A double from Vivianne
Miedema helped the Netherlands beat Denmark 4-2 to hand her country a first
European Championship title in front of an expectant home crowd in Enschede.
Denmark raced into an
early lead as Nadia Nadim calmly converted her penalty after Sanne Troelsgaard
was upended by Kika Van Es, but the hosts equalised shortly after thanks to
Miedema's emphatic finish from close-range.
The Netherlands had
never reached the final of a major tournament, with their previous best performance
coming when they reached the semi-finals of the 2009 European Championships.
Lieke Martens put the
hosts ahead with a precise 20-yard finish, but Denmark's Pernille Harder
slotted in to equalise.
Dutch captain Sherida
Spitse blasted in a free-kick to make it 3-2, and Miedema sealed a historic
triumph late on.
Surprise finalists
Denmark had pushed for another equaliser late on, as Sanne Troelsgaard went
close with a swerving half-volley which dipped past the right-hand post.
But the Dutch, backed
by the majority of a sold-out 28,182 crowd in Enschede, never looked in serious
danger of conceding again and put the game beyond the Danes when Miedema scored
the fourth.
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