The Netherlands may have beaten Sweden on their way to winning the last Women’s Euros and reaching the 2019 Women’s World Cup but the sense they will be relieved to survive this high-octane clash with the 2021 Olympic finalists only serves to underline how difficult it is to call the likely winners of this tournament.
Louis van Gaal, coach of the Netherlands men’s team, was in the 21,342 crowd to see his nation battle back from a groggy first half, in which Sweden deservedly led through Jonna Andersson’s goal, to perform more like their old selves in salvaging a draw thanks to Jill Roord’s equaliser.
