In this match report, we focus on a rather unknown territory in women’s football: the Netherlands. In this report more specifically on FC Twente. The Dutch club became champions again after beating Ajax. In the match report of FC Twente against PSV, we concentrated on several talents in the midfield of the club.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Fenna Kalma
Player Profile
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 22
- Date of Birth: 21/11/1999
- Current Club: FC Twente
- Career: SC Heerenveen, FC Twente
- Position: Attacking midfielder
Fenna Kalma is a natural striker but played as an attacking midfielder in the game of FC Twente against PSV. In the 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2, Kalma was the most advanced midfielder and managed to score a goal in a 3-0 win over the guest from Eindhoven.
Her attacking positioning is very straightforward. When the wide players get the ball, she will look for the central position in the box to attack the cross. Even though FC Twente played with two strikers, she still assumed that central position. Kalma also looks to drop when the attack enters the penalty area, making herself available to shoot from the edge of the box.
Her passing game isn’t massively impressive, but she looks to connect the central midfield to the wide midfielders and the strikers. She receives the ball, weighs her options, and then passes it, with the intention of getting into a good position to convert a cross.
She is strong in the duels, but needs to work on the decision-making of her actions: when and where does she need to accelerate and don’t always look for the complex solution. When she has space to attack she can be brutal. With the goal she scored, she was much stronger in the 1v1 against a defender and scored quite composed in front of the goalkeeper.
Rating: A1
Anna-Lena Stolze
Player Profile
- Nationality: German
- Age: 21
- Date of Birth: 08/07/2000
- Current Club: FC Twente
- Career: VfL Wolfsburg
- Position: right wide midfielder
Anna-Lena Stolze played as the right wide midfielder or right wing-back in the game of FC Twente against PSV. In the 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2, Stolze was the most right wing-back who ran up and down the line, both offensively and defensively.
In going forward she is the right wing-back and when she is on the ball she uses her technical skills and pace, to make momentum. She has a good cross and there are always two or three attackers there to attack that particular cross. She isn’t too afraid to attack the ball herself and shoot, as she can do that quite well. But, she needs to be more aware of how progressive her position is in the field. She needs to recover a lot of ground in terms of a counter-attack.
When the attacks are on the other side of the pitch, she inverts and becomes situated more central. She does this to attack a cross that lands in the far post region. Her passing is quite direct and on a relatively high tempo, as that will give her more space for her runs and more time to execute her actions.
She isn’t afraid to commit to tackles and duels, but her defensive side isn’t her strongest – that’s why it can be tricky in transition. She commits to tackles and sometimes they result in a fault.
Rating: A2
Wieke Kaptein
Player Profile
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 16
- Date of Birth: 29/08/2005
- Current Club: FC Twente
- Career: FC Twente
- Position: Defensive midfielder
Wieke Kapteins played as a defensive midfielder in the game of FC Twente against PSV. She played in the double pivot with Peddemors. In the 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2, Kaptein played on the right of the pivot and often interacted with the right wide midfielder Stolze.
What stands out is her discipline in carrying out her tasks. She is very young but plays well in that double pivot, where she is always tasked to be ready for the transition phase. She managed to stand her ground in the duels and always finds her teammate to pass the ball to. She is composed in her action and is calm on the ball, making sure she doesn’t take too much risk.
When she needs to defend deep, she will assist her central defenders in creating overloads. In doing so she limits the possibility of the opponent really getting in a dangerous position. While she could think more of a footballing solution in this scenario, she chooses clarity and clears the ball.
She is very young and that means she really needs to be coached on what to do, how aggressive she can play, and what the best options are for passing. This will most likely come with the years, but as of now, she needs the guidance.
Rating: A2
Ella Peddemors
Player Profile
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 19
- Date of Birth: 06/08/2002
- Current Club: FC Twente
- Career: FC Twente
- Position: Defensive midfielder
Ella Peddemors played as a defensive midfielder in the game of FC Twente against PSV. She played in the double pivot with Kaptein. In the 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2, Peddemors played on the left of the pivot and often interacted with the left wide midfielder Olislagers.
In contrast to Kaptein, Peddemors plays more progressive on the field and is more of a box-to-box midfielder, who likes to arrive in zone 14 in the final phases of an attack. Her passes are with more risk, as she likes to go forward and be involved with shooting on target. In the first half, she managed to hit the post by shooting from range.
On the defensive side of the game, she does recover well in transition – but in the aerial duels and ground duels, she does disappoint for where she plays. There is enough coverage because of the five-man midfield, but she isn’t convincing in that aspect. Her improvement lies in getting herself better positioned and being more aware in defence when the is higher up the pitch.
Rating: B1