Danielle van de Donk’s superb strike gave the Netherlands a 3-2 win over Portugal on Wednesday to move the defending champions top of the Women’s Euro 2022 Group C table.
Damaris Egurrola gave the Dutch a seventh-minute lead with a fine angled header from a corner and they looked to be on their way to a comfortable victory when Stefanie van der Gragt headed in the second nine minutes later.
But Portugal, who had fought back from two early goals for a 2-2 draw in their opening game against Switzerland, again showed their resilience.
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Carole Costa pulled a goal back from the spot, seven minutes before the break, after a VAR review decided that Diana Silva had been brought down by Dominique Janssen .
Then two minutes after the interval, the Portuguese drew level with Silva confidently heading home a fine cross from Costa.
Netherlands players celebrate after scoring a goal against Portugal at the 2022 Women’s Euro. Getty Images
The Dutch thought they had immediately restored their lead through Jill Roord but her effort was ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR review.
But a sublime finish from Van de Donk put the Netherlands 3-2 up, the midfielder collecting the ball on the edge of the box and curling a beautiful shot into the far corner.
The Dutch are on four points from two games, level on points with Sweden, with Portugal and Switzerland both on a point each. Sweden beat Switzerland 2-1 earlier on Tuesday.
Source: espn.co.uk
