Comfortable second leg in Tilburg
The Netherlands women's team beat Hungary 3-0 at Koning Willem II Stadium in Tilburg on Tuesday evening, 13 October 2026, completing an 11-0 aggregate win over the two legs. The first leg was an 8-0 win in Hungary on Friday, 9 October. Just over 8,000 spectators watched the second match in a stadium that was only half full. Hungary defended compactly and forced the hosts into crosses during the first half, a route the Dutch used to good effect.
Crosses decided the match
The Dutch delivered 53 crosses, a total last reached in a single international six years ago, according to NOS. Janou Levels provided 14 of them and Lynn Wilms 8. All three first-half goals came from headers. Esmee Brugts opened the scoring in the 8th minute from a cross by Daniëlle van de Donk. Lineth Beerensteyn doubled the lead in the 39th minute from a cross by Lynn Wilms, and Damaris Egurrola headed in at half-time from a corner taken by Brugts.
- Esmee Brugts heads the Netherlands in front from a cross by Daniëlle van de Donk
- Lineth Beerensteyn heads the second goal from a cross by Lynn Wilms
- Damaris Egurrola heads in from a corner taken by Esmee Brugts
The second half produced no goals. Victoria Pelova sent a promising effort wide of the goal, and Jill Roord's close-range shot was held by the goalkeeper. Roord came on as a substitute, and the 29-year-old has 117 caps.
Veurink's squad and debutant
Bondscoach Arjan Veurink admitted that the bar had been set high after the 8-0 win in Hungary, but said he was pleased with the goals in the first half and the chances created after the break.
You always strive for a kind of perfection, and we try to bring the players along in that.
Isa Kardinaal, a 21-year-old centre-back who moved from Ajax to London City Lionesses this summer, made her debut in the second half and played the last 20 minutes. She said she had only learned minutes before that she would be coming on. Dominique Janssen, 31, started in central defence in place of Renée van Asten, who was left out after an abdominal injury, which the coach said had left her short of match rhythm.
We were actually already 11-0 up.
Slovenia next, and the other play-offs
Slovenia, ranked 36th in the FIFA world rankings, are the final opponents. The two matches will be played in the international window from 26 November to 5 December, and exact dates and venues had not yet been confirmed. Veurink expects a game similar to the one against Hungary, but he noted that Slovenia have better players.
I expect a similar style of play against Slovenia as against Hungary.
Elsewhere in the first round of European play-offs, Sweden beat Lithuania 5-0 away and 10-0 at home, while Norway and Italy kept their hopes alive. Belgium, unlucky in the draw, stumbled against Poland.