USA vs Netherlands Women’s Soccer

When you think of women’s soccer, America comes to mind. The USA is number 1 in the world when it comes to women’s soccer. How big is women’s soccer in the USA and what’s the difference with the Netherlands? You can read all about it in this article!

First let’s look at the number of soccer players in the United States. About 1.6 million girls and women play soccer in the United States. There are 160,000 soccer players in the Netherlands. There are ten times as many (!) soccer players in America. This is also because more people live in the US first. No country has more women playing soccer than the United States.

More women play soccer in the United States than in the Netherlands. In addition to the number of soccer players in the Netherlands and the United States, we look at the performance of both countries. The United States has won the most World Cup titles and has placed in the top three of all World Championships. The Orange Lions won the European Championship on home soil in 2017, and in 2019 they reached the World Cup final against the United States, but lost 2-0 and finished second.

The US has won the most prizes so far and women’s football in the Netherlands is still in its infancy. So it’s very different.

Women’s soccer has been pretty big in America for a long time. In contrast to the Netherlands, women’s football has grown immensely since the Dutch women’s team became European champions in 2017. A difference between the USA and the Netherlands can be made out by looking at the FIFA World Rankings. USA is at 4th place and Netherlands at 8th place. In 2014, the Netherlands ranked 14th, and in recent years the United States has topped the list. Looking at this ranking, the growth of women’s football in the Netherlands is evident.

There are also differences when looking at the difference in the level of collegiate teams in the US and regular (non-professional) competition in the Netherlands. In America, girls soccer is huge in schools. The facilities are top-notch, games are played on stadiums and players have strength coaches and physiotherapists at every practice and match. American college women’s soccer is similar to professional soccer. Compared to the Netherlands, the facilities in the Netherlands are much less professional.

In addition, the sports experience in America is much larger, as we know America; Big and exaggerated. But especially in games, it creates an incredibly cool atmosphere and experience. You are given a certain honor and you represent your school. This means you don’t belong to a specific club like in the Netherlands, but belong to a university where all kinds of sports are played. Together with all students, you support each other and strive to achieve maximum results! So it all looks a little different than in the Netherlands.

There are enough differences to mention, but the full story of women’s soccer in the U.S. still cannot be told. Want to learn more about sports and study in the US? And does this sound like a great adventure to you? And then our latest post Women’s football initiative at VV Gemert We will contact you soon!

This article is the result of a collaboration between Vrouwenvoetbalnieuws.nl and KingsTalent.