The Netherlands took a 3-0 1st leg lead to Switzerland in the UEFA Play Off Final for the World Cup, qualifying 4-1 on aggregate even though they were down to ten players for nearly the whole match.
The Dutch had a difficult start as they had captain Anouk Dekker sent off only 8 minutes into the match at LIPO Park in Schaffhausen.
Having kept the game goalless until half time, the Netherlands’ Vivianne Miedema netted a crucial away goal 7 minutes after the restart, leaving the Swiss needing a big ask of five goals to qualify.
Coumba Sow did come off the bench to equalise on the night but there was less than 20 minutes for the hosts to further eat into the Dutch lead, which they were unable to do.
Meanwhile, friendlies elsewhere included a good goalless draw for Spain in Germany and a 5-0 win for Australia over Chile. All the goals came after the break for the Matildas, with a Caitlin Foord hat-trick, plus one each for Samantha Kerr and Emily Gielnik.
