Netherlands Women

The Dutch women’s team would have been qualified as the host nation for the 2012 European Championship. However, the event had to be moved to Serbia at a late stage due to high costs and uncertain revenue for the Netherlands Handball Association. As a result, the Netherlands lost its host-nation berth and also received a heavy fine.

Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2009 World Championship because it lost both qualification matches against Ukraine. Things went better at the 2011 World Championship, where the team reached the final round and ultimately finished fifteenth. A fourth place in the group stage secured a spot in the round of 16, but there the Netherlands came up against the eventual world champion, Norway. The same scenario unfolded at the 2013 World Championship. In the final round, the team once again finished fourth in the group stage and faced the eventual world champion – this time Brazil – in the round of 16.

The breakthrough for the Dutch women’s team came at the 2015 World Championship in Denmark, where the Netherlands reached the final of a global tournament for the first time in history, finishing second after a 23–31 defeat to world champion Norway. It would mar the start of the Dutch golden generation, includng players lie Tess Wester, Lois Abbingh, Estavana Polman, Kelly Dulfer and Nycke Groot.

In 2016, the team achieved its second major success by qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. At an Olympic qualification tournament in Metz, France, the Netherlands defeated Tunisia, Japan, and hosts France, earning an Olympic berth for the first time ever. They finished fourth at the Games after a disappointing 26–36 loss to Norway in the bronze-medal match. In the semifinals, the Netherlands had narrowly lost to France. Gold went to Russia, who defeated France 22–19.

A few months later, at the 2016 European Championship in Sweden, the team achieved its third major success within a single year. Once again, and for the first time in European Championship history, the Netherlands reached the final, where they once more had to bow to world and European champion Norway—this time by the smallest possible margin: 29–30.

At the 2017 World Championship in Germany, the Dutch women’s team finished in third place after defeating Sweden 24–21 in the bronze-medal match. At the 2018 European Championship in France, the Dutch team once again reached the podium, finishing third after beating Romania 24–20 in the bronze-medal match. In that game, the Netherlands were exceptionally strong in defense: Romania managed to convert only 33% of their attacks.

At the 2019 World Championship in Japan, the Dutch women’s team achieved the greatest success in its history by becoming world champions. In a thrilling final, the Netherlands defeated Spain 30–29. The ending was dramatic: just over half a minute before the end, the Netherlands lost the ball, giving Spain the chance to run down the clock and look for a winning goal. Tess Wester saved the team with a brilliant stop, after which Hernández received a red card for obstructing Wester’s throw-out. With six seconds left, the Netherlands were awarded a penalty, which Lois Abbingh converted with nerves of steel. In the semifinal, the Netherlands had already beaten Olympic champion Russia 33–32, with Laura van der Heijden scoring the decisive goal in a true thriller.

For the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan, the Netherlands were automatically qualified as reigning world champions. Their second consecutive Olympics once again did not produce a medal. The team lost only narrowly to Norway (29–27) in the group stage and advanced to the quarterfinals as the second-placed team. There, they were overpowered 32–22 by the eventual champions, France. After reaching the World Championship podium three times in a row, the Netherlands were eliminated in the main round at the 2021 World Championship in Spain and finished ninth.

At the 2025 World Championship at home they reached a semifinal for the first time since 2019 when they beat Hungary in the quarterfinal.