With two sides having already confirmed their progression to the quarterfinal stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Netherlands and South Africa know that the winner of their round-of-sixteen clash will face Spain next time out. La Roja cruised to victory against a woeful Switzerland in the early hours of Saturday.
The Oranjeleeuwinnen opened their campaign with a slender 1-0 win against Portugal, before being held to a draw by the United States. Andries Jonker’s side rounded off their group stage appearances with an utterly dominant seven-goal thrashing of Vietnam, ensuring they topped Group E.
South Africa have been one of the fairytale sides at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Banyana Banyana appeared at their first World Cup in 2019, but lost all three of their group stage games. This time around though, they progressed from a difficult group – a slender loss to Sweden was swiftly followed by a chaotic draw against Argentina. A poetic win against Italy last time out sealed their progression, and they were rewarded with this mouthwatering tie against the Netherlands.
The Netherlands have reached the quarterfinals once before, as they went on to clinch the silver medals in 2019. They should feel confident of their ability to defeat South Africa – but as this tournament has shown, shock results have the potential to cause colossal upsets.
Team news
Andries Jonker is expected to name an unchanged starting eleven for this tie.
South Africa will likely be without Refiloe Jane in the centre of midfield, as she was forced off through injury against Argentina. Kholosa Biyana could return from suspension though, with Desiree Ellie having plenty to ponder ahead of this match.
Predicted lineups
The Netherlands: van Domselaar; Spitse, van der Gragt, Janssen; Pelova, Roord, Groenen, van de Donk, Brugts; Snoeijs, Martens
South Africa: Swart; Ramalepe, Mbane, Gamede, Dhalmini; Biyana, Motlhalo; Cesane, Seoposenwe, Magaia; Kgatlana
Where can I watch?
Kick-off in Sydney is scheduled for 03:00am on Sunday, 6th August 2023. The match will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with coverage starting at 02:50. If you’re unable to watch the match, fear not – we’ll have a detailed match report published within minutes of the final whistle.
