Netherlands 3-0 Cymru: Miedema marks 100th international goal in dominant Dutch win | OneFootball

Netherland’s began their UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 campaign with a dominant 3-0 victory over Cymru, with Vivianne Miedema marking a landmark moment by scoring her 100th goal for the Dutch.

Rhian Wilkinson’s side had impressed against a solid Dutch side in the first half, but headed into half-time trailing after Miedema handed the Netherlands the lead inside stoppage time.

Victoria Pelova and Esmee Brugts extended the Oranjeleeuwinnen’s lead just after the break, putting the game out of reach for Wales as the Dutch sealed a 3-0 victory to get their campaign underway on a positive note.

As it happened

The Oranjeleeuwinnen started strongly, with Jill Roord having a brilliant opportunity within the first few minutes. The winger was found on the left, cutting back onto her right foot before unleashing a powerful shot toward Olivia Clark, who made an excellent save to keep it off the line and the score level.

Rhian Wilkinson’s side weathered the initial pressure well and began to grow into the game, with Jess Fishlock looking dangerous for Cymru in their first-ever major international competition.

As the game approached the 30th minute, it became tense, with Wales looking to break whenever they had the ball, while the Dutch maintained most of the possession and created the better chances.

Andries Jonker’s side finally had their best chance of the half with Roord finding space just outside the box. The 28-year-old winger struck from 30 yards out, and it looked like it was sailing in before it hit the inside of the post, much to the relief of the Red Wall.

The Dragons had a good spell of possession just before the break, right in front of their fans, but couldn’t create any clear-cut chances.

However, the Dutch finally found the breakthrough through Miedema, who found space on the edge of the box and unleashed a beautiful strike into the top left corner, sailing past Clark to give the Netherlands a 1-0 lead going into the interval.

Andries Jonker’s side doubled their lead just four minutes into the second half when Daniëlle van de Donk found Pelova in the Welsh box. The winger got her shot off and beat the outstretched Clark, with Wales now facing a long way back to get into the game.

It went from bad to worse for the Dragons as Brugts extended the Dutch lead, arriving late at the back post to tap in a well-delivered cross after a strong spell of possession from the 2017 European Champions.

Wales tried to get back into the game but were unable to create any clear-cut chances, with the match slipping out of reach for the newcomers to the Euros.

The Dutch saw out the rest of the game to claim their first three points in the ‘group of death,’ while Wales will look for answers from the match. Attention now turns to the next round of fixtures, with the Netherlands facing England, followed by Wales’ must-win clash against France.

The lineups

WAL: Clark; Green, Roberts, Evans, Morgan, Woodham; Holland, James-Turner, Ladd, Cain; Fishlock