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A22 SPORTS
Monday 7 august 2017

Netherlands wins women’s European soccer championship

By MIKE CORDER man said. right winger Shanice van
Associated Press “Germany was champion de Sanden and her low
ENSCHEDE, Netherlands and nobody else could get cross was met by Miedema
(AP) — Striker Vivianne Mi- close,” she said. “Today we for her third goal in as many
edema scored twice Sun- changed that. matches in the knockout
day as the Netherlands Actually Denmark stage of the tournament.
beat Denmark 4-2 to win changed it and we contin- Left winger Lieke Martens,
its first Women’s European ued today.” named player of the tour-
Championship title and set The game started well for nament after the match,
off a huge party among the Danes, when striker put the Dutch ahead in
thousands of orange-clad Nadia Nadim — a former the 28th when she drifted
fans. refugee from Afghanistan into the center, turned a
Long after the final whistle whose father was killed by defender and fired a low
and award ceremony, the the Taliban — converted a shot past goalkeeper Stina
players — many clutching sixth-minute penalty after Lykke Petersen.
bottles of Champagne — Kika van Es clumsily brought Five minutes later, Den-
danced through the cor- Players of the Netherlands celebrate with the trophy after de- down Sanne Troelsgaard in mark was back on terms
ridors of the FC Twente feating Denmark at the Women’s Euro 2017 final soccer match the area. at 2-2 when captain Per-
in Enschede, the Netherlands, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017.
stadium chanting “Cham- Associated Press “Sometimes you can’t nille Harder overcame the
pions!” soil would promote the final after losing five previ- choose what you want. Dutch offside trap and then
The success of the Dutch game among Dutch girls ous semifinals. You just get it,” said Nadim, beat Sari van Veenendaal
women’s team is in stark and prove a platform on A penalty shootout win who fled Afghanistan af- at her near post with a well-
contrast to the country’s which to build greater suc- over Austria after extra ter her father’s death and placed shot.
men, who failed to qualify cess for the women’s team time in the semifinals left settled in Denmark. She Captain Sherida Spitse re-
for last year’s European as it prepares to start quali- the Danes looking tired in now plays for the Portland stored the Dutch lead after
Championship in France fication for the World Cup the second half, allowing Thorns in the U.S. National the break with a free kick
and is struggling to reach later this year. the Dutch to control play. Women’s Soccer League. that rolled wide of the wall
next year’s World Cup in It was a disappointing end The end of the German The Dutch fans did not and into the corner.
Russia. to the tournament for Den- reign as European champi- have to wait long for their Miedema, who had been
Netherlands coach Sarina mark, which knocked out on after more than two de- team to cancel out Nad- criticized for not scoring in
Wiegman said she hoped six-time defending champi- cades at the top is a sign im’s opener. the group stage, sealed
the victory and success of on Germany in the quarter- that the game is improving A long ball by midfielder the victory in the 89th with
the tournament on home finals and reached its first across the continent, Wieg- Jackie Groenen launched her second goal of the fi-

nal.
Zverev dominates Anderson in Washington to win Citi Open “It was tough at the start,
but then things started go-
By BEN NUCKOLS Sunday for his fourth ATP ing well,” the forward told
AP Sports Writer title of the year. Dutch broadcaster NOS.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The That matches Rafael Nad- “Today the first half was
past champions whose al’s victory total this season so chaotic, Denmark was
names line the grand- and trails only Roger Feder- good, and it was fantastic
stands at the Citi Open in- er’s five. that we could show in the
clude Andre Agassi (five The eighth-ranked Zverev second half that we can
times), Jimmy Connors, Ste- dropped his opening set in play good football.”
fan Edberg and Ivan Lendl. Washington and had to sur- The frenetic match was
On Sunday, Alexander vive a third-set tiebreaker played in front of a sell-out
Zverev showed he may to avoid an upset in the first crowd of more than 28,000
one day belong among round. He didn’t lose a set fans, including Denmark’s
such exalted company. after that opening match Crown Prince Frederik, at
The 20-year-old rising star against Jordan Thompson FC Twente’s stadium in the
from Germany picked up and grew stronger as the eastern city of Enschede.
early breaks in each set tournament went on, hav- Also in the crowd was Mar-
and was never challenged ing little trouble with the hot Alexander Zverev, of Germany, kisses the trophy after he de- co van Basten, the star of
feated Kevin Anderson, of South Africa, to win the Citi Open ten-
on his serve in a 6-4, 6-4 and humid conditions or nis tournament, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017, in Washington. the Dutch men’s team that
victory over South African the late nights brought on Associated Press won the 1988 European
veteran Kevin Anderson on by rain delays. q Championship. q