Spain vs Netherlands: Two very ambitious teams battle for final four spot

Spain and the Netherlands will be the first two teams to contest a spot in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-finals when the two sides square off on Thursday. Both teams come into this match having secured comfortable wins over their respective opponents Switzerland and South Africa, and now will be looking to continue their respective journeys at this World Cup.

Jorge Vilda’s team have been largely unstoppable, save for a shocking and humiliating 4-0 loss to Japan on matchday three. It marked the first time in well over a decade that Spain had shipped four goals in one game, and as such, all eyes were on La Roja to see how they reacted from that huge setback. Their opponents in the round of 16, Switzerland, would see exactly how Spain would rebound after a humbling defeat, as Vilda’s squad showed them no mercy as they steamrolled to a 5-1 win.

Switzerland, who had relied on their defensive solidarity, as opposed to any real threat in attack to get through the group stages, were no match. Even the single goal awarded to La Nati was actually a rather unfortunate own goal from defender Laia Codina; however, she made amends by scoring in the right net at the tail end of the first half to give Spain a 4-1 advantage. Although Spain expectedly took their foot off the gas in the second 45, they still added their fifth later on to put the match beyond doubt and head into the quarter-finals for the first time in team history.

Spain have steadily shown improvements since making their debut in 2015 that saw them eliminated in the group stages. Flash-forward eight years later and they are within touching distance of a semi-finals berth, which would certainly be a huge achievement in itself. However, standing in their way are the Netherlands, another side who have had an impressive campaign so far in this tournament. The Oranje were expected to finish second in their group behind tournament favorites the USA, but ended up topping their quartet after picking up wins over Portugal and Vietnam while holding the USWNT to a 1-1 draw.

Their 7-0 demolition of Vietnam on matchday three showed that this team, despite missing star striker Vivianne Miedema due to injury, should be taken seriously as contenders to win the title. Like Spain, the Netherlands are making their third appearance at a Women’s World Cup, and having made it to the final in 2019, are now hoping to go one step further and get their hands on the coveted prize.

Thanks to finishing top of their group, the Netherlands avoided a tougher round of 16 draw and were paired with South Africa, who had upset the odds to even get out of their group. Despite a spirited performance from Banyana Banyana, their lack of experience at this level, coupled with the Netherlands’ tactical nous, they were predictably overrun as the Netherlands eased to a solid 2-0 win. However, the fact that they conceded just two goals – as opposed to Vietnam’s seven – shows the solid effort put in by a side who had made history even by getting to the round of 16.

With that task done, the Netherlands, whose goal-scoring efforts have been largely spearheaded by Jill Roord, will seek to face an opponent who have been scoring seemingly at will, but clearly have quite a bit of defensive frailties. Spain have shipped five goals in just their last two games, with four of those coming against Japan, and although they were able to overpower Switzerland to win 5-1, the Netherlands will be certainly taking note of their opponent’s issues at the back.

With both sides not afraid to bomb forward on the attack, this could be a very exciting, open game from start to finish, with goals at both ends. The Netherlands have fared better in defense, as the only goal they’ve conceded so far was in their 1-1 draw with the USWNT, but the fact that Spain have several players who have netted at least three goals – more than any other side – shows that La Roja do have a solid range of attacking options to potentially ask some big questions of the Oranje’s defense.

Both teams have played some solid football, but only one will be able to progress to the semi-finals. Will the Netherlands be able to take one step closer towards improving on their 2019 result and win the title this time around? Or will Spain, who have never gotten this far in a World Cup before, continue their historic run towards the semi-finals and perhaps beyond?