This is what the lions have been waiting for at the Olympics

20:00 – For that they had to wait an extra year, and had to pray that the Olympics would continue this spring, but the first time had come on Wednesday. Then the Orange Lions begin their first hunt for Olympic gold. They do this when national coach Sarina Wickman finally stumbles. Preview of the path to the gold medal and what should be the third win under Wickman.

Enemies in group position
Orange has no complaints about luck with the draw because the lions are categorized as the weakest group on paper. In Group F, the Netherlands will face Brazil (7), China (15) and Zambia (104). The first game is against Zambia on Wednesday 21st July. Little is known about the country, except that it is the lowest ranked country out of the twelve FIFA rankings, and only the twelfth African country in the same rankings. In addition to the numbers one and two, two of the three best numbers continue, and it is unworthy of orange if the lions do not make it through this group.

After Zambia, Wickman’s eighteen-man squad will play against Brazil (Saturday, July 24) and China (Tuesday, July 27). In terms of results, countries can be compared well in recent years: they show little in the finals. China have not advanced to the quarterfinals of the last two World Cups, and were trapped in the 2016 Games in Brazil, as did the host nation in the quarterfinals. The Orange team won only two clashes with China, both of which were friendly duels. Who says Brazil, Marta and Formica. They have been part of the Brazil selection for many years. Even 43 (!) Years old for Formica. In their younger years they won bronze at the 1999 World Cup and two silver medals at the Games (2004 and 2008). But unlike China, Brazil has not been a great team in recent years, with a maximum of banana peels.

Always America
Fans of the Orange Lions will remember the 2019 World Cup final well. The only ruler USA was very strong 2-0 for the Netherlands, thanks to goals from Megan Robino and Rose Lovell. Definitely coming back to America Games. With Germany and France out of the FIFA rankings, the United States is more than usual in favor of adding the next gold medal to their overflowing cup cabinet. Already with four World Cup titles and four Olympic golds, the question is: who will stop Team USA Off? When can the Orange team really meet the team of Vladko Antonovsky, who has been leading since October 2019?

The Netherlands and the United States will face each other only in the final on August 6, if the Orange team survives as a winner in the group stage and the American women also take first place in their group. Although the United States are in a relatively difficult group – they face Sweden (5), Australia (9) and New Zealand (22) – the star team seems to be the ‘winner’. In the unlikely event that this does not happen, the United States will be in second place, Orange in first, and then the quarterfinals (1F – 2G) will be the setting for an immediate repeat of the 2019 World Cup final. In all other cases, the battle for gold is on. Thus the battlefield of the Netherlands – Team America.

Based on the situation where the United States and the Orange Lions are top of their group, the dominant European champions will face Group G second in the quarterfinals on Friday, July 30 and in the semifinals (Monday 2). August) Winner of the fight between 2E and 2F. In this case, the potential path to the final goes back to all old acquaintances from the 2019 World Cup: 2G is mostly Sweden, where Orange won the semifinals 1-0, while Canada and Japan (adversary group stage and eighth finals) advance to Group E and Will decide in conjunction with Chile.

In short, after the group stage it really starts to get tense. After all, returning home with a medal can be a daunting task. At the World Cup in France, the Orange Lions stood up every time in every art and flying job, and the fans were in support of them. In Japan, it really has to come from women. If a medal is returned, after finishing European and second at the World Cup, the Dutch women’s team is icing on the cake for all of Wickman’s achievements.

Door: Alex Devilly