It was a tough start and very balanced for the finish between two star-studded teams. Eventually, however, Sweden got a bigger hold on the match.

Part of the reason may be that the Netherlands had to replace their captain and goalkeeper, Sari van Veenendaal.

He and two other Dutch players were swept to the side during Sweden’s attack after ten minutes of play. The goalkeeper seemed to remain on the shoulder, and had to be replaced a few minutes after the attack.

A big blow for the Netherlands. Van Veenendaal was named the world’s best goalkeeper in 2017 and 2019 and is one of the team’s key players. He also cried when he had to leave the field.

Daphne van Domselaar comes ten years her junior with just one international game on her CV. Chelsea defender Aniek Nouwen has also had to deal with what looks like a knee injury.

Decent leadership

Then, after 36 minutes of play, Sweden could burst into cheers as Chelsea star Jonna Andersson led the team to lead over the reigning European Championship champions. At that time, Sweden already had several opportunities.

Thus, the Swedish team could have gone into the break with a deserved 1-0 lead after a round that started evenly, but where Sweden took over most of the game. But the Dutch did not give up in this fight at all.

The match continued at the same tempo after the break. The Dutch had gathered strength and proved sharper than in the first half. After several Dutch chances, it was finally Wolfsburg’s Jill Roord who put the ball into the Swedish goal in the 52nd minute.

Sweden have not always had a margin with it at the European Championships, despite the fact that they are considered one of the best national teams in the world. Will they manage to get away from the European Championship winners from 2017?

– We face tough opposition

Sweden’s hard-fought team at least had more of the game in the last 20 minutes. But despite some great chances for Sweden in the last minute, the match ended 1-1. Thus, group C became very even after the first match was played. All teams stand with one point apiece after Portugal and Switzerland also drew the night before.

– We faced a difficult opposition, it was Holland. It shows how well we did before when we were favorites in a game like this, we’ve never done it before,” Kosovo Asllani, who made preparations for Sweden’s scoreline, told TV4.

– We all want to win the premiere, but if we want to be realistic, we will meet a very strong team, he added.

Thus, the battle for the advancement of the group truly opened up.

Audience records were also set in the settlements. Never before has 21,342 spectators watched a women’s European Championship match that did not involve the host country.