A goal each from Jill Roord and Lineth Beerensteyn was enough to give the Netherlands a 2-0 victory over South Africa to zoom to the quarter-final stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Orange of Netherlands began their qualification campaign on a high when they broke the virginity of the game in the 9th minute courtesy of Roord’s fine header to give her side the lead.
The Manchester City key player wasted no time grabbing her fourth goal in the tourney when she connected with Daniele van de Donk’s fantastic pass to head home from close range.
The African team did not lose hope, however, Netherlands, the 2019 World Cup finalists were too strong to override after losing one of their instrumental players, Jermaine Seoposenwe, due to an injury in the first half.
From recess, the Orange-shirted ladies commenced the game with the same zeal and confidence which resulted in the second goal nine minutes into the second half, but Lieke Martens’ stunning goal was ruled offside after a VAR check.
The search for a second goal did not stop when the Dutch dominated and determined the pace of the match.
The European team dominance proved futile when Andres Jonker’s women doubled the lead through Beerensteyn following South Africa goalkeeper Kaylin Swart’s goalkeeping howler.
Despite two goals down, Banyana Banyana did stop pushing for that magical moment to steal the show, but their opponent closed the game to swim into the last eight with an emphatic win.
South Africa will head home with a round of 16 appearances, a feat they have achieved after exiting in the group stage with one point in the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France.
The Netherlands will slug it out with fellow European giants, Spain, in the quarter-final on Friday, August 11 at the Wellington Regional Stadium in New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Japan has also booked a place in the next stage after beating Norway 3-1 on Saturday
Source: Ghana News Agency