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American midfielder Lindsay Horan and Dutch midfielder Danielle van de Donk were both at the heart of Wednesday’s thrilling World Cup match between the two sides, who also faced off in the 2019 final.
Horan and van de Donk were particularly influential, as the pair both play similar positions on the pitch and therefore found themselves matching up with each other quite often.
One moment, in particular, went on to be match-defining as a foul and subsequent argument between the pair was immediately followed by Horan walloping home a game-tying header.
You can see the entire sequence of events unfold in the below video:
With the @USWNT down 0-1 in the second half, Daniëlle van de Donk and Lindsey Horan were spoken to by the referee after a hard challenge and pushing in the box…
Just moments later Lindsey Horan had the last laugh, see how it all unfolded ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0pqJFeR6q5
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 27, 2023
What makes the in-game beef between the pair even more interesting is that they’re actually teammates at the club level, as they both play for France side Lyon, which is consistently one of the best female football teams in the world.
Obviously used to getting into it with each other at practice and whatnot during the club season, Horan and van de Donk were all smiles after the game as they shared an awesome moment that epitomized professional sportsmanship at its best: bitter rivals on the pitch but completely amicable and friendly off it.
Alles oké tussen Daniëlle van de Donk en Lindsey Horan! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/5gASgdBEAA
— NOS Sport (@NOSsport) July 27, 2023
All love between Lindsey Horan and Danielle van de Donk after the match 🤗 pic.twitter.com/mmoZlBJdLt
— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 27, 2023
As a result of the 1-1 draw, both the United States and the Netherlands sit on four points, with the U.S. holding the first-place tiebreaker due to their superior goal differential (+3 to +1).
The United States Women’s National Team will play their final group stage game against Portugal on Tuesday, August 1. With the Netherlands likely to finish the group stage with 7 points (if they beat Vietnam, which they should) and Portugal currently sitting on 3 points, the U.S. is going to need at least a tie if they hope to advance to the knockout stages, and if win if they want to top their group, which will give them better seeding in the next round.
You can check out the highlights of the World Cup match between the United States and the Netherlands below.