Netherlands’ star discusses the “beautiful” pressure of goalkeeping, a dislike of Dickens and Dutch chances at Colombia 2024.
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Netherlands start their campaign against Costa Rica on 2 September
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Captain Femke Liefting is targeting nothing less than the title
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Goalkeeper is one of several school students in the squad
Don’t get Femke Liefting started on William Shakespeare, George Elliott or Jane Austen.
“Oh, I really don’t enjoy English literature,” she tells FIFA on the eve of the Netherlands’ opening match at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.™
Combing through works by the Bard of Avon isn’t usually high on the priority list for players heading into a major international tournament but, for Liefting and several of her teammates, juggling training with trigonometry is a reality they have to deal with.
With two years of schooling left to complete, Liefting and more than half a dozen others in the Dutch squad have a two-hour block of study time built into each day, with the team bringing a dedicated staff member with them to Colombia to help in that process.
Between practice and physics, there’s little time left in the day but the 19-year-old goalkeeper wouldn’t have it any other way as she heads to her second U-20 Women’s World Cup.
“We are really excited, it’s a big honour to play for your country and on the highest level in the world. It’s going to be special being here and getting to play against different countries and different cultures on the biggest stage; it’s where everyone dreams to be so we can’t wait for things to get started.”
Liefting’s path to the posts is a familiar one, as she grew up watching her brother play, then started off as an outfield player before donning the gloves on a full-time basis at the age of 13. It’s a solitary life, often with little recognition and plenty of condemnation, so what is it that drew the Dutch custodian to life on the line?
“It’s such an important position. As a goalkeeper, you can be the hero or the villain; you can win games or you can lose them. Simply, you can decide matches. Of course with that comes pressure but it’s beautiful to have this kind of pressure and I think that if you are afraid of failing you cannot be a professional football player.”
Failing was something that happened plenty in the early years of the Netherlands’ attempts to qualify for the U-20 Women’s World Cup. For eight straight editions they fell short, before bursting into prominence on debut at France 2018 when they reached the quarter-finals.
At the following edition in Costa Rica, two years ago, they made the semis. Pattern logic suggests the side are in line to make the final at Colombia 2024. Given Liefting nominates her favourite school subject as mathematics, logic is something she embraces.
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“What are our expectations? We just want to win; we only came here to win a World Cup, so that’s our goal.
“We have a lot of qualities in our team, we can bring different players in the same position with different powers, which is a strength, and we can create chances and force the opponent to adjust to us. Of course there are a lot of strong nations here and we know it won’t be easy but our only goal is to win the World Cup.”
