Women's EURO 2025: Netherlands coach Andries Jonker on his side's title bid

Winners as hosts at UEFA Women's EURO 2017, the Netherlands fell short of their high expectations at the 2022 finals, but honour was restored as coach Andries Jonker led them to the last eight at the 2023 FIFA World Cup, where it took extra time for Spain to defeat his side.

Jonker has worked abroad with Barcelona, Bayern and Wolfsburg, and has overseen a renovation process with the Netherlands side which he is certain will make them title contenders in Switzerland.

On his time in charge of the Netherlands

We've tried to give ourselves a clear identity. We've tried to define what we stand for. And I believe we stand for high energy, lots of power, real footballing quality, and an attacking approach. We want to take the initiative.

We made a lot of progress quite quickly. During the 2023 World Cup, we already had the feeling that we could beat everyone. Now, two years on that young, relatively inexperienced group has grown. They have developed at the top level of European football over the last two years and within the Dutch national team. So, we've made progress, and now, we are here to win – to win the EURO.

On how he likes his side to play

Football is a game that’s played because people love playing it. Here, in the Netherlands, we like to win, but we also want to do that by playing attacking football. Not everyone in the Netherlands agrees with that, but most people do. I also think that beyond just winning and playing well, I think that women’s football could help the game grow quite rapidly as soon as you play attractive football.

Our goals for every match are always the same – first, to win; second, to play attractive football; and third, to inspire people. Playing attractive football is part of our philosophy. I believe that’s what’s needed to take women’s football in the Netherlands to the next level.

On checking out his fringe options over the last 12 months

I didn’t really have a choice. In 2024, we had to deal with a large number of injured players, with long-term injuries for Vivianne Miedema, Victoria Pelova, Jill Roord, Caitlin Dijkstra. We were missing 11 players. It was a tough year, but now the team is almost at full strength again. And we are slowly becoming the team we’re meant to be. We’re getting back to our old selves again.

I don’t yet have an ideal starting 11 in my head. But, we’ve become richer in the Netherlands. During the successful years, there was a clear starting 11. Now, I think we’ve developed greater depth for such a small country. We have a core group of 15, 16, 17 top players. And behind them, there are seven or eight more who may not play at the very highest level, but are still very good. That makes us a very strong team.

On playing England and France in the group stage

We prepare 100 per cent for every match whether it’s against Indonesia or Spain. We can’t do more than that. We know who we are facing. We also know we’ll play Wales. Luckily, we face Wales first – but we have to win that game. And if we do win that game, we’ll have a slight advantage because England and France can’t both win their opener. So, one or both of those teams will be under pressure straight away. But, we’ve got to beat Wales. We’ll go all in and it doesn’t matter who we face after that.

On having fans behind them in Switzerland

Two years ago, in New Zealand [at the World Cup], it felt like we played five away games because the opposing fans were always in the majority. So, we’re really looking forward to Dutch support this time. Normally, we play at home in an orange-coloured stadium which is 100% behind us and that always makes things easier. We hope it’ll be the same in Switzerland. It makes a real difference when you pull off a great move and you feel the whole stadium behind you.