Lieke Martens said that the Netherlands has its sights set on its first glory in Women’s World Cup as the forward prepares to play for the third time in the event, which kicks off in Australia and New Zealand next month. The 30-year-old former Barça player, now at PSG, was part of the Dutch team that finished as runners-up after a disappointing penalty shootout loss to the United States.
Martens, who won three consecutive league titles and the Champions League during his time at Barcelona, helps his country win the European Championship in 2017, where he was voted the best player of the tournament and also won the Women’s Player award. of the Year of the UEFA.
“Yes, you dream of it (to win the World Cup),” Martens told FIFA in an interview. “And I think it’s great that we keep trying to make that dream come true. If we won, it would be complete. I would have won everything I ever dream of winning. It will be a tough challenge, but nothing is impossible.”
“I’m going to give everything I can to be as prepared as possible. I also trust this team. I just hope we can get into the flow.”
Expectations for the Dutch team have risen since their Euro win, and Martens said dealing with the increased pressure was an adjustment, but he believes his team can improve and rise to the challenge. The Netherlands currently sits ninth in the FIFA rankings.
Character to handle pressure and expectations
“Suddenly, after winning the Euros, people expect a lot from us,” Martens said. “I think we handled it well as a team. We have gradually become like that and we are still dealing with it.” “People expect that we can always fight for the grand prix, and we gave ourselves that standard. The character of the team is back and maybe we can achieve something good again in this World Cup.”
Andries Jonker’s side begin their World Cup campaign against Portugal on July 3 before taking on record four-time winners USA on July 27.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
