Lieke Martens was voted the best women’s soccer player on the planet last year and her Dutch national team is ranked ninth in the world. Yet neither might ultimately prove good enough to qualify for next summer’s Women’s World Cup in France.
“The game’s getting smaller and smaller,” she said. “Every single game can be really exciting. In Europe especially a lot of countries have progressed. The level of women’s football is getting higher and higher.”
The Netherlands, the reigning European and Algarve Cup champion, as a result must win a four-team playoff beginning Friday to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.