Paris — Can this increasingly unpredictable 2024 Olympics make its way over to the women’s tournament?
After the ousting of the thirty-somethings of defending champions Belgium, the Netherlands, with nine debutants, enter the fray for their quarter-final against Great Britain women at Yves-du-Manoir Stadium on Monday evening.
The stats don’t sit well for GB supporters: 26 goals scored against GB in their last five games since the 2020 Olympics, including their 5-1 success in Tokyo. Not to mention, the eye-opening set of results for the Dutch over the last 20 years. They make for some reading.
“It would be stupid not to have respect for the Netherlands,” says GB women’s Lily Owsley.
READ MORE: Preview: GB v Netherlands
“They are not just the No.1 in the world, the Olympic, world and European champions. I think they have a fantastic team with the best players in the world and you have to think about that when a plan is made for the match.”
Having debuted in 2013, Owsley, who will play Argentinian club hockey next season, says this generation of Dutch is “the best team I’ve ever come across as a player. I think they’re better than the team that was in Rio.
“How many times have they lost since that tournament? I think the team they have now is more productive than the past. Under Paul van Ass they’ve become even more threatening, especially in their attacking play.”
Yet, Owsley senses belief – especially in the glaring spotlight of the Olympics as the Dutch attempt to defend their title.
“They have also shown lately that they are beatable. We have to look at the moments when they have shown some weakness. We have to take advantage of that.
“All cards have to be on the table. We have to defend like animals. Fight. If we don’t do that, we don’t win.
“We’ve done it before in Rio. We’ll think about that beforehand; we never said we played better there or had a better team. But in the end the Olympics also come down to passion. Are they the team that has something to lose?”
