New-look Dutch team ready to make impact

A partly inexperienced squad, but with plenty of hunger to follow into the footsteps of the all-time greats that secured plenty of medals between 2015 and 2019, is aiming to go great again, but the path will be challenging.

Main facts:

• Swedish coach Per Johansson, who replaced Monique Tijsterman earlier this year, will lead Netherlands for the first time at a major international tournament
• key players like Tess Wester (pregnant), Lois Abbingh (maternity leave), Larissa Nusser and Danick Snelder (both knee injury) will miss the EHF EURO 2022
• Netherlands have finished in the top seven teams at the EHF EURO in the past four editions, securing two medals in 2016 and 2018
• the Dutch side has been one of the best attacks in the competition over the last three tournaments, scoring at an average of 27.2 goals per game
• fresh faces such as left back Kim Molenaar, who was named Player of the Year in the Dutch league last season, look to become the backbone of the new squad

Three questions ahead of the Women's EHF EURO 2022

- Will Per Johansson steady the ship?

Between 2015 and 2019, Netherlands secured five medals in six consecutive tournaments, missing out only at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, when they finished fourth. It was the golden age of Dutch handball, with a gold medal at the IHF Women’s World Championship and two silver and two bronze medals each at the EHF EURO and the World Championship, underlining the strength of the squad.

From that moment, several changes were made, with key players retiring and others missing in major tournaments due to a variety of reasons. Over the past six years, four coaches have been on the bench, with Helle Thomsen, Emmanuel Mayonnade, Monique Tijsterman and Per Johansson leading the Dutch team, all with different styles and approaches.

Netherlands failed to secure a medal or at least a semi-finals berth for the past two tournaments, finishing sixth at the EHF EURO 2020 and ninth at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship, their worst finish since 2013, which prompted another coaching change. Per Johansson was brought to steady the ship, but the experienced Swedish coach now finds himself in a difficult situation, with plenty of absences and a new generation that needs to bounce back, without a lot of experience on their hands. But Johansson himself is no stranger to adversity and has plenty of experience as a national team coach, having led Sweden between 2008 and 2012 and Montenegro between 2017 and 2020, which bodes well, as this will be his fourth EHF EURO in his career.

- How will the missing players influence Netherlands’ path at the EHF EURO 2022?

Let’s rewind only three years, back to the 2019 IHF Women’s World Championship, when Netherlands secured the gold medal. From the team that wrote history back then, Tess Wester and Lois Abbingh are both missing, through pregnancy. Wester was the All-star goalkeeper in the tournament, while Abbingh was the top scorer, therefore their absences will definitely hurt Johansson’s side at the EHF EURO 2022, with the two being still key players of the squad.

Captain Danick Snelder, an influential player on the court and the main pillar of the defence, and one of the players which held the team together, is also out due to a knee injury. Centre back Larissa Nusser, whose development helped cover the retirement of Nycke Groot, will also be a key player out due to injury, while left wing Martine Smeets has retired from professional handball.

It definitely brings more questions rather than answers for Johansson, who will be tasked with a major rebuild in the following years. Yet the pool of talented players has not just dried up for Netherlands, which brings us to the next question.

- Is Netherlands’ future covered?

It seems so. Hungary and Netherlands were the only teams in Europe to finish in the top 4 at both the 2022 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, where they secured the bronze medal, and at the 2022 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, where they finished fourth, losing the bronze medal game in the last second against Hungary.

Johansson himself acted as an assistant coach for the junior team, helping Ricardo Clarijs, who is his assistant at the senior side, and identifying the player with the largest potential, who could immediately make the transition to the senior side and improve the team. It is not unprecedented for the Dutch national team to make this kind of leap for players, with Abbingh, Wester or Estavana Polman making their debuts before celebrating their 20^th birthday.

Kim Molenaar will head to the EHF EURO 2022, after making the cut for the friendly Golden League tournament, as this tournament could just be the start of another successful chapter of the Dutch story.

Under the spotlight: Estavana Polman

Polman was named the MVP of the 2019 IHF Women’s World Championship and it is truly an unstoppable force whenever healthy. Her combination of a strong shot and handball nous is next to none in Europe right now, yet her career has been marred by knee injuries over the past years. Whenever Polman looked like she was gearing up for a comeback, something else happened, therefore after the gold medal in 2019, she failed to build on that success.

Switching clubs this season after nine years spent at Team Esbjerg, as she now features for Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub can be a plus, as Polman featured in the national team in the friendly Golden League tournament, where Netherlands won against Denmark (30:22) and Switzerland (38:25), but lost against Norway (19:27).

With a lack of experienced players in the back line, should Polman feature prominently in the team, it would be a huge coup for Netherlands, which will be trying to improve from their previous outing at the EHF EURO, when a bad start in the competition saw them finish sixth, as the centre back sat out due to an injury.

Did you know?

14 of Netherlands’ 20 wins at the EHF EURO came in the past three editions of the tournament, with the first three editions – 1998, 2002 and 2006 – yielding just a single win between them.

What do the numbers say?

1 – a single Dutch player has scored over 100 goals at the EHF EURO. Estavana Polman is currently on 108 goals, despite playing only three tournaments – in 2014, 2016 and 2018 – with van der Heijden (98 goals) close behind, having featured five times at the EHF EURO

The heart of the team: Laura van der Heijden

It might not sound as much but van der Heijden has been through thick and thin with the Dutch side from 2007 onwards. This will be her 15th year with the “Oranje” and has already written history, as one of the three players in history to have played at least 250 matches for the national team, alongside Laura Robben and Diane Lamein.

While the two are still far away in the all-time standings, with over 300 matches played for Netherlands, van der Heijden is still there, as her experience is crucial in helping the side progress, having seen everything while playing for the Dutch team.

Past achievements

EHF EURO participations (including 2022): 9

Silver medal (1): 2016

Bronze medal (1): 2018

Netherlands play against France, North Macedonia, and Romania in preliminary round group C in Skopje. Tickets are available HERE.