The Netherlands women proved simply too strong for semi-final opponents Argentina, claiming a 3-0 triumph over their fierce rivals to reach the Olympic final for the sixth successive Games.
In front of an enthusiastic sell-out crowd, the reigning Olympic, World, European and FIH Hockey Pro League champions were in irresistible form against Las Leonas, dominating their illustrious opponents with goals from Luna Fokke, Laura Nunnink and Yibbi Jansen.
Fokke’s second quarter opener was a goal of outrageous quality, with Dutch defender Renee van Laarhoven picking out her team-mate with an astonishing 60m pass down the right, releasing the young attacker who entered the circle before firing home on her backhand.
Fokke turned supplier ahead of half time, splitting open the Argentine defence with a perfectly placed pass onto the stick of Laura Nunnink, who guided the ball between the legs of Leonas shot-stopper Cristina Consento.
Competition top scorer Yibbi Jansen putting the result beyond all doubt shortly after half time, rattling home her eighth goal of the tournament with a low drag-flick.
The result means that the possibility of the Netherlands winning both hockey gold medals remains very much on, after the men qualified for their final on Tuesday (6 August). For Tokyo 2020 silver medallists Argentina, the result means that they will play for bronze on Friday (9 August).
“If you saw me when we scored the goals, I think that kind of describes how I feel”, said Netherlands goalkeeper Anne Veenendaal, who passionately celebrated all three of the goals scored by her team. “I guess that’s all the energy that’s out and I’m just so proud of the team. The two goals (from Fokke and Nunnink) were insane.”
On the manner of the victory over Argentina, a team that have often proved a thorn in the side for the Dutch, Veenendaal said: “Yeah, you know, I think we haven’t played that well before now, but we wanted to put that right today. That resulted in three major goals. I’m definitely happy with how we played, I think we scored we could have scored even more.”
The hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 take place from Saturday 27 July to Friday 9 August. Both the men’s and women’s competitions feature 12 teams, split into two pools of six ahead of quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches. For more information about the hockey competitions at Paris 2024, visit Olympics.Hockey.
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