Manchester United Women midfielder Jackie Groenen played the full 90 minutes of the Netherlands’ 4-1 win over Switzerland at Bramall Lane last night, as the 2017 European champions cruised into the last eight.
She joins United Women team-mates Mary Earps, Alessia Russo, Ella Toone and Ona Batlle, who reached the quarter-finals with England and Spain, respectively.
The Netherlands entered the fixture only needing a draw to see them through to the next round, but came up against a spirited Switzerland side who needed a win to have any chance of progressing.
In front of 22,596 fans – a new record for a Euros group game not featuring the hosts – both sides struggled to create clear openings in the first half.
But the second half was anything but sluggish, as Groenen’s Netherlands took the lead just four minutes after the restart through an Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic own-goal.
Despite going behind, Switzerland responded and were level just four minutes later, as Geraldine Reuteler finished Romana Bachmann’s centre with ease.
Daphne van Domselaar produced a sublime double-save to stop Coumba Sow from taking the lead for Switzerland, and the Netherlands took control in the closing stages and found their goalscoring touch.
Substitute Romee Leuchter struck with just six minutes to go, before Victoria Pelova put the match out of sight.
Leuchter doubled her tally in added time to make it 4-1, sealing an important win and setting up a quarter-final clash with France – who are guaranteed to top Group D – at the New York Stadium on Saturday.
WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY AT THE EUROS?
The final round of group fixtures will be played this evening (18 July), with France taking on Iceland and Italy facing Belgium.
With France already topping Group D, there is only one more place in the quarter-finals up for grabs. Any one of the three other teams could yet qualify, so these are certainly matches to keep an eye on.
Kick-off for both fixtures is 20:00 BST.