The Netherlands got off to a rampant start, wasting no time settling in South Africa’s half, and it seemed it was only going to be a matter of time before they would break the deadlock.
This was accomplished before the 10th-minute mark via one of their best players and one of the standout performers of the tournament, in Roord. The Manchester City playmaker bagged her fourth goal of the current World Cup campaign with a header from close range after a marvellous set-up from Danielle van de Donk.
South Africa didn’t alter their plan and kept trying to move the ball forward, but they suffered another blow when one of their best players, Jermaine Seoposenwe, was forced to leave the game due to an injury midway through the first half.
The Dutch started the second half with the same aggressiveness they had in the first half, and they found the back of the net nine minutes in again. However, Lieke Martens’ beautiful goal was disallowed due to an offside, giving the Banyana Banyana a lifeline.
The Dutch continued to dominate possession and South Africa looked sluggish, so the Oranje eventually doubled their lead via Beerensteyn, though South African goalkeeper Kaylin Swart had responsibility as the shot slipped right through her hands in a save she’s probably made many times in her career.
The Banyana Banyana didn’t stop pushing the lines forward, but even when they created some chances here and there, Daphne van Domselaar was in spectacular form to deny them time and time again.
Oranje netted a third goal when Beerensteyn rounded Swart to slot it home, but her strike was disallowed due to an offside call.
Despite the South African attempts to pull one back and make things interesting late on, the Netherlands didn’t take too many risks and opted to close the game out, securing a comfortable 2-0 victory and a spot in the quarter-finals, where they’ll take on Spain. As for South Africa, the tournament ended better than expected as they managed to compete and get past the group stage, but the Netherlands were just too much for them to overcome.
Flashscore Player of the Match: Jill Roord (Netherlands)
