Relationships under strain as Dutch take on England
Miedema, who scored her 100th goal for the Dutch when they comfortably beat Wales 3-0 in their opening Group D match in Lucerne on Saturday, played with forward Mead at Arsenal for seven years but moved to Manchester City last year.
They have been dating since 2022, according to their social media posts, and after being clubmates, were on opposite sides this season following Miedema's move to Manchester.
'We have a rule that we can talk about anything but not about the match," Miedema told a pre-game press conference.
"I don't know if she's going to start the game, I don't know if she'll come on later. The only thing I know is that we both feel good. Nothing more. Tomorrow we won't be friends on the pitch for a while.
"I'm there as a Dutch person and I'll do everything to win that match. If that's not good for Beth, then I'm happy. It's part of the game. I've often been on the other side, but I'm happy if we can progress tomorrow.
'I don't have a good record against her, but hopefully we can change that,' she added, 'but we haven't played much against each other at both club and national team level.'
A win for the Netherlands would likely condemn the defending champions to early elimination, after England lost their opener to France at the weekend.
'If we beat England and Beth has to go home, then she won't speak to me for a while,' Miedema said laughing. 'But that's part of football too.'
Miedema has extensive knowledge of the English game after her time in the Women's Super League. She spontaneously answered a Dutch question in English at the press conference, betraying her longevity in Britain.
"We know all those girls individually very well," she added of the England side. "But I think it's also the other way around, that the staff of England know us well too."
England have Dutchwoman Sarina Wiegman in charge, and she was formerly Netherlands coach.
"We are friends, and you want the best for your friends,' her Dutch counterpart Andries Jonker said on Tuesday.
"But we also have an understanding that if we play against each other, we also want to beat each other. I'm sorry for Sarina, but it's football," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Sweden make Germany pay for Carlotta Wamser's handball to win Euro 2025 group
It was a fixture that had promised a show and it delivered. Sweden embarrassed Germany after Carlotta Wamser's bizarre handball save reduced Christian Wück's side to 10 players and handed them a two-goal deficit that would grow to three. Jule Brand had put Germany ahead early on before Stina Blackstenius levelled and the teenage full-back Smilla Holmberg gave Sweden the lead. Then came Wamser's incomprehensible save with her hands to deny Fridolina Rolfo, who converted the resulting spot-kick before Lina Hurtig delivered Sweden's fourth late on. There may have only been top spot to play for, with both teams already qualified, but it was still a game that mattered, both from a momentum point of view and in terms of who they play next. With the winner facing the runner up in Group D, likely England, and the runner-up playing the winner of Group D, likely France, there is little difference in the quality of opposition ahead. However, finishing top has put Sweden in the kinder side of the draw, only facing Spain, the favourites, if they reach the final. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion Full report to follow
Reuters
31 minutes ago
- Reuters
Sweden storm to group victory with 4-1 win over Germany
ZURICH, July 12 (Reuters) - Sweden made the most of Germany defender Carlotta Wamser's expulsion to sweep to a 4-1 win and secure top spot in their Group C clash on Saturday, with their opponents also going through to the quarter-finals as runners-up. The Swedes finished top of the group with a perfect nine points from their three games and will take on the runners-up in Group D - which features France, England, Netherlands and Wales - with the Germans taking on the winners of that group. Friday's encounter was the first time the Germans conceded four goals at a Women's Euros and the Swedes were good value for their win, punishing virtually every mistake the Germans made. Germany got off to a flying start, slicing Sweden open through the middle as Wamser slid the ball into the path of Jule Brand, who managed to slip it past Jennifer Falk despite the Swedish keeper getting a touch. The Swedes struck back within five minutes, striker Stina Blackstenius expertly timing her run in behind the defence and latching on to Kosovare Asllani's ball before flashing a shot past Ann-Katrin Berger to level. Though the Germans looked dangerous every time they crossed the halfway line, it was the Swedes who took the lead through Smilla Holmberg in the 25th minute, the fullback marauding into the box before losing control and then steering an attempted clearance into the net from a tight angle. Germany's challenge fell apart in the 32nd minute when Wamser was shown a straight red card for a deliberate handball, and Fridolina Rolfo scored from the spot to make it 3-1 in her 100th international. Though the Germans made the odd dangerous foray in the second half, the Swedes exploited their numerical advantage and substitute Lina Hurtig put the game beyond reach with a close-range finish in the 80th minute.
The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ecclestone guides England to consolation win in final-ball thriller against India
England limped to a consolation five-wicket win in the final T20 at Edgbaston on Saturday evening, chasing down their 168-run target off the final ball after a dramatic finish. England needed six runs off the final over, but Tammy Beaumont was bowled playing across the line to the first ball of Arundhati Reddy's 20th over, before Amy Jones fell to a spectacular flying catch by Radha Yadav at deep midwicket. But with five runs needed from three balls, Sophie Ecclestone sprinted three after an Indian fumble in the deep, Paige Scholfield managed a single out into the off-side, and Ecclestone then made her ground for the necessary single off the final ball as the Indian shy at the stumps went wide. The platform had been set after Danni Wyatt-Hodge celebrated becoming just the second woman (after Charlotte Edwards) to claim 300 caps for England by scoring 56 from 37 balls and sharing another century partnership at the top of the order with Sophia Dunkley. But the narrow margin, and the 3-2 series loss, has revealed the scale of the task facing head coach Charlotte Edwards if she is to change her team's fortunes in time for the home World Cup next summer. England's middle-order once again wobbled perilously in pursuit of their target, replicating the panic of the third T20, as what should have been an easy run-chase turned into a desperate one and was only successful thanks to some lethargic Indian fielding. This time it was India who shelled crucial catches, putting Wyatt-Hodge down at short fine leg on 5. Then, after the opener miscued Deepti Sharma to midwicket in the 12th over, Shree Charani dropped a sitter at short third off Jones at a crunch point in the run chase, with 15 runs still needed. Earlier, with Lauren Filer and Lauren Bell rested ahead of the ODIs, Warwickshire's Em Arlott and Issy Wong were tasked with opening the bowling on their home ground, but both took a hammering, conceding over 40 runs apiece as India reached 167 for seven after being put in to bat. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion Wong suffered particularly at the hands of Shafali Verma, who smashed 20 of her 75 runs off one over by the seamer. For Verma, it was a welcome comeback: her first international half-century since being dropped by India last year, struck so imperiously that in a 66-run partnership with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, the latter contributed just 15 runs. England were grateful to have Maia Bouchier back in the fold, despite the fact that she contributed just 16 runs at No 3: she has always been one of their best outfielders, and showed it here, clasping onto a brilliant running catch at wide long-on to see off Verma in the 13th over. She held onto another in the 19th which got rid of the aggressive Richa Ghosh. But Bouchier's inclusion came at the expense of Alice Capsey, who now faces an uncertain path back to the England T20 side ahead of next summer's World Cup. England now have no official T20 internationals in the calendar until May of next year – a feat of scheduling which seems both bizarre and counterproductive, given the yawning gap between their current output and their desire to feature in a home final at Lord's next July.
