FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Group E Player to Watch: Lineth Beerensteyn (Netherlands)

The World Cup’s Group E consists of the losing finalists from 2019, the Netherlands, along with Portugal, defending champions USA, and playoffs winners from Asian Championship, Vietnam, who have qualified for the first time. One could also call this the group of death. With a number of star players in this group, it is difficult to pick one but if there is one player who will definitely catch the eye of so many, it is Lineth Beerensteyn of the Netherlands. The 26-year-old left-sided forward, playing for Juventus in the Serie A Femminile, transferred to Juventus last summer from Bayern Munich where she spent five years.

The below visualisation shows where Beerensteyn ranks for some of the key metrics when compared with the other left-wingers from the league for the 22/23 season.

With 11 goals and three assists, Lineth Beerensteyn was one of the best forwards in the league last season. The experience she carried from the Bundesliga has helped her to thrive in her first season in Italy. With an excellent work rate, her numbers in all aspects look promising, as seen in the visual above. 

One of her biggest strengths is her finishing ability with the forward overperforming the xG (8.48) in the league. She also attempts a high volume of shots — ranking among the highest for shots per 90 minutes. Defensively, her 1v1 tackling is good but her aerial ability is something that can be improved. However, given her height, one cannot expect her to frequently score headed goals.

Lineth Beerensteyn carries a wealth of international experience having already won the Euros with the Dutch national team and having been a part of the squad that finished as runners-up in 2019. The Dutch national team will be heavily relying on Beerensteyn to go one step further this time and win the tournament.