The team qualified for the knockout stage as one of the best third-place finishers where they hope to finish among the top three European countries and qualify for the women's tournament at next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
But, with only one of the eight European teams having fallen by the wayside after the group phase of the 24-team tournament in Canada, they must now beat the last Women's World Cup winners in Vancouver on Tuesday to remain on course.
"It's our biggest match ever but that's what we've been looking for all this time. To have such a podium, to be able to take on Japan, is what we've worked very hard towards," Dutch coach Roger Reijners told reporters.
"Japan only won each of their group matches with just a single goal's difference. A 1-0 win against Switzerland and against Ecuador and 2-1 against Cameroon tells me that there is something that we might be able to do.
"We've come here to achieve and I think we've have grown closer as a team in the last weeks," added captain Mandy van den Berg.
"The fact we've reached the quarter-finals has helped the chemistry and the dynamic in the squad. It's been very good,” she said.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
Share
