When the Netherlands line up for their final FIH Hockey Pro League match against Belgium there will be one player breathing an extra loud sigh of relief.
Evade Goede injured her arm earlier in the year and has been working hard to ensure that she is fit for selection for the world number one side as they approach their most important few weeks of the year. Just a few days after they troop off the field in Belgium, they will be lining up to play their opening match of the EuroHockey Championships – against Ireland.
“The arm is getting better,” says the Dutch midfielder. “I am training with the team. I am not back to full training but I am back with the girls again and running and using the stick again, so that is great.”
For all the members of the Netherlands team, this final match against Belgium is an important chance to play some competitive hockey at international level. The club scene has been busy in recent weeks but the Dutch haven’t played a FIH Hockey Pro League match since March.
“The most important thing is to play together again and play a game that matters,” says the Netherlands captain. “For the past few weeks we have not been together very much because we have been playing with our club teams in the play-offs. So we haven’t spent that much time together. The most important thing is to see where we are as a team.”
With two very big competitions ahead of the Netherlands this summer, there will be a lot of nerves as players wait to hear whether they have been selected for the EuroHockey Championships and the Olympic Games. As an athlete with three Olympic Games already to her name, de Goede has some wise words of wisdom for her teammates.
“The nerves will be there and everyone wants to show their best. But it is not just about this game. We have been telling the girls it is about your performance this whole year. One game will not change anything in that matter. The nerves can show different things with different players, but I say: ‘Just play and be you’. In her head Alyson [Annan] will already have her squad, so just do your best.”
The Netherlands are expecting a tough encounter with their European neighbours. “Belgium are a side that likes to attack and the counter attack is something they will want to use. So we will need to be ready to deal with that.”
When it comes to being prepared for the intense nature of tournament hockey, such as the EuroHockey Championships, de Goede says that the disruption caused by the pandemic will have had an effect upon the team. “It will be tough because you cannot be prepared for that, no matter how much you have trained. We will be fit because we have played a lot of club matches, but we haven’t done this as a national team for a long while. But, we have done it before and we will do it again.
“We are so excited to be together both for this Pro League match against Belgium, and then, of course, we really looking forward to playing in Amsterdam, in front of fans, which will be amazing.”
Belgium host the Netherlands on 30 May at the Sportcentrum Wilrijkse Plein-Antwerp.
Watch her full interview on Watch.Hockey
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