Could Olympic qualification cause Netherlands to burn out?

When the Netherlands face Germany on Wednesday in the UEFA Nations League third-place play-off, they will do so for a chance to qualify for their fourth consecutive summer tournament.

While hosts France and Nations League runners-up Spain are already assured of a spot at this summer's Olympics, there is still one spot available. But it remains to be seen whether qualification would be a good thing for the Dutch.

After the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, the 2022 European Championship and the 2023 World Cup, if the Orange Whether they reach the Paris Games then Euro 2025, they will have played in a major international tournament five years in a row. This would be a unique feat, but it would also take a toll on players, mentally and physically.

Had England reached the Nations League semi-finals, they could have faced the same dilemma – even though they were going to the Olympics as the GB team with a mix of other Northern Ireland players , Scotland and Wales. Lionesses captain Leah Williamson, who suffered a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury last season, told the Daily Telegraph: “It's horrible that one of the first things that came to mind at in relation to [failure to qualify for the] The Olympics were: “At least they will [the players] probably all of them have two or three years of career left now, because they will have a summer off, everyone needs rest and now they will have one. How horrible is this? »

Discussions of burnout have been commonplace in women's soccer for some time, with an increased match load resulting from an accelerated push toward professionalization and increased tournament play, and a resulting spate of injuries. Indeed, the new Nations League format was designed to increase competition across Europe in qualifying and eliminate lopsided scores. But that means teams must field their best teams against better opponents, allowing less rotation and integration of fringe players, while placing an increased workload on the regulars.

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England coach Sarina Wiegman said before England's friendly against Austria last week: “When we talk about the calendar from 2025 onwards, we really need to resolve this issue. It's complex, but for the players at the highest level, the demands are very high. They need real rest between seasons. Things really need to change.”

For men, the Olympics are an under-23 tournament (with three major players allowed on each team) and do not have the prestige of the women's tournament. In fact, for women, the Olympics are considered the second biggest tournament. It is a condensed World Cup, featuring a smaller number of teams from FIFA's top member associations, but has a tougher schedule with short intervals between matches. No Olympic champion has ever won his gold medal looking fresh. So how can the Netherlands get out of this?

What is the impact on players?

When we talk about five years of potential tournament football, there have of course been changes in both the backroom staff and the team personnel. From Wiegman at Tokyo 2021 to Mark Parsons at Euro 2022 to current coach Andries Jonker, who only has one tournament under his belt; the 2023 World Cup.

Then there are only a handful of players who will have featured in all four teams, such as midfielder Daniëlle van de Donk, who notably fought in time to be ready for Euro 2022, and Lieke Martens, who was injured in the middle of these two tournaments. and the 2019 World Cup. But others, like captain Sherida Spitse, who missed out on a place in Tokyo after being injured in preparation, and record scorer Vivianne Miedema, who was left out of the squad of the World Cup due to an ACL injury, had a forced break. .

While the Netherlands tends to have a stable starting XI, the toll of successive tournaments is felt by all members of the team. Everyone sacrifices their time to rest and recover during the summer in order to play, even after a grueling domestic season and knowing that a full pre-season training program awaits them afterwards.

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Casparij: The busy schedule of women's football is not healthy

Dutch defender Kerstin Casparij talks about the impact of successive summer tournaments on the women's football calendar.

“I think it’s quite difficult for me now,” 23-year-old defender Kerstin Casparij told ESPN. “Hopefully it will be my third year in a row, but knowing that we also have the qualifications – so we have the qualifications for Euro 2025, we have the Olympics. [and] we had the World Cup, Euro 2022 before that – I think it gets more and more intense every year. I think I'll start to worry knowing we still have many years to come and seeing all the wounds we have now – see Jill [Roord] more recently.

“It's something we should look at with the clubs, with the national teams and with the players, because obviously we're also starting to worry a little bit. So I hope we can have a good conversation.”

Casparij, who has played just 64 minutes in five appearances at the 2023 World Cup, was also keen to highlight the mental strain involved.

“That’s a lot,” she added. “Having a lot of games in such a short time with the travel – which people don't always think about the travel – it's difficult too. You can't just go home and rest, you have to travel somewhere and for going back, you have to pack your bags, it's so mentally [draining] Plus, some people are just plain exhausted, and rightfully so. After going from the Tokyo Olympics to now and not having a summer off? I don't think that's a healthy thing. »

Can we do something?

Of course, head coaches don't have to push their star players, they have the choice to rotate or bring in a less experienced team. But they are under pressure to win.

“I'm not ready to do this [to rotate] ahead of situations because we want to have the best players on the pitch, in the team, and we want to win,” England coach Wiegman said last week. “We want to make the chances of winning as high as possible .”

And, as we saw on Friday when the Netherlands were beaten 3-0 by Spain in the semi-finals of the Nations League playoffs, Jonker went full throttle and fielded an experienced and offense that was the best he could muster. It was ultimately a gamble that didn't pay off, but the coach will no doubt have to call on these same players for the do-or-die match against Germany on Wednesday.

Coaches and players continue to talk about burnout, fatigue and overload, but everyone is still willing to give everything to compete in these tournaments, even if it's not the best thing for their body or mind.

There is no doubt that the Dutch will give everything they can, just as Germany will put everything on the line to try to return to the Olympics for the first time since their gold medal at Brazil 2016, because it is what footballers do. No matter how tired they are, no matter how bruised and sore they are, they fight against their better judgment and push until they have nothing left to give. As England and Bayern Munich midfielder Georgia Stanway said earlier this week: “It's a potential burnout, but we play football, we love football, football is our life. Everything we do is to be successful on the field.”

Ultimately, it is the governing bodies that hold the keys to change. Between UEFA's introduction of the Nations League and FIFA changing the international match schedule, now forcing European teams to meet in July for the Euro 2025 qualifiers, at a time when all world should rest, it seems the appetite for more matches is growing every year.

“I think it starts with the FIFA calendar,” Wiegman said last month. “So of course, it's UEFA, so it starts with the Champions League. If it starts later, if we talk about this summer, the Women's Super League starts a little later. But the players can't rest when they play in the first round of the Champions League. You still can't rest properly.

“So it starts with UEFA and of course the federations also have to adapt to that here in Europe when we have a winter competition. If you adapt a little bit then you can give the players a bit of rest and that's what “

Jonker hinted to ESPN that discussions were ongoing within the Dutch federation (KNVB) about the current calendar and recently Nigel de Jong (technical director of the KNVB) contacted other member countries as well as the FIFA and UEFA to discuss it. what can be done.

But for now, Jonker must prepare her team for a final push for Olympic qualification against a German team ranked one place above them (6th) in the FIFA world rankings. The winner's reward will be the opportunity to take on the most grueling challenge in women's football this summer. If this is his Dutch team, he will have to hope that his players' bodies can handle the pressure for the fourth year in a row.