange Lionesses ran out to a very strong victory over Estonia, which was also treated to a 0-7 defeat at home earlier in the qualifying cycle. Aniek Nouwen took care of the 6-0 with a header from a rehearsed corner kick, after which Snoeijs was also able to put her share in the bag. The Girondins de Bordeaux attacker was able to hit after a scramble situation in the penalty area. In the end it turned out to be the final chord of an extremely goal-rich evening. Two more meetings with Kosovo are now waiting for the Orange Lionesses next Tuesday and in December.