Women’s World Cup: Stefanie van der Gragt goal gives Netherlands win over Portugal
Stefanie van der Gragt scored the only goal of the game as the Netherlands defeated Portugal at the Women’s World Cup.
Van der Gragt’s header was initially disallowed by referee Kateryna Monzul due to a possible offside but she reversed her decision after a VAR review.
The Netherlands were far more dominant than the 1-0 scoreline suggests, with Portugal registering just one shot on target late on.
Lineth Beerensteyn came close to opening the scoring but her shot was blocked by Carole Costa.
From the resulting corner, Sherida Spitse found Van der Gragt at the far post to head low into the net.
The Dutch celebrations were paused when the referee disallowed the goal due to possible offside by Jill Roord, but replays showed that the Manchester City midfielder was not interfering with play.
Roord could have added a second from close range but headed over the crossbar, before Danielle van de Donk and Beerensteyn had attempts saved.
Portugal’s only chance of the match came in the 82nd minute when Telma Encarnacao shot straight at Daphne van Domselaar.
The result puts the Netherlands second in Group E, behind the USA who beat Vietnam 3-0 yesterday.
They face each other on Thursday, with Portugal meeting Vietnam later that day.
