Netherlands head coach Mark Parsons believes England are favourites for the Women's Euro 2022 after seeing his team well beaten by the Lionesses on Friday.
England ran out 5-1 winners at Elland Road, with goals from Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead (two), Ella Toone and Lauren Hemp sealing an emphatic victory.
England's previous meeting with the Oranje was a 3-0 reverse in the Euro 2017 semi-finals, though the Lionesses maintained their record of having never lost back-to-back games against the Netherlands.
Sarina Wiegman was managing the Dutch side that day as they went on to win their home tournament, and now has the chance to do the same with England.
Speaking after the game, Parsons expressed his admiration for England, pointing to their home advantage and resources.
"This is our third top opponent we've faced," he said. "Brazil, we felt we should have won, France, we weren't good and didn't deserve to draw or win.
"Tonight, I think England will be favourites in the Euros where they're at, the qualities of players, the home crowd, the resources that the WSL have been putting in, the work the clubs have been doing. You add all that up, it's very hard to see that they're not favourites."
Netherlands will be in Group C at Euro 2022 along with Sweden, Portugal and Switzerland, starting off against the Swedes at Bramall Lane on July 9.
"Very difficult evening. I think the one thing we wanted to avoid by taking on such a big game, big opponent early in our preparation, was this outcome" Parsons admitted, before suggesting that England's extra preparation time after the end of their season played a big part.
"If we had avoided this outcome, I think we will only be taking positives. I feel a big responsibility because I knew how big of a step this would be.
"Also, I was aware of the English league finishing May 11. They got their holiday, they got in two weeks before us that they would be in this place, but was aggressive and ambitious in having the game when it was, hoped that we'd be in a controlled position at 60 minutes because the minds probably would have carried the bodies at that point."
The contest had been relatively even in the first half, with the score still 1-1 until the 53rd minute when Mead grabbed her first of the night.
Three more goals in the last 18 minutes gave the game a scoreline that had not seemed likely at the break, and Parsons took some solace in that, while taking some of the blame himself.
He added: "Some of the great decision-making we had in the first half had gone [in the second], so it's going to feel like two games. Analysing the first 55, 60 minutes and throwing the last 30, 35 minutes in the bin very quickly because I don't think there'll be anything worth taking from that due to the level where we're at physically, which is normal, but the organisation didn't help the players at that point.
"When the [final] whistle went, I knew I was going to be analysing a shorter game... There'd be no point in looking any further because I let them down. At that point, the organisation should have been a lot safer, more defensive, because the legs had gone and England were just getting fresher and fresher with their changes.
"With the home crowd, we felt it once or twice in the first half. In the second half it was the flags and the noise coming from the home crowd, which is an experience we needed to learn. Yeah. Tough night."
Getafe 0-3 Atletico Madrid: Griezmann treble seals Champions League qualification
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 LaLiga win at Getafe on Wednesday as Diego Simeone's side sealed Champions League qualification.
The France star opened the scoring in the 27th minute from Rodrigo De Paul's throughball and had his second shortly before half-time, flicking Samuel Lino's pinpoint pass past Getafe goalkeeper David Soria.
Griezmann completed his hat-trick in the 51st minute with a fine finish under Soria's legs, with Lino claiming his second assist by playing Los Colchoneros' all-time leading scorer into the area.
It was Griezmann's second hat-trick of the season, after he also netted three times in a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo last October.
With two games remaining, Simeone's side are now on 73 points in fourth, 11 ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who lost 2-1 against Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Griezmann repeats the trick
Griezmann is the only player to score two hat-tricks in LaLiga this season, and the only player to net a treble with all three goals coming on his left foot.
He might need to go even further to put himself in Golden Boot contention, though, with his 16 goals for this term putting him behind Artem Dovbyk (20), Jude Bellingham, Alexander Sorloth (both 19) and Robert Lewandowski (17).
Fernandes looking for strong finish to Man Utd's season
Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United must "finish the season in the best way" following their 3-2 win over Newcastle United.
The United youngsters played starring roles, with Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hojlund getting all three goals to close the gap to Newcastle in the table.
Anthony Gordon and Lewis Hall both netted for the Magpies, with the latter setting up a nervy finish with his stoppage-time effort, but their lack of clinical edge meant United earned all three points.
Erik ten Hag’s side avoided a third consecutive defeat, and what would have been a record-breaking 10th home loss of the season, and Fernandes insists they must find a way to finish positively.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the United captain said: "Obviously the job isn’t finished yet. We still have one game in the Premier League, then the biggest game of the season, the FA Cup final.
"It has been a tough season. The table shows that, and we are all aware of that. The fans have been amazing and behind us all season. We all appreciate what they have been doing for us.
"We want to do better and do differently. They [fans] have been amazing for us, and we had to do something. We have been trying, but results don’t show that. We have been working hard and everyone has been giving their best. It is not enough, and we have to do more.
"We still have two games to go, and we have to finish in the best way.
"It doesn’t exist, a captain's performance, it is a team performance. I am no different from anyone just because I have the armband. I always try my best, and we always do the best we can for the club – nobody hides that we play for a big club, and we have to lift our standards every game."
Despite returning to winning ways, United have now conceded 58 Premier League goals this season, their most across a single campaign in the competition.
Ten Hag was keen to turn the focus away from their struggling defence and onto the attacking players instead.
"Fantastic. Great goals. But it was a team effort how we made the goals. But I'm always happy at young players who are progressing very good and scored some brilliant goals," he told BBC Sport.
"Newcastle have a lot of physical power, and you have to match that, but you also have to play football. We had found the really good balance in this.
"It's always nice to win any game. It's important to win the last game at Old Trafford this season. The fans deserve this because they've had difficult times and always stayed with us.
"We are here together. We wanted to pay the fans back."
JPL finalists Mount Pleasant, Cavalier join teams from T&T, Dom Rep as early qualifiers for Concacaf Caribbean Cup
Reigning Jamaica Premier League champions Mount Pleasant FA and Cavalier FC have booked spots in this year’s Concacaf Caribbean Cup where they will again challenge for a berth in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
By virtue of setting up a repeat of last year’s final, Mount Pleasant, hunting their second local top-flight title, and Cavalier, seeking redemption from last season’s defeat, joined three other clubs from Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago as early confirmations.
This will be Mount Pleasant’s debut in the Caribbean Cup and first appearance in a Concacaf tournament, while Cavalier makes a return after an unbeaten run in the group stage, before finishing as runner-up to Suriname’s Robinhood FC. It also and earned them a debut appearance in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
From Dominican Republic, Cibao FC, will make its second appearance in the Caribbean Cup as the 2023 league champion from the Dominican Republic. Cibao has become a regular to Concacaf competitions, appearing in the 2018 Champions League and the 2020 and 2022 Concacaf League.
Based in Santiago de los Caballeros, Cibao became the first team in the history of the Dominican Republic to secure an official international title when they won the 2017 Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship.
Meanwhile, Moca FC, also out of Dominican Republic, returns for a second crack at the Caribbean Cup due to their standing in the 2023 season. Moca reached the semifinals in the previous edition and won the third-place match to qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, making its debut earlier this year. Gustavo Ascona is the club’s all-time leader with four goals in the competition.
Trinidad and Tobago’s AC Port of Spain will make a second appearance in the Caribbean Cup. The club will be aiming to achieved new milestones by getting their first win in the tournament and, by extension, secure a first Concacaf Champions Cup participation.
The remaining clubs in the annual 10-team tournament –that crowns a Caribbean champion and determine participants from the region for the Concacaf Champions Cup –will be determined as their respective nations wrap up their domestic seasons.
A draw will be held on June 6 to divide the teams into two groups of five.
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