Amsterdam: Netherlands coach Mark Parsons has left his role by mutual agreement after the team’s quarterfinal exit in the 2022 Women’s European Championship in July, the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) announced on Wednesday.
The Orange Lionesses finished second in Group C to qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament held in England but Parsons’ side was eliminated by France in the quarterfinals following a 1-0 defeat in extra time.
The loss meant they were unable to defend the title which they had won in 2017 under Sarina Wiegman, who guided England to their first major title this year.
A statement from the KNVB said they were not pleased with the style of play and the results under Parsons and there was “too little confidence that ambitions will be realised under the current leadership”.
“In the run-up to and at the European Championship, both the games shown and the results were disappointing and we cannot afford that. The bar is high,” said the KNVB board member Jan Dirk van der Zee.
“The Netherlands was the defending champion and also a finalist at the last World Cup, we want to participate for the prizes. With a view to the current World Cup qualifying series, it has been decided that someone else will be at the helm in the very short term. That is not a nice decision, but that is also part of top football,” he added.
The 36-year-old Parsons is a former Chelsea Women reserve coach who managed DC United, Washington Spirit and Portland Thorns in the United States after emigrating from the UK in 2010.
The current World Cup qualifying series will be continued at the beginning of September. Then the Orange Lionesses will play the important return against Iceland.
After seven games, the Netherlands is in first place in the group, with a two-point lead over Iceland, which has played one game less. If the team wins this match, the Netherlands will qualify for next year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
–IANS
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