We look ahead to this 2023 Women’s World Cup Group E fixture at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin with our Netherlands vs Portugal preview and prediction.
Netherlands vs Portugal Stats: Quick Hits
- The Netherlands are the favourites to win this match according to the Opta supercomputer (61.5% chance of victory).
- The Dutch defeated Portugal 3-2 in the group stages of last summer’s Women’s UEFA European Championship.
- Portugal have lost seven of their previous eight meetings with the Netherlands, including each of the last five.
Match Preview
The Netherlands – losing finalists at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup – start their campaign this time around against fellow UEFA nation Portugal. This will be their third Women’s World Cup tournament, and to make a change, they won’t be facing New Zealand in the opening game – just like they did in both 2015 and 2019, winning 1-0 both times.
Of course, Andries Jonker’s side are missing star player and all-time record scorer Vivianne Miedema for this tournament following the ACL injury she suffered with club side Arsenal in December.
Portugal are one of eight teams making their debut at the Women’s World Cup this year, alongside Haiti, the Republic of Ireland, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Vietnam and Zambia. They qualified for the tournament thanks to a 2-1 win over Cameroon in the Inter-Confederation play-offs. Carole Costa won the match with a penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
They have only played at two previous women’s international tournaments; European Championships in 2017 and 2022, and they were knocked out in the group stage in both of those competitions.
Netherlands vs Portugal Head-to-Head
The Netherlands and Portugal have faced each other eight times previously, with the Dutch running out as winners in seven of those meetings.
The last five games between these two nations in women’s football have seen the Netherlands end victorious, with the most recent of those victories coming in the European Championship finals last summer. The 3-2 win for the Dutch came in the second round of group stage matches at the tournament, with Damaris Egurrola and Stefanie van der Gragt putting the Netherlands 2-0 ahead, before Portugal came back through strikes from Carole Costa (penalty) and Diana Silva. Daniëlle van de Donk scored the winner just after the hour mark.
Netherlands vs Portugal Prediction
The Opta supercomputer makes the Netherlands favourites for this clash in Group E, with a 61.5% chance of victory. Portugal’s chance of a win may be less than one-in-five (18.7%), but they would be happy to take something off one of Europe’s best footballing nations in their opening game – the chance of them getting at least a point stands at 38.5%.
Netherlands vs Portugal Squads
Netherlands: Daphne van Domselaar, Lynn Wilms, Stefanie van der Gragt, Aniek Nouwen, Merel van Dongen, Jill Roord, Lineth Beerensteyn, Sherida Spitse, Katja Snoeijs, Daniëlle van de Donk, Lieke Martens, Jill Baijings, Renate Jansen, Jackie Groenen, Caitlin Dijkstra, Lize Kop, Victoria Pelova, Kerstin Casparij, Wieke Kaptein, Dominique Janssen, Damaris Egurrola, Esmee Brugts, Jacintha Weimar.
Portugal: Inês Pereira, Catarina Amado, Lúcia Alves, Sílvia Rebelo, Joana Marchão, Andreia Jacinto, Ana Rute, Andreia Norton, Ana Borges, Jéssica Silva, Tatiana Pinto, Patrícia Morais, Fátima Pinto, Dolores Silva, Carole Costa, Diana Silva, Ana Seiça, Carolina Mendes, Diana Gomes, Francisca Nazareth, Ana Capeta, Rute Costa, Telma Encarnação.
Enjoy this? Subscribe to our mailing list to receive exclusive weekly content. And follow us on Twitter too.