Andries Jonker hired as Netherlands women's soccer coach

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Andries Jonker was appointed coach of the Netherlands women's soccer team on Wednesday, succeeding Mark Parsons who left the post after a disappointing Euro 2022 which saw the defending champions knocked out in the quarterfinals.

Jonker, a former coach of Bundesliga team Wolfsburg and assistant to Louis van Gaal when the Dutchman coached Barcelona and Bayern Munich, signed a contract through to the 2025 European Championship, the Dutch soccer federation said.

The 59-year-old Jonker briefly served as interim coach of the Dutch women's team in 2001.

Parsons succeeded Sarina Wiegman, who led the Netherlands to the European title on home soil in 2017 and repeated the feat with England last month.

Jonker's first match in charge will be a friendly match against Scotland on Sept. 2. Four days later the Netherlands plays Iceland in Utrecht. Victory would seal a berth for the Dutch at next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

'œDuring the last European Championship we also saw how incredibly fast women's football has developed in recent years,'ť Jonker said. 'œWe have ambitious goals, but also an enormous amount of quality and talent that we can draw on for the 2023 World Cup.'ť

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