How the Netherlands’ Euro 2025 campaign turned into the Andries Jonker show

It was the tournament where the Netherlands were going to show they could survive the group of death. That they were not too old and that Vivianne Miedema and Daniëlle van de Donk could still shine at the very highest level.

And then it all turned into the Andries Jonker show. At the start of the year the coach was told that his contract with the Dutch Lionesses would not be extended and that he would leave after the European Championship. He was not happy about it. The 62-year-old made it quite clear what he thought about the decision.

For a while things seemed to calm down, until Jonker appeared on a podcast two days before the Euros and reopened old wounds. “It was all good in the first [international] window after I got the news,” he said. “In the last window we played badly for one and a half of the two games and you start to think … hold on. Do I still want to do this? And you talk to people around you and there’s no one around me that says that I need to do this. They all say: ‘You shouldn’t do this. Stay at home, let them figure it out.’”

The matter escalated further in the pre-match press conference before the opening game against Wales, when a journalist accused him of running “a puppet show”. The coach responded in furious fashion. “These women have given everything in 2025,” he said. “And we have done that together. You people are all here today and this is thanks to us. To these women. And you have the guts to call it a puppet show. If you think it’s a puppet show, than you’re entitled to your opinion [but] you are insulting the players.”

However, an impressive 3-0 win over Wales followed and the Netherlands can now secure qualification for the knockout phase by beating England on Wednesday. What makes the game an even more tantalising prospect is the fact that Jonker’s replacement will be in the England dugout: Sarina Wiegman’s assistant, Arjan Veurink.

The two teams experienced wildly contrasting fortunes on the opening weekend of the tournament. England lost to France and looked unimaginative and sloppy with the ball. For the Netherlands, meanwhile, there were positives wherever you looked. Miedema was at the centre of the good vibes as the players enjoyed open training in front of 700 fans in Thun on Sunday, having scored her 100th international goal against Wales (in 126 games).

There was further good news in Wolfsburg’s Lineth Beerensteyn making her comeback, having been out since April with an unspecified injury. She came on for an excellent cameo with 19 minutes remaining and nearly scored a world-class goal, but it was ruled out for offside. The 19-year-old Veerle Buurman was full of confidence during her major tournament debut in central defence next to the experienced Dominique Janssen. Chelsea’s Wieke Kaptein is another youngster whose passion and fighting spirit makes her a force to be reckoned with.

The former Netherlands international and now TV pundit Tessel Middag was pleasantly surprised be the win over Wales. “I was mostly impressed by the rotation on the right side, with Van de Donk, Jackie Groenen and Victoria Pelova changing positions, leaving room for the right-back Kerstin Casparij to overlap,” she tells Moving the Goalposts.

But there can be no underestimating of England, says the former Manchester City and West Ham United player. “The Dutch defenders have to be alert at all time,” she says. “Despite losing against France the England team is still strong, powerful and they’ve got a bench with outstanding substitutes as well.”

The stage is set for Wednesday’s game. This time, surely, it will be the players rather than Jonker in the lead role.

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